Inspiring Yoga Quotes to Elevate Your Practice

"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."

- Gautama Buddha

"When you listen to yourself, everything comes naturally."

- Petri Räisänen

"Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divinity within you."

- Amit Ray

"Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in."

- Rolf Gates

"Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Yoga is the fountain of youth. You’re only as young as your spine is flexible."

- Bob Harper

"The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"The longest journey of any person is the journey inward."

- Dag Hammarskjold

"In truth, yoga doesn’t take time – it gives time."

- Ganga White

"Inhale the future. Exhale the past."

- Eckhart Tolle

"I am standing on my own altar. The poses are my prayers"

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Yoga is the artwork of awareness on the canvas of body, mind, and soul."

- Amit Ray

"Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Meditation can help us embrace our worries, our fear, our anger; and that is very healing."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

"Yoga is not about touching your toes. It is what you learn on the way down."

- Jigar Gor

"What we see in the world around us is just a reflection of what is inside of us."

- Sharon Gannon

"Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds."

- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

"Yoga is a dance between control and surrender – between pushing and letting go – and when to push and when to let go becomes part of the creative process, part of the open-ended exploration of your being."

- Joel Kramer

"Yoga does not transform the way we see things; it transforms the person who sees."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Yoga takes us to the present moment, the only place where life exists."

- Ellen Brenneman

"True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; it is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; it cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied."

- Aadil Palkhivala

"Yoga is a light, which once lit will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter your flame."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Yoga is not about self-improvement, it’s about self-acceptance."

- Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa

"The true purpose of yoga is to discover that aspect of your being that can never be lost."

- Deepak Chopra

"Yoga is not a work-out; it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice, to make us teachable, to open up our hearts, and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are."

- Rolf Gates

"Remember, it doesn’t matter how deep into a posture you go – what does matter is who you are when you get there."

- Max Strom

"Yoga is self-discovery in motion."

- Shayla Quinn

"You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state."

- Sharon Gannon

"Yoga is not just repetition of a few postures – it is more about the exploration and discovery of the subtle energies of life."

- Amit Ray

"Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self."

- The Bhagavad Gita

"The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga."

- Yogi Bhajan

"My body is my temple and asanas are my prayers."

- Sri B.K.S. Iyengar

"Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions."

- Kathryn Budig

"Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."

- Buddha

"The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It's about using posture to understand and transform yourself."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"The moment is now. The present moment is not just a progression of past moments, but is alive in its own way, complete and perfect. And it is this new moment that demands our attention. Only in the moment can we be fully awake and respond to the real needs of ourselves and others. Only in the present moment can we be fully attentive."

- Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

"The purpose of yoga is to stop the misery before it comes."

- Patanjali

"A mind free from all disturbances is yoga."

- Patanjali

"True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied."

- Aadil Palkhivala

"Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice; to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are."

- Rolf Gates

"When you listen to yourself, everything comes naturally. It comes from inside, like a kind of will to do something. Try to be sensitive. That is yoga."

- Petri Räisänen

"Calming the mind is yoga. Not just standing on the head."

- Swami Satchidananda

"The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Everything changes. Everything is connected. Pay attention."

- Jane Hirshfield

"Life is like music; for its own sake. We are living in an eternal now, and when we listen to music we are not listening to the past, we are not listening to the future, we are listening to an expanded present."

- Alan Watts

"Only when we act without judgment can we truly flourish in our lives. Yoga means becoming one. As long as we stand apart in judgment, we sabotage the opportunity for connection and integration that is yoga. So I encourage you: get into that canoe and ride with the river. Commit and don’t look back. Before our bodies can open, they must first let go; the clenched and guarded muscles must relax. But the mind must let go first."

- Rolf Gates

"To know that we are not our thoughts is the first step toward freedom."

- Stephen Cope

"It is not fashionable in so-called spiritual circles these days to talk of struggle. But the ancient yogis did not hesitate to acknowledge that life is full of struggle and pain. And yet, these early practitioners found that struggle itself could be transmuted into the most noble characteristics of the human being. Indeed, an optimal life is not possible without struggle. Liberation and struggle are two sides of the same coin."

- Stephen Cope

"Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don’t accept praise or gain or anything else. If you let go a little you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace; if you let go completely you will have complete peace."

- Ajahn Chah

"The practice of Yoga brings us face to face with the extraordinary complexity of our own being."

- Sri Aurobindo

"The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail."

- Ramakrishna Paramahansa

"Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success."

- Hatha Yoga Pradipika

"The purpose of karma yoga is to transcend the bondage of selfish genes through the service of others."

- Amit Ray

"The very way you breathe, sit, stand, eat, walk, work – everything can become yoga. You can use any process of life to transcend your limitations."

- Sadhguru

"Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light."

- Yogi Bhajan

"The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life."

- B.K.S. Iyengar

"Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind."

- Ravi Ravindra

"Practicing yoga and learning about yourself is like entering a big dark room and turning the lights on one by one. People want instant transformation. Yoga is not for these people. It is for people who are patient and willing to work hard to overcome their limitations."

- Swami Niranjanananda

"The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ steady effort in the direction you want to go."

- Sally Kempton

"In truth yoga doesn’t take time – it gives time."

- Ganga White

"The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind."

- Rodney Yee

"When this body has been so magnificently and artistically created by God, it is only fitting that we should maintain it in good health and harmony by the most excellent and artistic science of Yoga."

- Geeta Iyengar

"What yoga philosophy and all the great Buddhist teachings tells us is that solidity is a creation of the ordinary mind and that there never was anything permanent to begin with that we could hold on to. Life would be much easier and substantially less painful if we lived with the knowledge of impermanence as the only constant."

- Donna Farhi

"That’s exactly how it is in yoga. The places where you have the most resistance are actually the places that are going to be the areas of the greatest liberation."

- Rodney Yee

"What we want out of yoga is ourselves, not something better than ourselves."

- Douglas Brooks

"When breath control is correct, mind control is possible."

- Pattabhi Jois

"You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside."

- Wayne Dyer

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become."

- Buddha

"Yoga begins right where I am – not where I was yesterday or where I long to be."

- Linda Sparrow

"That’s why it’s called a practice. We have to practice a practice if it is to be of value."

- Allan Lokos

"A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves."

- Terri Guillemets

"Yoga is invigoration in relaxation. Freedom in routine. Confidence through self-control. Energy within and energy without."

- Ymber Delecto

"Exercises are like prose, whereas yoga is the poetry of movements. Once you understand the grammar of yoga; you can write your poetry of movements."

- Amit Ray

"Yoga is the dance of every cell with the music of every breath that creates inner serenity and harmony."

- Debasish Mridha

"Whatever you do in life, yoga shows you how to do it better."

- Chuck Miller

"The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body."

- Jason Crandell

"Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind."

- Patanjali

"Yoga is the space where flower blossoms."

- Amit Ray

"Yoga begins with listening. When we listen, we are giving space to what is."

- Richard Freeman

"Although yoga has its origins in ancient India, its methods and purposes are universal, relying not on cultural background, faith or deity, but simply on the individual. Yoga has become important in the lives of many contemporary Westerners, sometimes as a way of improving health and fitness of the body, but also as a means of personal and spiritual development."

- Tara Fraser

"True meditation is about being fully present with everything that is including discomfort and challenges. It is not an escape from life."

- Craig Hamilton

"The obstacles that distract thought are disease, apathy, doubt, carelessness, indolence, dissipation, false vision, failure to attain a firm basis in yoga, and restlessness."

- Patanjali

"Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are."

- Jason Crandell

"Yoga means addition. Addition of energy, strength, and beauty to body, mind, and soul."

- Amit Ray

"Change only happens in the present moment. The past is already done. The future is just energy and intention."

- Kino MacGregor

"Yoga is a dance between control and surrender — between pushing and letting go — and when to push and to let go becomes part of the creative process, part of the open-ended exploration of your well-being."

- Joel Kramer

"Yoga teaches us that we can have whatever we may want in life if we are willing to provide it for others first."

- Sharon Gannon

"Yoga is not a religion. It is a science, science of well-being, science of youthfulness, science of integrating body, mind and soul."

- Amit Ray

"Wisdom is knowing I am nothing. Love is knowing I am everything. And in between the two, my life moves."

- Nisargadatta Maharaj

"Silence is not silent. Silence speaks. It speaks most eloquently. Silence is not still. Silence leads. It leads most perfectly."

- Sri Chinmoy

"If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?"

- Rumi

"Where your attention goes, energy flows."

- James Redfield

"I think it’s interesting that the opposite of being active in yoga is not being passive. It’s being receptive."

- Cyndi Lee

"Move your joints every day. You have to find your own tricks. Bury your mind deep in your heart, and watch the body move by itself."

- Sri Dharma Mittra

"Just Breathe"

"A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms."

"You will never influence the world by trying to be like it."

"The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness."

"The yoga pose you avoid the most you need the most."

"It's not about being good at something. It's about being good to yourself."

"You may not be able to control the whole world, but you may learn to control your inner world through yoga."

"Yoga takes you into the present moment. The only place where life exists."

"The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It’s about using posture to understand and transform yourself."

"Everyday is a great day for yoga!"

"Peace comes from within, do not seek it without."

"Yoga happens beyond the mat, anything you do with attention to how you feel is doing yoga."

"Yoga adds years to your life, and life to your years."