B.K.S. Iyengar Quotes

The Yogi conquers the body by the practice of asanas, making the body a fit vehicle for the spirit. The Yogi knows that it is a necessary vehicle for the spirit, for a soul without a body is like a bird deprived of its power to fly.

As a mighty river which when properly harnessed by dams and canals, creates a vast reservoir of water, prevents famine and provides abundant power for industry; so also the mind, when controlled, provides a reservoir of peace and generates abundant energy for the human uplift.

A scientist sets out to conquer nature through knowledge - external nature, external knowledge. By these means he may split the atom and achieve external power. A yogi sets out to explore his own internal nature, to penetrate the atom (atma) of being. He does not gain dominion over wide lands and restless seas, but over his own recalcitrant flesh and febrile mind.

An intellectual mind that is unconnected to the heart is an uncultivated mind.

Without education, confidence does not come.

Yoga is about the will, working with intelligence and self-reflexive consciousness, can free us from the inevitability of the wavering mind and outwardly directed senses.

You must purge yourself before finding faults in others. When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake. This is the way to take judgment and to turn it into improvement. Do not look at others' bodies with envy or with superiority. All people are born with different constitutions. Never compare with others. Each one's capacities are a function of his or her internal strength. Know your capacities and continually improve upon them.

First yoga deals with health, strength and conquest of the body. Next, it lifts the veil of difference between the body and the mind. Lastly, it leads the Sadhaka to peace and unalloyed purity.

There is no difference in souls, only the ideas about ourselves that we wear.

You have to create love and affection for your body, for what it can do for you. Love must be incarnated in the smallest pore of the skin, the smallest cell of the body to make them intelligent so they can collaborate with all the other ones, in the big republic of the body. This love must radiate from you to others.

Death is unimportant to a yogi; he does not mind when he is going to die. What happens after death is immaterial to him. He is only concerned with life-with how he can use his life for the betterment of humanity. Having undergone various types of pain in his life and having acquired a certain mastery over pain, he develops compassion to help society and maintains himself in purity and holiness. The yogi has no interest beyond that.

Asanas penetrate deep into each layer of the body and ultimately into the consciousness itself.

Knowledge of yoga is no substitute for practice.

Firmness in the body leads to firmness in the nervous system.

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

You know the known, so go a little into the unknown. The mind that is caught up in the known - extended a little beyond reason. The moment you go beyond , you move in the soul. Releasing the bondage of your mind to extend further, reach the unknown a little more. The further you go, you realize that the known is limited and the unknown is vast.

When the mind is controlled and still what remains is the soul

The supreme adventure in a man's life is his journey back to his Creator.

Whenever asana is done mechanically from the front brain, the action is felt only on the peripheral body, and there is no inner sensation, there is no luminous inner light. If the asana is done with continual reference to the back of the brain, there is a reaction to each action, and there is sensitivity. Then life is not only dynamic, but it is also electrified with life force.

We are creatures that are designed for continual challenge. We must grow or we begin to die....So just standing still isn't really an option. We have to move on. If not, disturbances will come.

In your discipline, if doubt comes, let it come. You do your work and let doubt carry on with its work. And let us see which gives up first!

As a fire blazes brightly when the covering of ash over it is scattered by the wind, the divine fire within the body shines in all its majesty when the ashes of desire are scattered by the practice of pranayama.

If you keep your armpits open, you won't get depressed.

During inhalation, the breath should move exactly like clouds spreading in the sky.

In backbends, one touches the body physically, mentally, intellectually, consciously and spiritually everywhere.

A yogi's brain extends from the bottom of the foot to the top of his head

Yoga is when every cell of the body sings the song of the soul.

Yoga is a way of life; it is an art, a science, a philosophy.

It is while practicing yoga asanas that you learn the art of adjustment.

A stable mind is like the hub of a wheel. The world may spin around you, but the mind is steady.

As we explore the soul, it is important to remember that this exploration will take place within nature (the body), for that is where and what we are.

True concentration is an unbroken thread of awareness.

Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they're meant to be.

People remind me of my age, but while practising I am beyond my body and its age.

To master fear is the most important battle to win.

Practice doing yoga with an innocent mind. Then, you will be able to cognize the things happening in your body

Faith, courage, and intelligent and uninterrupted awareness - these qualities are to be present whether one is wide awake, half asleep, or in deep slumber. An individual who lives like this performs his daily actions with a mind free from selfishness. This is poise in action. And this poise leads to that serenity which is in the truest sense a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Don't practice for cosmetic beauty, practice for cosmic beauty. Practice for inner beauty and inner light.

There is no difference in our souls...That is what yoga teaches. When you and I meet together, we forget ourselves -- our cultures and classes. There are no divisions, and we talk mind to mind, soul to soul. We are no different in our deepest needs. We are all humans.

Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action.

We have two physical eyes, but every pore of the body is also an eye.

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

Yes, flexibility of body and physical perfection for Yogasana is important. However more important is the state of your mind, Meditative mind. Your flexibility might be excellent but if your mind is not attentive, you are merely doing some physical exercise, not Yoga.

Through surrender the aspirant's ego is effaced, and . . . grace . . . pours down upon him like a torrential rain.

How can you know God if you don't know your big toe?

The whole thrust of yogic philosophical and scientific inquiry has therefore been to examine the nature of being, with a view to learning to respond to the stresses of life without so many tremors and troubles.

The yogi learns to forget the past and takes no thought for the morrow. He lives in the eternal present.

Hard work and humility are essential for spiritual sadhana.