Yoga Quotes
There are umpteen number of yoga quotes. Hell, there’s a mountain of yoga content. Yoga as a culture has come a long way during the last century. Its cultural impact is unfathomable. Obviously there would be many many quotes from it and as well as to promote it. There are umpteen number of yoga quotes. Hell, there’s a mountain of yoga content. Yoga as a culture has come a long way during the last century. Its cultural impact is unfathomable. Obviously there would be many many quotes from it and to promote it.
Yoga has been able to have its impact on the most conservative of cultures. People take only those parts of yoga traditions which resonates with them and leave out the rest.
Same goes for ‘quotes’ about yoga. All the quotes on yoga may not pack that punch for you. You may say. That’s because all experiences out there on yoga do not resonate with us. We are all in different phases in the journey and these experiences quotes relate to, more or less echo to the degree where we are right now. It’s only that and it does not mean those quotes mean any less. Ok, some are just branding catch phrases. Important thing is to not get bothered by them. I’m making this point so the saturation of it all doesn’t get to you.
There are classical texts derived from classical scripts and passed on as quotes. Varying lengths had been used to speak to the varying degrees in attention span. There are quotes by revered yoga masters of the century. There are quotes born out of personal experiences of the practitioners. And there are quotes on yoga, by yoga brands.
Some yoga quotes are so powerful that some people decided to try yoga because of them. Some are just beautiful word-arrangements. But some are not mere clever arrangements of words. These are wisdom of truth. Living testimony to transformation that yoga brings about. Lessons yoga masters wished to shower upon the world. And epiphanies of everyday warriors.
I love quotes. It had done more to me than a full-blown lecture series do sometimes. Again, it depends on where I am that day, that week, that season. I love lecture series too 
Here are some quotes which had a resounding effect on me.
‘Yoga teaches us to deal with each day as it arises, and then put It down’ - BKS Iyengar
Some lessons are not to teach you something new. But to remind you something. Something that you already know. Something you forgot or taken for granted. This line from Iyengar reminded me an important lesson from Buddhism.
Days are seldom ordinary or routine. As we are going through the days we might feel that days are so insignificant or even monotonous. But when we look back we realize how far from truth that is.
More often than not, we feel we struggle. Even without an identified cause for it. That we get on with great dissatisfaction. And on those days we feel that something significant happened, that it was struggle. And something good happens. We count those too. But each day is different, even ordinary. We might not count those ‘ordinary’ days. The first lesson you’d see when you are more in touch with things is this. Days are not something to reminiscent. It’s to be present for what they are and leave it for what they are. It was a gift to start treating each day as it arises. To acknowledge each element, treat it with its due and at the end of the day put it down with more regard for life.
Sky above, earth below, peace within
What yoga does in its essence, is that it aligns you with your womb – the world. It’s so vast and intimidating; sometimes you try to disassociate yourself from it. Yet it’s part of you.
It’s amazing to know the sky for its magnificence. Just to know and acknowledge its limitlessness. To know the earth for all of its forte.
Nature is beautiful. Nature is true. Nature never lies.
You can, you should, and if you are brave enough to start, you will
Why we don’t start yoga or any other thing we want is; habitually we think we are not able to. I’m not asking you to look at with ‘you can attitude’. Not only because it’s so unoriginal. Because ‘you can attitude’ is pushy and pretentious. It precludes you from looking at your reasons for what they are. It also delays your starting day.
Instead, yoga allows you to break it down to less daunting practices and manageable portions. And build it up from there. Only if you want to. Or you can do only the same, approachable parts and you are still golden. It’s difficult to explain the ‘you should’ part though. Because I’ve been called to question all the ‘shoulds’. Also, because it’s not fair for someone who’s in yoga to tell someone ‘that they should’. Because it’s like telling someone how to swim from the banks. But it’s not something to miss. Therefore, a dilemma. But you know you can and it’s such an integral part of you. You’d know that in your first class. It’s not a mystery. Don’t let the colorful pictures discourage you.
The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it
Relaxing, yoga nidra, taking a mental break; all these were not easy for me. Not because I didn’t want to. Mostly because of all the guilt associated with taking a break when I shouldn’t. If people took a break then it’s with guilt.
One other reason for this is, poor coping mechanisms. Even before I learnt to unlearn these unhelpful conditioning, I started paying attention to what these words meant. ‘I dare not take a break when I’m busy’. This is what it meant to me at first – taking a break when busy. It took me years to understand it’s not only about scheduling sparsely. It was equally about putting down the day at night. And not worry about it until I have to get back to it again.
Let it be - Beatles
It was equally about giving something its due attention and only its due attention. For me it was about not taking things too seriously. Loosening my grip on things. telling myself to chill. Untwist. And let it be. Essentially it meant for me to be less anxious. To start looking at my anxieties. What better time to break your anxieties in its tracks than when it’s raging?
You are one yoga class away from a good mood
There was a time I showed up for a yoga class because I had to. Because it’s what I do on Sunday evenings. What I didn’t see during those first days was how it was changing my mood, may be permanently. Maybe it wasn’t permanently. But definitely laying the groundwork to changing it for the long last. My advice is, don’t do it for lasting results. Look for those small things that a practice can do for you. Don’t burden yourself of achieving big things. You don’t need that sense of burden from your self-care practice. Do it for those small bursts of joy. For the afterwards-good-moods. For the feeling of being amidst fellow beings. The lasting things? Small, consistent practices will do it; when you are not even looking.
Monday – nothing a bit of yoga can’t fix
I’m guilty of subscribing to the idea that Mondays are bad, horrible things. At least I did at some point. Yoga can’t fix your Monday if you don’t ask yourself why you hate it in the first place. Yea I know, self-awareness is uncomfortable sometimes.
I know you are tired, but come. This is the way – Rumi
I love Rumi. I love how perspective Rumi is and how timeless Rumi wisdom is. There are of course, parts that I can’t relate to. One thing you’ll learn early in yoga practice is that; it helps to take those things you need and leave the other bits be. Rumi wisdom is the same. Back to this quote; this hit me so profoundly when I got on with yoga teaching. I felt Rumi wrote this about teaching yoga. When I first read this message, I knew instantaneously that this is not at all a bad vocation.
If you seek peace, be still. If you seek wisdom, be silent. If you seek love, be yourself. Becca Lee
This was a time I was doing things for peace. But stillness was lost to me. And this was the time I thought it was a good idea to showcase my wisdom. Hence lost the virtues of silence. I was doing all the wrong things. This happens when you flash the headlight. Your focus is out there. Not here.
But I was lucky. I have the right people in my life. When things were brought to my attention, I changed the focus. In hindsight, had I been silent, I would have realized I was already on the right path. But it was all not lost at the end. I was still redeemable. I just had to be myself. Remind myself to be.
In standing poses, imagine your toes are like roots, growing into the ground
We have grounding issues. Physically and mentally. Grounding is so important. Because we are so good at putting a show of keeping it together one wouldn’t notice how ungrounded we are. This is double jeopardy. Because pretense is hard work. Therapists constantly have to prescribe grounding exercises in therapy sessions. It’s amusing why this quote would even grab my attention. This wasn’t a thing I understood. I probably still don’t fully. But it’s something I needed. And I’m still grappling with the nuances of grounding.
One good place to start is to be present at where our body touches the ground.
The brain is the hardest part of the body to adjust in asanas
Brain is the most important and complex organ of the body. Ok, you may argue that it’s the heart. And you may be right. But no one can discount the brain’s functions either. We have a large thinking mind. The same part which is responsible for logical thinking is responsible for managing emotions. Fascinating isn’t it?
Can you remember a time when you were nervous about dancing, but when you get your head out of it and let the body move to the music, that the body always knew what to do? I always take this analogy when explaining yoga. Yoga is the same. Have you come across the quote ‘yoga is your natural self’ or ‘yoga is your nature’ or ‘you can’t do yoga, you are yoga’?
When it comes to yoga it serves best to quieten your thinking mind. And let the body take over. Don’t mistake this for being unaware during the practice. Body awareness is one thing. Overthinking the pose is another.
The amazing coordination that is the body, is only achieved by the great machinery of the brain. Let it do its other jobs. Let’s quieten the over thinking parts of it.
This doesn’t mean that you approach a new pose haphazardly without necessary precautions. It means allowing the body to leverage its knowledge.
Kind heart, fierce mind, brave spirit
Isn’t this the best definition of a yogi?
Stand in front of your past and let it be – Baron Baptist
Sometimes, not only the difficult parts that should go. But also, the parts where we were victorious. So that those victories don’t stand in the way of our potential. I didn’t realize there were certain part of the identity I was trying to move on from. I should have been more honest with myself on that. However, even without acknowledgement I’m grateful I was committed to the changes.
At that point looking back on the journey humbled me.
Civilize the mind but make savage the body
This quote has the same connotations as this other quote ‘mind benefit from silence and body benefits from movement’. But it comes from a completely different cultural background. First is an old Samurai quote. It instantly fascinated me. And it made perfect sense to me at the time. it was a time I was using Hatha yoga to process fear, uncertainty and new experiences. By ‘civilize’ it doesn’t mean some black and white sanctimony. It means the power of a disciplined mind.
The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness
When we think of a good life, we think of utmost pampering to the body and constant entertainment for the mind. Service doesn’t work that way. By service I mean both internal and external service. There had been some mistake in the past about interpreting what’s good for us. Thinking that it’s only indulgence is quite capitalist and restrictive.
Calm you shall keep and carry on you must. Yess hmmm
This is obviously a quote which comes out when there’s a new production from the Star Wars franchise. We have learnt we can choose not to carry on. Especially for sake of carrying on, because nobody’s going to give us an award for suffering. Some quotes remind us of what we shouldn’t do.
Yoga is the practice of tolerating the consequences of being yourself. Bhagavad Gita
What I like about yoga is how nuanced it is. One moment it says that yoga is your nature and the then this. I like how bendable it is in its service to us.
Small progress is still progress
Another one of my favorites. I’m a huge proponent of small progress. Life is made of small things that we don’t even stop to acknowledge. Yoga is a good example of small progress culminating to lasting impacts. Small life changes like a five minute breathing practice.
Yoga is not about touching your toes; it is what you learn on the way down.
If you touch your toes on the first go, that’s great. If you don’t, you’ll learn something about yourself. It’s the learning and memorizing of the action the body does which counts for the most. You may have heard that bending forward is great for longevity.
Science apart, you’ll feel amazing with that stretch. These lessons body remember are what’s important. That’s only the anatomical side of it. You’ll come face to face with a basic function of the body and your ability or limitations. Something you didn’t know about your body.
More often than not this is a humbling experience which would set you on a beautiful path of rediscovery. You might think not being able to touch your toes or do any other thing optimally in the yoga class would discourage you. In my experience, opposite is true. Something about the process, something about the stretch, something about the effort brings you back to the practice. And that to me is a beautiful thing.
Yoga is not for the flexible. It’s for the willing
One of the most common excuses I hear when I suggest yoga to someone is how inflexible they are. My personal favorite – ‘it’s not in my DNA’. Yoga is one of those handful of practices that doesn’t have pre-requisites. Being flexible is definitely not one of them. We do yoga for flexibility. Or to remind our selves that we actually are, flexible.
The yoga pose you avoid the most you need the most
Even if you are not regular for yoga, you know there are certain poses that you prefer over others. If a pose comes naturally to you, more likely that you don’t need this pose. The muscles, the impact it tries to impress upon on the physiology and psychology are already addressed to. It’s not totally useless to do those poses that you love. For, there are no useless yoga poses.
However, it’s most likely you need the difficult poses more. By difficult I don’t mean the advance poses. It’s the poses you don’t like. You know which poses I mean. We all have those poses. Something I learnt while practicing with people at different levels, is that no one can do all the poses. And there’s at least one pose we are completely at home with. This says a lot about us and what we need. And when you are in sync with yoga, it’s your diagnosis.
What are your favorite yoga quotes?