B. K. S. Iyengar Quotes

156 Sourced Quotes

From Freedom of the Body comes Freedom of the Mind and then Ultimate Freedom!

B. K. S. Iyengar
Do not allow past experiences to be imprinted on your mind. Perform asana each time with a fresh mind and with a fresh approach.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Yoga has a threefold impact on health. It keeps healthy people healthy, it inhibits the development of diseases, and it aids recovery from ill health.

B. K. S. Iyengar
In whatever you are doing, be one: body, soul, mind. Do it beautifully and with purity.

B. K. S. Iyengar
The conjunction of effort, concentration and balance in asana forces us to live intensely in the present moment, a rare experience in modern life.

B. K. S. Iyengar
In whatever position one is in, or in whatever condition in life one is placed, one must find balance. Balance is the state of the present - the here and now. If you balance in the present, you are living in Eternity.

B. K. S. Iyengar
An intellectual mind that is unconnected to the heart is an uncultivated mind.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Yoga is effort. Only practice is important. The rest of knowledge is only theory.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Do to your capacity. Always strive to extend your capacity. Ten minutes today, after a few days, twelve minutes. Master that, then again extend.

B. K. S. Iyengar
The battle of yoga is with the body and with the ego. You must conquer your ego, or small self, so that you can let your soul, your big Self, be victorious.

B. K. S. Iyengar
One has to see oneself through one's actions, works, and mind. Knowing the Self by the self is not as easy as writing that line. A # yogi sees things in every movement he makes, maybe when practicing, maybe when teaching, or maybe when talking to people. You should have courage in your convictions and pursue what is dear to you all these years.

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

B. K. S. Iyengar
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.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Intensity is a mental attitude more than a physical attitude. Many people misunderstand what intensity means. They think it means straining and sweating. No! That is a wrong meaning of the word! Intensity is to get totally involved, fully immersed and absorbed in what one is doing. Intense practice means a fast and keen mode in adjusting, correcting, and progressively proceeding.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Firmness in the body leads to firmness in the nervous system.

B. K. S. Iyengar
The body has to be invaded by the intelligence; each part has to become intelligent.

B. K. S. Iyengar
As a well cut diamond has many facets, each reflecting a different color of light, so does the word yoga, each facet reflecting a different shade of meaning and revealing different aspects of the entire range of human endeavor to win inner peace and happiness.

B. K. S. Iyengar
When every asana is multi-petaled, why do you make it single petaled?

B. K. S. Iyengar
The best way to overcome fear is to face with equanimity the situation of which one is afraid.

B. K. S. Iyengar
A yogi never forgets that health must begin with the body....Physical health is not a commodity to be bargained for. Nor can it be swallowed in the form of drugs and pills....
It is something that we must build up. You have to create within yourself the experience of beauty, liberation, and infinity. This is health.

B. K. S. Iyengar
My Maman told me that only the crazy ones and the passionate ones accomplish anything in life.

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

B. K. S. Iyengar
As the trunk is one but the branches are many, yoga is one but adaptations may vary.

B. K. S. Iyengar
The cure to combat the three Ss- stress, strain, and speed- can be found in three Ws- the work of devoted practice, the wisdom that comes of understanding the self and the world, and worship because ultimately surrendering to what we cannot control allows the ego to relax and lose the anxiety of its own infinitesimally small self in the infinitude of the divine.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Yoga is the rule book for playing the game of Life, but in this game no one needs to lose. It is tough, and you need to train hard. It requires the willingness to think for yourself, to observe and correct, and to surmount occasional setbacks. It demands honesty, sustained application, and above all love in your heart.

B. K. S. Iyengar
I planted the seed, now you must work a lot otherwise the tiny plant will die.

B. K. S. Iyengar
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.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Before peace between the nations, we have to find peace inside that small nation which is our own being.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Yoga is meant for the purification of body and its exploration as well as for the refinement of the mind.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Sometimes our body is willing, but our mind is weak. Sometimes our mind is willing, but our body is weak. Do not be afraid. Strive to extend your capacity but do not be disappointed with yourself. What does not challenge us, cannot change us.

B. K. S. Iyengar