B. K. S. Iyengar Quotes

156 Sourced Quotes

Everybody should live quietly whether his experiences are happy or sad, whether they are successes or failures.
That is contentment.

B. K. S. Iyengar
As a breeze ruffles the surface of a lake and distorts the images reflected therein, so also the chitta vrtti (fluctuations of mind) disturb the peace of the mind. The still waters of a lake reflect the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the Self is seen reflected in it.

B. K. S. Iyengar
The sleeping tortoise takes all its limbs into its carapace. So does the yogi: going back into himself he does not see anything worldly any longer, he makes peace in himself.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Savasana is being without was, being without will be. It is being without anyone who is.

B. K. S. Iyengar
The back is like a frame, the front body, the painting that it throws into relief.

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
Yoga is more than physical. It is cellular, mental, intellectual and spiritual-it involves man in his entire being

B. K. S. Iyengar
As leaves move in the wind, your mind moves with your breath.

B. K. S. Iyengar
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.

B. K. S. Iyengar
People say that steadiness of mind is an end; no, it is a beginning. I am there; I can explain everything up to that point. Then I struggle to discover what comes after, so this steadiness is not an end, it is the beginning and the instrument.

B. K. S. Iyengar
It is through the body that everything comes to the mind. It is through and with your body that you have to reach realization of being a spark of divinity. How can we neglect the temple of the spirit?

B. K. S. Iyengar
Yoga is an art, a science and a philosophy. It touches the life of man atevery level: physical, mental, spiritual. It is a practical method formaking one's life purposeful, useful and noble.

B. K. S. Iyengar
We can wash the skin of our bodies with a bath, but through asana practice we not only purify our blood and cells, we are cleansing the inner body as we practice.

B. K. S. Iyengar
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.

B. K. S. Iyengar
Where does the body end and the mind begin? Where does the mind end and the spirit begin? They cannot be divided as they are inter-related and but different aspects of the same all-pervading divine consciousness.

B. K. S. Iyengar
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.

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

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

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
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
As the trunk is one but the branches are many, yoga is one but adaptations may vary.

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

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

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

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