B.K.S. Iyengar Quotes

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

The aim of yoga is to calm the chaos of conflicting impulses.

Nothing can be forced, receptivity is everything.

Confidence, clarity and compassion are essential qualities of a teacher.

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!

I also say with backbends, you have to be cautiously bold. Not carelessly bold. You have to descend to the dictation of the spine. You cannot command from the brain to do the poses. As you play with a child, guarding the child from injuries, similarly you have to play in backbends, guarding your spine.

Where there is yoga, there is prosperity, success, freedom and bliss.

Backbends are not poses meant for expressionism. Backbends are meant to understand the back parts of our bodies. The front body can be seen with the eyes, but the back body can only be felt. That’s why I say these are the most advanced postures, where the mind begins to look at the back.

If you open the armpits, the brain becomes light. You cannot brood or become depressed.

The body has to be invaded by the intelligence; each part has to become intelligent.

If you practice yoga every day with perseverance, you will be able to face the turmoil of life with steadiness and maturity.

It is not yoga that injures, but the way one does yoga that leads to injury.