33 Yoga Quotes

People love quotes.  They’re like little sparks that trigger an inspiration of thoughts or action.  And so with that hope in mind, here are 33 quotes that might help you to get into the yoga frame of mind!

1. Sally Kempton: “The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ – steady effort in the direction you want to go.”
2. Amit Ray: “Yoga is not just repetition of few postures – it is more about the exploration and discovery of the subtle energies of life.”
3. Guillemets: “A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves.”
4. Craig Hamilton: “True meditation is about being fully present with everything that is–including discomfort and challenges. It is not an escape from life.”
5. Hatha Yoga Pradipika: “Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success.”
6. K.S. Iyengar: “Yoga does not transform the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.”
7. The Bhagavad Gita: “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”
8. Petri Räisänen: “When you listen to yourself, everything comes naturally. It comes from inside, like a kind of will to do something. Try to be sensitive. That is yoga.”
9. Unknown: “I was looking for someone to inspire me, motivate me, support me, keep me focused… Someone who would love me, cherish me, make me happy, and I realized all along that I was looking for myself.”
10. Peace Pilgrim: “That’s why it’s called a practice. We have to practice a practice if it is to be of value.”
11. Desikashar: “Yoga exists in the world because everything is linked.”
12. Swami Satchidananda: “Calming the mind is yoga. Not just standing on the head.”
13. Jason Crandell: “Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are.”
14. Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois: “Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.”
15. Joel Kramer: “Yoga is a dance between control and surrender — between pushing and letting go — and when to push and to let go becomes part of the creative process, part of the open-ended exploration of your well-being.”
16. Eric Paskel: “Yoga is not about tightening your ass. It’s about getting your head out of it.”
17. Unknown: “Yoga takes you into the present moment. The only place where life exists.”
18. Jigar Gor: “Yoga is not about touching your toes. It is what you learn on the way down.”
19. Baron Baptiste: “The pose begins when you want to get out of it.”
20. Donna Farhi: “Yoga does not remove us from the reality or responsibilities of everyday life but rather places our feet firmly and resolutely in the practical ground of experience. We don’t transcend our lives; we return to the life we left behind in the hopes of something better.”
21. Rory Freedman: “All kidding aside, if everyone did yoga, we would have world peace.”
22. Mahatma Gandhi: “The future depends on what we do in the present.”
23. Rumi: “Do not feel lonely. The entire universe is inside of you.”
24. Unknown: “Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.”
25. Zen Shin: “A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
26. Erich Schiffmann: “Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are.”
27. ThinkGrowProsper: “The universe does this thing… where it aligns you with people, things, and situations that match the energy you put out. The more you improve yourself and raise your vibration, the more you will see things that are beneficial to your well-being.”
28. Aadil Palkhivala: “True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.”
29. Rolf Gates: “Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice; to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are.”
30. Sakyong Mipham: ““The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.”
31. Unknown: “The yoga pose you avoid the most is the one you need the most.”
32. Unknown: “Yoga is not for the flexible. It’s for the willing.”
33. Yogi Bhajan: “The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga.”