101 Inspirational Yoga Quotes

Yoga calms me down. It’s a therapy session, a workout, and meditation all at the same time!"

The practice of yoga brings us face to face with the extraordinary complexity of our own being."

Go from a human being doing yoga to a human being yoga."

Yoga has a sly, clever way of short-circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety."

If you realize the unity of the Self amid the diversities of the not-Self, then yoga will not seem an impossible thing to you."

The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga."

There will always be people who can do it better than you, but that's a good thing! Start to see competition as inspiration – without envy."

I do yoga so that I can stay flexible enough to kick my own arse if necessary."

When you’re in position, you wait for the inner body to settle, like the water in a glass that has been placed on a table."

Yoga maintains youth, it keeps the body full of vitality and immune to diseases, even at an old age."

I think that’s why I got to therapy and yoga at an early age. I realized that I’m accountable. I’m not here for very long on this planet and I want to do this life well, as consciously and mindfully as I can."

Doing anything with attention to how you feel is doing yoga"

Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are."

Yoga is a powerful vehicle for change. As you build strength, you start to believe in your own potential."

These days, my practice is teaching me to embrace imperfection: to have compassion for all the ways things haven’t turned out as I planned, in my body and in my life – for the ways things keep falling apart, and failing, and breaking down. It’s less about fixing things, and more about learning to be present for exactly what is."

Practising yoga is like being on a body holiday."

Maybe more than anything else, yoga teaches you to be still and calm under challenging circumstances."

The path of yoga is the path of self-discovery. As our self-image disintegrates, we contact our true self. Life becomes a great joy."

Yoga is a way to freedom. By its constant practice, we can free ourselves from fear, anguish and loneliness."

Asana practice has one meaning: to learn to sit in your own beautiful true nature."

The asanas are useful maps to explore yourself, but they are not the territory."

Authentic yoga is always a spiritual discipline ... even when the focus is on the body."

A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves."

Yoga adds years to your life and life to your years."

Yoga is essentially a practice for your soul, working through the medium of your body."

Yoga is about awakening … creating a life that brings more love and more beauty into the world."

You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state."

Yoga maintains youth long. It keeps the body full of vitality, immune to diseases, even at old, old age. The yogi never becomes old"

For me, yoga is not just a workout – it’s about working on yourself."

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."

Yoga is not about touching your toes, it is what you learn on the way down."

Concentrating on poses clears the mind, while focusing on the breath helps the body shift out of fight-or-flight mode."

When we are aligned, everything can flow, and life and yoga becomes effortless."

To practice yoga, telling the truth is not enough. We need to practice not lying. Today live with integrity by not lying to yourself about one important thing in your life."

Yoga is the fountain of youth. You’re only as young as your spine is flexible."

A lot of exercise is mindless; you can have music or the radio on and not be aware. But if you’re aware in anything you do – and it doesn’t have to be yoga – it changes you. Being present changes you."

The yogi will tell you that you feel and look as young as your spine is elastic."

You don’t have to be flexible to do yoga, you just have to be willing to shake the dust off and see what happens."

Striving for the result of being spiritual or having a perfect physical shape is a destination, and yoga is what happens along that path."

When this body has been so magnificently and artistically created by God, it is only fitting that we should maintain it in good health and harmony by the most excellent and artistic science of yoga."

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured."

Yoga heals, nourishes, and challenges us. The practice infiltrates every corner of our lives."

Everyone can do Ashtanga. Except lazy people."

Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory."

Yoga in Mayfair or Fifth Avenue, or in any other place which is on the telephone, is a spiritual fake."

Yoga is not about self-improvement, it’s about self-acceptance."

The very heart of the practice of yoga is abhyasa – steady effort in the direction you want to go."

It doesn't matter what it looks like; it matters what it feels like."

I would like for people to realize that yoga is not about touching your toes."

To perform every action artfully is yoga."

Sun salutations can energize and warm you, even on the darkest, coldest winter day."

A lot of times people will think, I’m strong, I’m in shape; why can’t I do this pose? But that’s not the point. There’s nothing to win in yoga. You just do what you can do, one day to the next."

Yoga is not a religion; it is a school of practical philosophy."

Yoga's greatest gift is the vulnerability that fills your tender heart after a deep practice session and the spiritual strength that gives you the benefit of unflappable faith and devotion."

One of the fundamental principles of yoga: a small action done repeatedly can make an enormous difference."

True yoga was always aimed at recognizing us as that which is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable."

What kind of yoga do you want to practice, the yoga of getting or the yoga of giving? One enslaves, the other liberates."

Try to let go of the idea that you need to do yoga perfectly in order to see its benefits. Rather, let it be a process of waking up to who you really are. If you do this, you will know joy. And that joy will be your gift to a world that very much needs our healing,"

I fully expect to be doing yoga for the rest of my life."

Whatever you do in life, yoga shows you how to do it better."

Yoga is the bringing together of that which was never separate."

The practice itself, done consistently and accurately, is the real teacher."

Yoga powers. To make oneself invisible or small. To become gigantic and reach to the farthest things. To change the course of nature. To place oneself anywhere in space or time ... in one’s deepest inner mind, or in the minds of others."

Yoga is you living fiercely and without regret."

Practicing yoga and learning about yourself is like entering a big dark room and turning the lights on one by one. People want instant transformation. Yoga is not for these people. It is for people who are patient and willing to work hard to overcome their limitations."

Yoga science is not just a scholarly pursuit. It is a moment by moment and thought by thought practical guide for living."

If one is looking for progress, or results, then one is already off the path according to yoga."

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."

Yoga makes the rough road smooth."

Yoga is not a religion. It is a science, science of well-being, science of youthfulness, science of integrating body, mind and soul."

Balancing in yoga and life is a reflection of our inner state. Can we dance with change? Can we fall and try again with playfulness? Do we have the focus, skill and attunement to find the stillpont within it all?"

The power of yoga is immense and priceless ... I am grateful."

Without proper breathing, the yoga postures are nothing more than calisthenics."

Practicing yoga during the day is a matter of keeping your eyes on the road and one ear turned toward the infinite."

The purpose of yoga is to stop suffering even before it arises."

Yoga begins right where I am – not where I was yesterday or where I long to be."

The aim of yoga is to eliminate the control that material nature exerts over the human spirit, to rediscover through introspective practice what the poet T.S. Eliot called the still point of the turning world."

It doesn’t matter how deep into a posture you go, what matters is who you are when you get there."

The quality of your practice is ultimately measured by its effect on the quality of your life. In other words, mastery in yoga is mastery of life."

Yoga is like peeling an onion. You go through countless layers over a long period of time and maybe shed a few tears along the way."

When I started doing asana, the yoga postures, I had a very strong feeling of many unnecessary things dropping away – especially tension and inadequacy."

Man is a creature of habits. When you do yoga, you unlearn your habits."

Yoga is so universal in its principles and so holistically beneficial, it is possible for any person, young or old, religious or agnostic, to embrace and enjoy a practice."

Corpse pose sounds like no big deal, right? Then what’s so difficult about this spiritualized snooze? Forget about getting your feet behind your head. Just try lying still for ten minutes. With nothing left to do, you’re finally forced to come face to face with yourself."

Vogue and Self are putting out the message of yoginis as buff and perfect. If you start doing yoga for those reasons, fine. Most people get beyond that and see that it’s much, much more."

The yoga mat is a good place to turn when talk therapy and antidepressants aren’t enough."

In truth, yoga doesn’t take time – it gives time."

Before you’ve practiced, the theory is useless. After you’ve practiced, the theory is obvious."

The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind."

Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall."

One succeeds in all yogas through energetic practice – even if one is young, old, very old, sick, or weak."

Yoga exists in the world because everything is linked."

You can enter yoga, or the path of yoga, only when you are totally frustrated with your own mind as it is. If you are still hoping that you can gain something through your mind, yoga is not for you."

Smiling is mouth yoga."

Yoga takes us to the present moment, the only place where life exists."

Yoga is almost like music in a way; there’s no end to it."

Yoga is a metaphor for life. You have to take it really slowly. You can’t rush. You can’t skip to the next position. You just have to breathe, and let go."