B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one's actions.

The decision to relax rather than to grip, even in the face of impatience or fear, is a conscious and brave choice.

Practice doing yoga with an innocent mind. Then, you will be able to cognize the things happening in your body

Do not aim low, you will miss the mark. Aim high and you will be on a threshold of bliss.

It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.

Do not live in the future, only the present is real

Why think of liberation at some future time? Liberation is in the little things, here and now.

Activity and passivity must go together in asanas.

Abhyasa (practice) is a dedicated, unswerving, constant, and vigilant search into a chosen subject pursued against all odds in the face of repeated failures, for indefinitely long periods of time.

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.

Health is not a commodity to be bargained for. It has to be earned through sweat.

Asanas penetrate deep into each layer of the body and ultimately into the consciousness itself.

Training of the mind and body leads to awareness of the soul

Firmness in the body leads to firmness in the nervous system.

You must do the asana with your soul. How can you do an asana with your soul? We can only do it with the organ of the body that is closest to the soul - the heart. So a virtuous asana is done from the heart and not from the head. Then you are not just doing it, but you are in it. Many people try to think their way into an asana, but you must instead feel your way into it through love and devotion

If the foundation is firm the building can withstand calamities. The practice of yoga is the foundation so that the self is not shaken under any circumstances.

When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake.

When I practice, I am a philosopher. When I teach, I am a scientist. When I demonstrate, I am an artist.

You must purge yourself before finding faults in others.

Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life.

As long as you do not feel the serenity in the body, in each and every joint, there is no chance for emancipation. You are in bondage. So while you are sweating and aching, let your heart be light and let it fill your body with gladness. You are not only becoming free, but you are also being free. What is not to be glad about? The pain is temporary. The freedom is permanent.