Quotessence
Home / Authors / B.K.S. Iyengar
B.K.S. Iyengar

B.K.S. Iyengar Quotes

Teacher

Filter quotes by topic

AllYogaBodyMindInspiringSoulAsanaPracticeIfsInspiring YogaSelfWayAwarenessDoeYogiYour BodyInspirational YogaYoga InspirationLightSpiritAction

Famous B.K.S. Iyengar Quotes

“You must purge yourself before finding faults in others. When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake. This is the way to take judgment and to turn it into improvement. Do not look at others' bodies with envy or with superiority. All people are born with different constitutions. Never compare with others. Each one's capacities are a function of his or her internal strength. Know your capacities and continually improve upon them.”

PeopleIfsKnowsWayTryingLooksDifferentBodyTurnsBornMistakeFindingsJudgmentYogaCapacityFunctionConstitutionFaultsEnvyImprovementCompareInternalsSuperioritySame MistakesMaking The Same Mistakes
Author:B.K.S. Iyengar
Create image

“Regarding perfection, that's a very difficult question. I can say that I have superseded most in my sadhana [practice]. I am in it, and my mind and my intelligence gets better in my sadhana, and it reaches a certain place. When I stretch, I stretch in such a way that my awareness moves, and a gate of awareness finally opens... My body is a laboratory, you can say. I don't stretch my body as if it is an object. I do yoga from the self towards the body, not the other way around.”

IfsWayLifeMindI CanSelfBodyMovingCertainDifficultPracticeAwarenessObjectsYogaPerfectionGet BetterGatesLaboratoryDifficult Questions
Author:B.K.S. Iyengar
Create image

“Do not allow past experiences to be imprinted on your mind. Perform asanas each time with a fresh mind and with a fresh approach. If you are repeating what you did before, you are living in the memory, so you are living in the past. That means you don't want to proceed beyond the experience of the past. Retaining that memory is saying, 'Yesterday I did it like that.' When I ask, 'Is there anything new from what I did yesterday?' then there is progress. Am I going forward or am I going backward? Then you understand how to create dynamism in a static asana.”

IfsWantMindMeanPastAsksMemoriesProgressApproachYesterdayStaticAsanaPast ExperiencesLiving In The PastRetainingDynamism
Author:B.K.S. Iyengar
Create image

“The challenge of yoga is to go beyond our limits - within reason. We continually expand the frame of the mind by using the canvas of the body. It is as if you were to stretch a canvas more and create a larger surface for a painting. But we must respect the present form of our body. If you pull too much at once, we will rip the canvas. If the practice of today damages the practice of tomorrow, it is not correct practice.”

IfsMindReasonBodyTodayFormChallengesPracticeToo MuchPaintingTomorrowLimitsYogaSurfaceDamageCanvasRip
Author:B.K.S. Iyengar
Create image

“Whenever asana is done mechanically from the front brain, the action is felt only on the peripheral body, and there is no inner sensation, there is no luminous inner light. If the asana is done with continual reference to the back of the brain, there is a reaction to each action, and there is sensitivity. Then life is not only dynamic, but it is also electrified with life force.”

IfsDoneBodyLightActionLife IsForceFeltBrainFrontsReactionsSensationsSensitivityLuminousAsanaInner Light
Book:Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom
Create image