I find that inspiring yoga quotes are sometimes just what you need to find a deeper connection with the practice or provide a connection between what happens on the mat and what happens in life.
Yoga is a great exercise for both the body and mind. Help calm and calm lovers cope with everyday stress. Therefore, we have compiled the best yoga quotes to help you express your inspiration and excite you to go for yoga mats.
Yoga quotes can be the introduction to the use of mantras in practice, or to help you stay inspired and motivated, whether you are a novice in yoga or have been practicing a falling dog for decades. In simple understanding, yoga is a physical and mental exercise.
Inspirational Yoga Quotes
Here are 100 of our favorite yoga quotes that can inspire you no matter what your mood is. Choose some of your favorites and think about it next time you go to a yoga class, whether in the studio or at home.
- “Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within”
- “Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.” ― B.K.S Iyengar
- “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.” ― Petri Räisänen
- “It’s not about being good at something. It’s about being good to yourself.”
- “Inhale the future, exhale the past.”
- “Letting go is the hardest asana.”
- “The pose begins when you want to leave it.”
- “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” — The Bhagavad Gita
- “You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”
- “Yoga is a light, which once lit will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter your flame.” — B.K.S. Iyengar
- “Yoga is the ultimate practice. It simultaneously stimulates our inner light and quiets our overactive minds. It is both energy and rest. Yin and Yang. We feel the burn and find our bliss.” — Beachbody Yoga Expert Elise Joan
- “Move your joints every day. You have to find your tricks. Bury your mind deep in your heart, and watch the body move by itself.” — Sri Dharma Mittra
- “The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body.” — Jason Crandell
- “True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; it is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; it 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.” — Aadil Palkhivala, Fire of Love
- “I had discovered something; there was a pleasure in becoming something new. You could will yourself into a fresh shape. Now all I had to do was figure out how to do it out there, in my life.” — Claire Dederer, Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses
- “Yoga takes you into the present moment. The only place where life exists.“
- “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.”
- “The yoga pose you avoid the most you need the most.”
- “We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds.” ― Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
- “Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.” ― Buddha
- “True meditation is about being fully present with everything that is including discomfort and challenges. It is not an escape from life.” ― Craig Hamilton
- “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.” — Rolf Gates
- “Change only happens in the present moment. The past is already done. The future is just energy and intention.” — Kino MacGregor
- “I think it’s interesting that the opposite of being active in yoga is not being passive. It’s being receptive.” — Cyndi Lee
- ”Yoga is the dance of every cell with the music of every breath that creates inner serenity and harmony.”
- “Learning to be present with yourself and to abide in that which is steady and comfortable does not allow space for self-judgment. When you live this way, you are practicing yoga: you are living fully.” — Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life
- ”In truth yoga doesn’t take time – it gives time.” ― Ganga White
- “Yoga begins with listening. When we listen, we are giving space to what is.” — Richard Freeman
- ”Yoga is the fountain of youth. You’re only as young as your spine is flexible.” ― Bob Harper
- “If we practice yoga long enough, the practice changes to suit our needs. It’s important to acknowledge that the practice isn’t meant to be one practice for everybody. The beautiful thing about yoga is that there are so many different approaches. As we go through our life cycles, hopefully we are able to find a practice that suits us. And if you practice yoga long enough, that will change many times. What exactly that looks like is going to be different for each person.” — Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine
- ”Everyday is a great day for yoga!”
- ”Yoga is invigoration in relaxation. Freedom in routine. Confidence through self-control. Energy within and energy without.”
- “The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.” —Sakyong Mipham
- “The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ — steady effort in the direction you want to go.” —Sally Kempton
- “Yoga is a dance between control and surrender – between pushing and letting go – and when to push and when to let go becomes part of the creative process, part of the open-ended exploration of your being.” –Joel Kramer
- “In asana practice we learn to cherish each breath, to cherish every cell in our bodies. The time we spend on the mat is love in action.” —Rolf Gates
- ”Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are” ― Jason Crandell
- “In karma yoga no effort is ever lost, and there is no harm. Even a little practice of this discipline protects one from great fear of birth and death.” –Bhagavad Gita
- “ …just enjoy yourself. For many years I mistook discipline as ambition. Now I believe it to be more about consistency. Do get on the mat. Practice and life are not that different.” —Judith Hanson Lasater
- “The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga.” –Yogi Bhajan
- ”Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured” ― B.K.S Iyengar
- “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.” – Sharon Gannon
- “Yoga is a way to freedom. By its constant practice, we can free ourselves from fear, anguish and loneliness.” – Indra Devi
- ”Change only happens in the present moment. The past is already done. The future is just energy and intention.” ― Kino MacGregor
- “Without proper breathing, the yoga postures are nothing more than calisthenics.” –Rachel Schaeffer
- “That’s exactly how it is in yoga. The places where you have the most resistance are actually the places that are going to be the areas of the greatest liberation.” —Rodney Yee
- “A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves.” – T. Guillemets
- ”Calming the mind is yoga. Not just standing on the head.” ― Swami Satchidananda
- “In our uniquely human capacity of connect movement with breath and spiritual meaning, yoga is born.” –Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
- “Remember, it doesn’t matter how deep into a posture you go — what does matter is who you are when you get there.” —Max Strom
- “By embracing your mother wound as your yoga, you transform what has been a hindrance in your life into a teacher of the heart.” – Phillip Moffitt
- ”The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in.” ― B.K.S Iyengar
- “The quality of our breath expresses our inner feeling.” –T.K.V. Desikachar
- “When we have the confidence to be truly, unabashedly, and radically ourselves, we breathe life into who we were meant to be. We burn with a desire to ecstatically share our unique and priceless gifts with the world.” —Elise Joan
- “When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.” – Hatha Yoga Pradipika
- ”The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body.”
- “Although yoga has its origins in ancient India, its methods and purposes are universal, relying not on cultural background, faith or deity, but simply on the individual. Yoga has become important in the lives of many contemporary Westerners, sometimes as a way of improving health and fitness of the body, but also as a means of personal and spiritual development.” –Tara Fraser
- “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 still point within it all?” —Shiva Rea
- “Concentrating on poses clears the mind while focusing on the breath helps the body shift out of fight or flight mode.” – Melanie Haiken, yoga quotes about breath
- ”Yoga happens beyond the mat, anything you do with attention to how you feel is doing yoga.”
- “True meditation is about being fully present with everything that is including discomfort and challenges. It is not an escape from life.” –Craig Hamilton
- “When we push for immediate results and instant healing, we never inhabit the important in-between phase, which is where much of the learning and growth actually happen.” —Bo Forbes, Yoga for Emotional Balance
- “Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one’s being, from bodily health to self-realization. Yoga means union – the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one’s actions.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
- ”The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It’s about using posture to understand and transform yourself.”
- “Yoga is the study of balance, and balance is the aim of all living creatures: it is our home.” –Rolf Gates
- “The yoga pose is not the goal. Becoming flexible is not the goal. Standing on your hands is not the goal. The goal is serenity. Balance. Truly finding peace in your own skin.” —Rachel Brathen, Yoga Girl
- “Through the practices of yoga, we discover that concern for the happiness and well-being of others, including animals, must be an essential part of our own quest for happiness and well-being. The fork can be a powerful weapon of mass destruction or a tool to create peace on Earth.” – Sharon Gannon, yoga quotes about peace
- ”Yoga means addition. Addition of energy, strength and beauty to body, mind and soul.” ― Amit Ray
- “Yoga is essentially a practice for your soul, working through the medium of your body.” –Tara Fraser
- “Yoga is not a religion. It is a science, science of well-being, science of youthfulness, science of integrating body, mind, and soul.” —Amit Ray, Yoga and Vipassana: An Integrated Lifestyle
- “Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal…. But don’t approach yoga with a business mind looking for worldly gain.” – Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois
- ”The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ steady effort in the direction you want to go.” ― Sally Kempton
- “Practicing yoga during the day is a matter of keeping your eyes on the road and one ear turned toward the infinite.” – Erich Schiffmann
- “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.” – Patricia Walden
- ”You may not be able to control the whole world, but you may learn to control your inner world through yoga.”
- “You either get bitter or get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.” –Josh Shipp
- “If I’m losing balance in a pose, I stretch higher and God reaches down to steady me. It works every time, and not just in yoga.” – T. Guillemets, yoga quotes balance
- ”Yoga is not just repetition of few postures, it is more about the exploration and discovery of the subtle energies of life” ― Amit Ray
- “Calming the mind is yoga. Not just standing on the head.” –Swami Satchidananda
- “Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success.” – Svatmarama
- ”The gift of learning to meditate is the greatest gift you can give yourself in this lifetime.” ― Sogyal Rinpoche
- “Yoga is not about tightening your ass. It’s about getting your head out of it.” –Eric Paskel
- “Mountain pose teaches us, literally, how to stand on our own two feet…. teaching us to root ourselves into the earth…. Our bodies become a connection between heaven and earth.” – Carol Krucoff
- ”Meditation can help us embrace our worries, our fear, our anger; and that is very healing. We let our own natural capacity of healing do the work.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forwards to become the person they’re meant to be.” –B.K.S. Iyengar
- “In asana practice, we learn to cherish each breath, to cherish every cell in our bodies. The time we spend on the mat is love in action” – Rolf Gates, yoga quotes on love
- ”Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.” ― Kathryn Budig
- “Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind.” –Patanjali
- “Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God.” – Krishnamacharya
- “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” ― Gautama Buddha
- “Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the mind. Then there is abiding in the Seer’s own form.” –Patanjali
- “For those wounded by civilization, yoga is the most healing salve.” – T. Guillemets
- “Yoga is a method to come to a nondreaming mind. Yoga is the science to be in the here and now.” ― Osho
- “Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are.” –Jason Crandell
- “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.” – Osho
- ”When breath control is correct, mind control is possible.” ― Pattabhi Jois
- “The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind.” –Rodney Yee
- “The meaning of our self is not to be found in its separateness from God and others, but in the ceaseless realization of yoga, of union; not on the side of the canvas where it is blank, but on the side where the picture is being painted.” – Rabindranath Tagore
- “Yoga is invigoration in relaxation. Freedom in routine. Confidence through self control. Energy within and energy without.” –Ymber Delecto
- “Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted — in body, mind, and heart — and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow — or we begin to flow more in our lives.” – Cybele Tomlinson
