BKS Iyengar

“In the practice of pranayama, time slows.”

“Practice without theory is blind. Theory without practice is empty.”

“Ahimsa — non-violence — begins with how you treat your own body in the pose.”

“Satya — truth — is the alignment of body, mind, and word.”

“The five yamas govern your relationship with the world. The five niyamas govern your relationship with yourself.”

“In the moment of bringing the body into pose, the mind also enters.”

“Yoga reveals what is. It does not impose what should be.”

“There is no good pose or bad pose. There is only the pose you can do today, with awareness.”

“In the yogic life, every action is asana. Every breath is pranayama. Every thought is meditation.”

“The body holds the history of the mind. Asana releases it.”

“In the deepest backbend, surrender. In the deepest forward fold, surrender. In the deepest twist, surrender.”

“Pranayama is the science of slowing time.”

“In every pose, find the line of intelligence from feet to crown.”

“The eight limbs are not in series. They unfold simultaneously.”

“Tapas — discipline, austerity, the heat of practice — is the fuel.”

“In the tradition, every word of the Sutras has been chewed for two thousand years.”

“Practice yoga for what it gives you. Practice yoga for what you give it.”

“The mat is the teacher. The breath is the teacher. The pose is the teacher.”

“In the long practice, the body becomes wise. In the wise body, the soul finds rest.”