Top Yoga Quotes… Ever!

I love quotes. I find so much inspiration in them. I have a couple books of quotations, and when I’m having an especially trying day, I pick up one of these books, turn to a random page and read the quote on that page. And almost always, the words lift my spirit up instantly and carry me throughout the day.

I have collected a few yoga quotes over the years, and here are 130 100 40 38 35 32 25 of my favorite yoga quotes (I’ve added to the list thanks to some of your suggestions!):

Yoga Quotes

1. After the demands of the ego and its greed surrendered, the struggle for fulfillment of personal desires lessens; life takes on a new zest like a breath of fresh air. – Swami Sivananda Radha
2. When we think of failure; failure will be ours. If we remain undecided nothing will ever change. All we need to do is want to achieve something great and then simply to do it. Never think of failure, for what we think, will come about. – Maharashi Mahesh
3. A mind free from all disturbances is Yoga. – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
4. Hatha Yoga teaches us to use the body as the bow, asana as the arrow, and the soul the target. – B.K.S. Iyengar
5. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. – Author Unknown
6. Yoga philosophy teaches that real man is not his body, but that the immortal I, of which each human being is conscious to some degree according to his mental evolution, is not the body but merely occupies and uses the body as an instrument. – Swami Vishnu-devananda
7. Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. – B.K.S. Iyengar
8. 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
9. Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions.
   Watch your actions; they become habits.
   Watch your habits; they become character.
   Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny. – Upanishads
10. Yoga aims to remove the root cause of all diseases, not to treat its symptoms as medical science generally attempts to do. – Swami Vishnu-devananda
11. 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
12. Those who consciousness is unified abandon all attachment to the results of action and attain all peace. But those whose desires are fragmented, who are selfishly attached to the results of their work, are bound in everything they do. – Bhagavad Gita
13. A student went to his meditation teacher and said, “My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I’m constantly falling asleep. It’s just horrible!”
    “It will pass,” the teacher said matter-of-factly.
    A week later, the student came back to his teacher. “My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It’s just wonderful!”
    “It will pass,” the teacher replied matter-of-factly. – Unknown
14. Understanding without practice is better than practice without understanding. Understanding with practice is better than understanding without practice. Residing in your true nature is better than understanding or practice.” – Upanishads
15. The yoga pose that you avoid the most you need the most. – Unknown
16. When there is no mind, you are in yoga; when there is mind you are not in yoga. So you may do all the postures, but if the mind goes on functioning, if you go on thinking, you are not in yoga. Yoga is the state of no-mind. If you can be without the mind without doing any posture, you have become a perfect yogi. It has happened to many without doing any postures, and it has not happened to many who have been doing postures for many lives. – Osho
17. If you don’t follow through on your creative ideas, someone else will pick them up and use them. When you get an idea of this sort, you should jump in with both feet, not just stick your toe in the water…Be daring, be fearless, and don’t be afraid that somebody is going to criticize you or laugh at you. If your ego is not involved no one can hurt you. – Guru R.H.H
18. And a gift given to the wrong person, at the wrong time and the wrong place, or a gift, which comes not from the heart, and is given with proud contempt, is a gift of darkness. – The Bhagavad Gita
19. Detachment is not indifference. it is the prerequisite for effective involvement. Often what we think is best for others is distorted by our attachments to our opinions. We want others to be happy in the way we think they should be happy. It is only when we want nothing for ourselves that we are able to see clearly into others needs and understand how to serve them. – Mahatma Ghandi
20. That one I love who is incapable of ill will, and returns love for hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mind, and of pain and pleasure, full of mercy, contented, self-controlled, with all his heart and all his mind given to Me—such a one I am in love. – Bhagavad Gita
21. 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
22. Yoga is a science, and not a vague dreamy drifting or imagining. It is an applied science, a systematized collection of laws applied to bring about a definite end. It takes up the laws of psychology, applicable to the unfolding of the whole consciousness of man on every plane, in every world, and applies those rationally in a particular case. This rational application of the laws of unfolding consciousness acts exactly on the same principles that you see applied around you every day in other departments of science. – Annie Wood Besant
23. Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings. – Rumi
24. 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 forward to become the person they’re meant to be. – Anonymous
25. Yoga is existential, experiential, experimental. No belief is required, no faith is needed – only courage to experience. And that’s what’s lacking. You can believe easily because in belief you are not going to be transformed. Belief is something added to you, something superficial. Your being is not changed; you are not passing through some mutation. – Osho
26. The most important purpose of Yoga is to bring about a deep transformation of the individual–an awakening of intelligence that is free of dependencies and romantic beliefs and ready to meet the accelerating challanges of the 21st century. – Ganga White
27. And then, in that regal silence, finally – I began to meditate on (and with) God. – Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)
28. The purpose of Yoga is to facilitate the profound inner relaxation that accompanies fearlessness. The release from fear is what finally precipitates the full flowering of love. – Eric Schiffmann
29. Tradition is important just as history is important– not as a vice to squeeze the present into, but rather as a stepping stone to grow from. – Joel Kramer
30. Intelligence comes into being when the mind, the heart, and the body are really harmonious. – J Krishnamurti
    One must know oneself as one is, not as one wishes to be, which is merely an ideal and therefore fictitious, unreal; it is only that which is that can be transformed, not that which you wish to be. – J Krishnamurti
31. A man should look for what is, and not for what should be. – Albert Einstein
32. The purpose of yoga is awareness, not perfected poses, beliefs, or any kind of attainment. Awareness from moment to moment requires quiet strength, flexibility, and balance. A good Yoga practice develops exactly these characteristics. – Jim Gaudette
33. The best we can do…in response to our incomprehensible and dangerous world, is to practice holding equilibrium internally – no matter what insanity is transpiring out there. – Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)
34. When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities. – Deepak Chopra (The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire)
35. The man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization. – Luther Standing Bear
36. Each breath is transforming me into thine image. – J. Krishnamurti
37. If we want to overcome fear, we must mentally deny fear and concentrate on the opposite quality, courage. The positive always overcomes the negative. – Swami Vishnu-devananda
38. ‎The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. – Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
39. The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind. – Rodney Yee
40. Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace. – Bhagavad Gita
41. Our bodies are our gardens—our wills are our gardeners. – Shakespeare
42. It is health that is the real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. – Mahatma Gandhi
43. Wellness is a connection of paths: knowledge and action. – Joshua Welch
44. He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors. – Chinese Proverb
45. Nobody can hurt me without my permission. – Gandhi
46. The gift of learning to meditate is the greatest gift you can give yourself in this lifetime. – Sogyal Rinpoche
47. The part can never be well unless the whole is well. – Plato
48. What each of us believes in is up to us, but life is impossible without believing in something. – Kentetsu Takamori
49. Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it. – Ray Bradbury
50. You only lose what you cling to. – Siddhartha Gautama Buddha
51. If while on your way you meet no one your equal or better, steadily continue on your way alone. There is no fellowship with fools. – Dhammapada
52. Do not ask for less responsibility to be free and relaxed—ask for more strength! – Shengyan
53. We don’t realize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme self who is eternally at peace. – Eat, Pray Love
54. 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
55. Diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body. – Cicero
56. Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. – Plato
57. You can set yourself up to be sick, or you can choose to stay well. – Wayne Dyer
58. A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. – Irish Proverb
59. The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation. – Milepa
60. Yoga is the fountain of youth. You’re only as young as your spine is flexible. – Bob Harper
61. Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory. – Sri Pattabhi Jois
62. The beauty is that people often come here for the stretch, and leave with a lot more. – Liza Ciano
63. To perform every action artfully is yoga. – Swami Kripalu
64. Yoga has a sly, clever way of short circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety. – Baxter Bal
65. Yoga is invigoration in relaxation. Freedom in routine. Confidence through self control. Energy within and energy without. – Ymber Delecto
66. 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
67. Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success. – Hatha Yoga Pradipika
68. You control your happiness, no one else. – Author Unknown
69. Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind. – Patanjali
70. Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are. – Jason Crandell
71. Yoga exists in the world because everything is linked. – Desikashar
72. Through meditation and by giving full attention to one thing at a time, we can learn to direct attention where we choose. – Eknath Easwaran
73. The groundwork for all happiness is good health. – Leigh Hunt
74. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness. – Abraham Maslow
75. Happiness is a state of inner fulfillment, not the gratification of inexhaustible desires for outward things. – Matthieu Ricard
76. Garbage in garbage out. – George Fuechsel
77. Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. – Jim Rohn
78. Live, travel, adventure, bless and don’t be sorry. – Jack Kerouac
79. All of man’s difficulties are caused by his inability to sit, quietly, in a room by himself. – Blaise Pascal
80. Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past, or a pioneer of the future. – Deepak Chopra
81. In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. – Deepak Chopra
82. You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible. – Deepak Chopra
83. Happiness is a state of inner fulfillment. – Matthieu Ricard
84. Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. – Swedish Proverb
85. Your health is a state of mind. – Author Unknown
86. Sleep is the best meditation. – Dalai Lama
87. Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. – Gautama Buddha
88. To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. – Buddha
89. Yoga is almost like music in a way; there’s no end to it. – Sting
90. Yoga science is not just a scholarly pursuit. It is a moment by moment and thought by thought practical guide for living. – Leonard Perlmutter
91. This yoga should be practiced with firm determination and perseverance, without any mental reservation or doubts. – Bhagavad Gita
92. We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be acheived unless we first establish peace within our own minds. – Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
93. We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps. – Hermann Hesse
94. It is my conviction that there is no way to peace—peace is the way. – Thich Nhat Hanh
95. Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible. – Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
96. A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise. – Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha
97. My workout is my meditation. – Kyle MacLachlan
98. When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others. – Peace Pilgrim
99. I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul. – Rumi
100. It is not arrogant or egotistical to feel good inside. You had nothing to do with it. It’s simply the honest response to clearly perceived Reality. – Erich Schiffman
101. Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes. – Thich Nhat Hanh
102. All I’m saying is that to liberate the potential of your mind, body and soul, you must first expand your imagination. You see, things are always created twice: first in the workshop of the mind and then, and only then, in reality. I call this process ‘blueprinting’ because anything you create in your outer world began as a simple blueprint in your inner world. – Robin Sharma, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
103. Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence. Hold on to the truth within yourself as to the only truth. – Buddha
104. Accepting means you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at that moment. It is part of the isness of the Now. You can’t argue with what is. Well, you can, but if you do, you suffer. – Eckhart Tolle
105. Your life is a sacred journey. It is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path… exactly where you are meant to be right now…
106. And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing, of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love. – Caroline Adams
107. The sun shines down, and its image reflects in a thousand different pots filled with water. The reflections are many, but they are each reflecting the same sun. Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are, we will see ourselves in all people. – Ammachi
108. Yoga does not remove us from the reality or responsibilities of everyday life but rather places our feet firmly and resolutely in the practical ground of experience. We don’t transcend our lives; we return to the life we left behind in the hopes of something better. – Donna Farhi
109. True meditation is about being fully present with everything that is–including discomfort and challenges. It is not an escape from life. – Craig Hamilton
110. Do your practice and all is coming. – Sri K Patthabi Jois
111. Healthy plants and trees yield abundant flowers and fruits. Similarly, from a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun. – B.K. S Iyengar
112. Yoga is the unifying art of transforming dharma into action, be it through inspired thought, properly nurturing our children, a painting, a kindness or an act of peace that forever moves humanity forward. – Micheline Berry
113. Habits allow us to not think about what we’re doing. . . giving us the illusion of ease. When we are under the illusion of ease, not thinking about what we’re doing. Breathing the same old way, moving the same old way, thinking the same old way we check out of the present, out of happiness itself. – Alex Levin
114. Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked. – Patanjali
115. 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
116. Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind. – Ravi Ravindra
117. The true miracle lies in our eagerness to allow, appreciate, and honor the uniqueness, and freedom of each sentient being to sing the song of their heart. – Amit Ray
118. Exercises are like prose, whereas yoga is the poetry of movements. Once you understand the grammar of yoga; you can write your poetry of movements. – Amit Ray
119. It is important not to abandon the practice of yoga because we believe it is driven by the wrong motivation. The practice of yoga itself transforms. Yoga has a magical quality. – Ravi Ravindra
120. That’s why it’s called a practice. We have to practice a practice if it is to be of value. – Allan Lokos
121. 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
122. The Stone of Guilt in the River of the Mind, the block in the flow of intelligence. – Paramahamsa Nithyananda
123. Basically, if the mind stays in the present, it’s impossible to worry. Upon careful consideration, it becomes clear that human beings are capable of worrying only about an event that has already transpired or one that may take place in the future (although the occurrence might have just happened or may be about to happen in the next instant). The present moment contains no time or space for worry. – H.E. Davey
124. Some students are in a hurry to begin “real” pranayama. They go right to the later stages without first laying a quality foundation, and their practice often suffers. First find out what is. This is also part of the answer to the question Who am I? – Richard Rosen
125. By keeping the mind in the present, unless you deliberately want to contemplate the past or future, it’s possible to firmly face life without fear. Then, no thoughts of past failures or future problems will exist in the mind, and a truly positive mental state will result—fudoshin, the “immovable mind. – H.E. Davey
126. A strong life force can be seen in physical vitality, courage, competent judgment, self-mastery, sexual vigor, and the realization of each person’s unique talents and purpose in life. To maintain a powerful life force, forget yourself, forget about living and dying, and bring your full attention into this moment. – H.E. Davey
127. The young should not think of themselves as immature and the elderly need not view themselves as feeble. Our minds control our bodies. Have no age, transcend both past and future, and enter into naka-ima—the “eternal present. – H.E. Davey
128. Yoga is the art work of awareness on the canvas of mind,body and the soul. – Amit Ray
129. Yoga teaches more than postures; it teaches you how to trust. – Kathryn E. Livingston
130. It’s not just about recognizing how ‘precious’ every moment is, or about ‘living for today.’ It’s about finding the sacred center of now, and living there, moment to moment, always. – Kathryn E. Livingston

I hope these yoga quotes will help to inspire, motivate and reflect. Keep checking back as we will aim to provide you 1,000 awesome quotes around yoga, meditation, health and wellness!

What are your favorite yoga quotes?