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Portrait of B.K.S. Iyengar

B.K.S. Iyengar

322 quotes in 1085 categories

B.K.S. Iyengar teaches that the body is the bridge to the mind and a spark of divinity inside us. He says true balance lives in the present moment, like a steady posture. He also urges us to love each cell of our skin, because that affection fuels the practice.

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B.K.S. Iyengar was an Indian yoga teacher who created Iyengar Yoga and wrote books such as Light on Yoga and Light on Pranayama.

Quick Facts About B.K.S. Iyengar

Notable works: Light on Yoga

About B.K.S. Iyengar

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar taught yoga in India and founded the Iyengar Yoga style. He wrote several books, including Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and Light on Life. He studied early with Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, often called the father of modern yoga, and helped spread yoga first across India and then worldwide.

Quotes by B.K.S. Iyengar

Yoga is a mirror to look at ourselves from within.

Inspirational

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We need sound bodies so we can develop sound minds.

Body

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The pose begins when you want to leave it.

Funny

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The commercialism may wash off sometime later.

Commercialism

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Yoga releases the creative potential in life.

Creative

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Activity and passivity must go together in asanas.

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The body is my temple, asanas are my prayers.

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To master fear is the most important battle to win.

Battle

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If you have the right mind, your body can do anything.

Body

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Yoga is the golden key that unlocks the door to peace, tranquility and joy.

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The ribs are the wings of the body. Open your wings.

Body

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Purity is when there is no anxiety, no worry, no thinking.

Anxiety

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Yoga is firstly for individual growth, but through individual growth, society and community develop.

Community

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I think many of my students have followed the advice I gave years ago, to give more than you take.

Advice

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During inhalation, the breath should move exactly like the clouds which are spreading in the sky.

Breath

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If you keep your armpits open, you won't get depressed.

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The flexibility we gain in asana is the living symbol of the suppleness we gain in relation to life’s problems and challenges.

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“Life itself seeks fulfillment as plants seek the sunlight. The Universe did not create Life in the hope that the failure of…

Life

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The lotus grows in muddy waters but this flower does not show any trace of it: So we have to live in…

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Look after the root of the tree, and the fragrant flower and luscious fruits will grow by themselves. Look after the health…

Body

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Everybody should live quietly whether his experiences are happy or sad, whether they are successes or failures. That is contentment.

Contentment

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Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present.

Body

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Penetration of our mind is our goal, but in the beginning to set things in motion, there is no substitute for sweat.

Goal

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The conjunction of effort, concentration and balance in asana forces us to live intensely in the present moment, a rare experience in…

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Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one's being, from bodily…

Action

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You must be as joyful when you fail again and again as you are joyful when you succeed. It is often when…

Achievement

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When you cannot hold the body still, you cannot hold the brain still. If you do not know the silence of the…

Action

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A yogi never forgets that health must begin with the body. . . .Physical health is not a commodity to be bargained…

Body

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You must purge yourself before finding faults in others. When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you…

Failure

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Our flawed mechanisms of perception and thought are not a cause for grief, but an opportunity to evolve, for an internal evolution…

Aspiration

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Yoga is an interior penetration leading to integration of being, senses, breath, mind, intelligence, consciousness, and Self. It is definitely an inward…

Breaths

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Whenever asana is done mechanically from the front brain, the action is felt only on the peripheral body, and there is no…

Action

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The practice of yogasana for the sake of health, to keep fit, or to maintain flexibility is the external practice of yoga.…

Adventure

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In Savasana or in meditation, the light of the eyes is drawn towards the lotus of the heart, so that the seat…

Brain

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The challenge of yoga is to go beyond our limits - within reason. We continually expand the frame of the mind by…

Body

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He who has learnt to control his tongue has attained self-control in a great measure. When such a person speaks he will…

Action

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I am old, and death inevitably approaches. But both birth and death are beyond the will of a human being. They are…

Approach

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Think light! Try to impart a feeling of lightness to the body. Think light. This can be achieved by mentally extending yourself…

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Do not allow past experiences to be imprinted on your mind. Perform asanas each time with a fresh mind and with a…

Approach

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You have to get rid of borders, limits, and classifications; then light comes. We see everything on the screen of our ideas.…

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B.K.S. Iyengar by topic

Yoga (113) Body (87) Mind (78) Psychology (69) Inspirational (63) Life (40) Love (39) Soul (36) Spirituality (29) Practice (29) Inspiring (29) Self (21) Freedom (18) Peace (17) Health (17)