---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a yogi, not a businessman."
description: "\"I'm a yogi, not a businessman.\" — Bikram Choudhury"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bikram-choudhury-7642_businessman_i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman-1898971_1898971.png"
---

#  I'm a yogi, not a businessman.

![“I'm a yogi, not a businessman.” quote by Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bikram-choudhury-7642_businessman_i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman-1898971_1898971.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bikram-choudhury-7642_businessman_i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman-1898971_1898971.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bikram-choudhury-7642_businessman_i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman-1898971_1898971.png)

> “I'm a yogi, not a businessman.”

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A spiritual practitioner emphasizes inner practice over commercial pursuits.

**In simple terms:** Yogi focuses on inner growth, not profit.

Key Takeaway

Value inner work over material gain.

Themes

spirituality business identity

Mood

reflective inspirational

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- teaching yoga
- running a studio
- personal branding
- monetizing practice
- balancing ethics and income

Key Concepts

mindfulness entrepreneurship self‑definition

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance spirituality and livelihood?
- Can business support spiritual goals?

A Different Perspective

Commercial realities may demand some profit.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Businessman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessman/) [Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yogi/) [Yogi Businessman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yogi-businessman-2790059/)

## Related quotes

> [Falling out of a posture means you are human; getting back into the posture means you are a yogi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/falling-out-of-a-posture-means-you-are-human-getting-back-into-the/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [..."And for God's sake, never get into the petty habit of measuring your self-worth against other people's net-worth. As Yogi Ramen preached: 'Every second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/and-for-god-s-sake-never-get-into-the-petty-habit-of-measuring-your/)

[Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/)

> [“The yogi who looks with the same eye upon saints or sinners, relatives or strangers, friends or foes, well-wishers or even those wishing harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-bhagavad-gita/the-yogi-who-looks-with-the-same-eye-upon-saints-or-sinners-relatives/)

[The Bhagavad Gita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-bhagavad-gita/)

> [The Yogi must always practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-yogi-must-always-practice/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [A pure woman is better than a hundred yogis. Women are more open to love God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neem-karoli-baba/a-pure-woman-is-better-than-a-hundred-yogis-women-are-more-open-to/)

[Neem Karoli Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neem-karoli-baba/)

> [A true yogi may remain dutifully in the world; there, he is like butter on water and not like the easily-diluted milk of unchurned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/a-true-yogi-may-remain-dutifully-in-the-world-there-he-is-like-butter/)

[Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/)

> [No matter how good you are, you still need grace to get out of the material world. You can be a yogi or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/no-matter-how-good-you-are-you-still-need-grace-to-get-out-of-the/)

[George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/)

> [I am not a yogi yet, but I aspire to have more balance in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baratunde-thurston/i-am-not-a-yogi-yet-but-i-aspire-to-have-more-balance-in-my-life/)

[Baratunde Thurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baratunde-thurston/)

> [“Attachment is the act of trying to control, manipulate, or sculpt the outside world in such a way that we lose sight of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/attachment-is-the-act-of-trying-to-control-manipulate-or-sculpt-the/)

[Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/)

> [Yogi Bear changed my life in ways that I can't explain because it's not a full feature on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-miller/yogi-bear-changed-my-life-in-ways-that-i-can-t-explain-because-it-s/)

[T. J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-miller/)

> [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [“He who does so, says the Gita, cannot be a Yogi: He who fasts, he who keeps awake, he who sleeps much, he who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/he-who-does-so-says-the-gita-cannot-be-a-yogi-he-who-fasts-he-who/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [ They say he's \[Yogi Berra\] funny. Well, he has a lovely wife and family, a beautiful home, money in the bank, and he plays… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/they-say-he-s-yogi-berra-funny-well-he-has-a-lovely-wife-and-family-a/)

[Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/)

> [Is it necessary to practice all these asanas, further and further? Is it necessary to develop scientific researches further and further? To a yogi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/is-it-necessary-to-practice-all-these-asanas-further-and-further-is/)

[B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/)

> [A yogi's brain extends from the bottom of the foot to the top of his head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/a-yogi-s-brain-extends-from-the-bottom-of-the-foot-to-the-top-of-his/)

[B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/)

## More by Bikram Choudhury

> [My friend said to me, 'You don't look good,' - because all the time I have to think about law and justice and courts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/my-friend-said-to-me-you-don-t-look-good-because-all-the-time-i-have/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [You cannot steal somebody's intellectual property. Law and justice protect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/you-cannot-steal-somebody-s-intellectual-property-law-and-justice/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [If you want to live a hundred years, how do you want to live your life? At the age of 100, you should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/if-you-want-to-live-a-hundred-years-how-do-you-want-to-live-your-life/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [Truth is the most bitter to accept, swallow and digest it. The moment you speak truth, you lose your popularity. But I don't care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/truth-is-the-most-bitter-to-accept-swallow-and-digest-it-the-moment/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [In life you only have to travel 6 inches. That is the distance from your mind to your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/in-life-you-only-have-to-travel-6-inches-that-is-the-distance-from/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [When you practice yoga, first your personality changes, the faith increases, then confidence improves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/when-you-practice-yoga-first-your-personality-changes-the-faith/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [It wasn't easy in the 1970s when I initially started on my mission - to take yoga to the world. Nobody knew what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/it-wasn-t-easy-in-the-1970s-when-i-initially-started-on-my-mission-to/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [Women like me. Women love me, so if I really wanted to involve the women, I don't have to assault the women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/women-like-me-women-love-me-so-if-i-really-wanted-to-involve-the/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [Our ultimate destination is mental peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/our-ultimate-destination-is-mental-peace/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [For months, I slept at work, even though I had an apartment. I'd fall asleep on the floor at 4:30 A.M. By 7 A.M.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/for-months-i-slept-at-work-even-though-i-had-an-apartment-i-d-fall/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [“Never too old, never too sick, never too bad to start again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/never-too-old-never-too-sick-never-too-bad-to-start-again/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [I started with nothing. Zero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/i-started-with-nothing-zero/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [You go to Starbucks, and you know what you're going to get. It's the same with my yoga.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/you-go-to-starbucks-and-you-know-what-you-re-going-to-get-it-s-the/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [You are never too old or too broken. It is never too late to begin, or to start all over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/you-are-never-too-old-or-too-broken-it-is-never-too-late-to-begin-or/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

> [Yoga only works one way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/yoga-only-works-one-way/)

[Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

[Explore all 89 Bikram Choudhury quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/)

## More Businessman quotes

> [Musicians talk of nothing but money and jobs. Give me businessmen every time. They really are interested in music and art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-sibelius/musicians-talk-of-nothing-but-money-and-jobs-give-me-businessmen/)

[Jean Sibelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-sibelius/)

> [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/)

[J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/)

> [It turns out the businessman knows more about how the economy really works than the chattering class. What a shock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moore/it-turns-out-the-businessman-knows-more-about-how-the-economy-really/)

[Stephen Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moore/)

> [If I were in this business only for the business, I wouldn't be in this business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/if-i-were-in-this-business-only-for-the-business-i-wouldn-t-be-in/)

[Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/)

> [I don't sell cosmetics, I sell hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-arden/i-don-t-sell-cosmetics-i-sell-hope/)

[Elizabeth Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-arden/)

> [You don't have to be a spiritual seeker, you can be a businessman dealing with the revolution in computers. You could be a congressman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-spiritual-seeker-you-can-be-a-businessman/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [We need to be clear when we venerate entrepreneurs what we are venerating.They are not moral leaders. If they were moral leaders, they wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/we-need-to-be-clear-when-we-venerate-entrepreneurs-what-we-are/)

[Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/)

> [“Greg Aloi Singapore Business Process Depending on the business, the business process specialist may be required to do more than assess and provide solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greg-aloi-singapore-business-process-depending-on-the-business-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Donald Trump's a businessman, he's a very successful businessman. I think he's a marketing genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-ford-jr/donald-trump-s-a-businessman-he-s-a-very-successful-businessman-i/)

[Doug Ford, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-ford-jr/)

> [The most successful businessmen were often uneducated when measured by the scholastic standards of the teaching profession. But they were equal to their social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-most-successful-businessmen-were-often-uneducated-when-measured/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [Even as a kid, I was a businessman. I figured out that if you plucked all the berries off my neighbor's tree and smashed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/even-as-a-kid-i-was-a-businessman-i-figured-out-that-if-you-plucked/)

[Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/)

> [I'm not a military general, a business guru, not a philosopher or author. It's only me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-scully/i-m-not-a-military-general-a-business-guru-not-a-philosopher-or/)

[Vin Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-scully/)

> [“Nothing like an endangered pocketbook to help a businessman find his conscience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-carol-mccarthy/nothing-like-an-endangered-pocketbook-to-help-a-businessman-find-his/)

[Susan Carol McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-carol-mccarthy/)

> [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [As a businessman, Frank Lorenzo gives capitalism a bad name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/as-a-businessman-frank-lorenzo-gives-capitalism-a-bad-name/)

[William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/)

[Browse all 753 Businessman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessman/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I'm a yogi, not a businessman.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bikram Choudhury"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Businessman"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bikram-choudhury-7642_businessman_i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman-1898971_1898971.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bikram-choudhury-7642_businessman_i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman-1898971_1898971.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bikram-choudhury-7642_businessman_i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman-1898971_1898971.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'm a yogi, not a businessman.” — Bikram Choudhury",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Bikram Choudhury",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I'm a yogi, not a businessman.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/i-m-a-yogi-not-a-businessman/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
