1,338 Quotes About Yoga

Like the tightly closed eyelids of a child trying to escape the reprimand of a parent, there is a part of the mind that needs to shut down in the face of an internal dialogue that is steeped in guilt, shame, and self-loathing.

Guilt is like tarnish on a piece of silver. It effectively obscures beauty and radiance, but can never lessen its true value. Just as the true beauty and value of silver is revealed with a little bit of polish, your true worth will shine with regular spiritual practice.

Most people spend years trying to feng shui their lives—to decorate and reorganize life in such a way that order and peace will finally arrive. One can decorate and redecorate for years, but a fresh coat of paint is not going to patch the cracks in your foundation—the only way to do this is through the practice of non-attachment.

Yoga and meditation help us to achieve physical health, emotional balance, more connected relationships, and a more satisfying life. But to measure spiritual practice by these benefits is to miss the point entirely. The truemeasure of our practice is how we respond to life when we fall short of these things—when the body falls ill or the heart breaks.

We live in a world that asks us to do rather than be; to achieve rather than shine; to form relationships that fulfill needs rather than celebrating wholeness. When we stop that cycle by practicing mindfulness, the axison which the world spins shifts entirely, and nothing you knew before will be of any value.

Many look at the blessings in their lives—money, talent, love, abundance, and so on—and say, “I must be one of the chosen ones.”But the blessings in your life were not bestowed upon you to help you live a life of ease, but rather a life of service. You were chosen—chosen to serve.

A teacher’s job is to see students’ potential before they can see it themselves; teachers need to have the faith and foresight to know they can actualize that potential and the wisdom to help students chart their course. It is only with this inner knowing that a teacher can invite the student, over and over again, to the edge of their comfort—and then give them a gentle nudge. In effect, a teacher is like the mother bird who can see her chicks flying before they realize they have wings.

Within your ego mind there is a prison cell. Its bars are made of resentment and the door is hung on the hinges of disappointment and unfulfilled expectations. It is a cell, or so you imagine, for those you have not yet forgiven. This prison cell only lacks one thing—a lock for the door. And so youmust hold the door shut by force of will—expending tremendous energy to hold the door shut— energy that would otherwise be used to cultivate joy, creativity, and passion.

Many believe bliss and gratification to be synonyms, when in fact they are antonyms. Bliss is the nature of your most true Self and it is with you anytime you become still enough to listen. Gratification is what you seek to fill the imagined emptiness, and is generated by a false sense of self.