Yoga is more than just fitness.
It’s a practice of mindfulness meant to carry you through day-to-day life.
Whether you need inspiration for your next yoga practice or your next meeting, these motivational and funny yoga quotes should fill the void.
Inspirational Yoga Quotes
These yoga quotes capture the essence of yoga with a little inspiration on the side.
- Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak. – Buddha
2. In truth, yoga doesn’t take time, it gives time. – Ganga White
3. Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self. ― The Bhagavad Gita
4. The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ steady effort in the direction you want to go. ― Sally Kempton
5. When breath control is correct, mind control is possible. ― Pattabhi Jois
6. The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body. – Jason Crandell
7. Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths. – Etty Hittlesum
8. True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. – Aadil Palkhivala
9. Yoga begins right where I am – not where I was yesterday or where I long to be. – Linda Sparrowe
10. Yoga is not a work-out, it is a work-in. – Rolf Gates
11. I bend so I don’t break.
12. Yoga is the effort to experience one’s divinity personally and then to hold on to that experience forever. ― Elizabeth Gilbert
13. We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. ― Sri S. Satchidananda
14. As I often tell my students, the two most important phrases in therapy, as in yoga, are “Notice that” and “What happens next?” Once you start approaching your body with curiosity rather than with fear, everything shifts. ― Bessel A. van der Kolk
15. The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness. – Sakyong Mipham
16. Remember, it doesn’t matter how deep into a posture you go. What does matter is who you are when you get there. – Max Storm
17. Yoga is not about touching your toes, it’s about what you learn on the way down. – Jigar Gor
18. Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal…. But don’t approach yoga with a business mind looking for worldly gain. – Sri Pattabhi Jois
19. Yoga is the fountain of youth. You’re only as young as your spine is flexible. ― Bob Harper
20. Body is not stiff. Mind is stiff.― Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois
21. Letting go is the hardest asana. – Raashi Khanna
22. Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. ― Buddha
23. Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are. – Jason Crandell
24. 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
25. Yoga is a way to freedom. By its constant practice, we can free ourselves from fear, anguish and loneliness. – Indra Devi
26. I wish we were all hippies and did yoga, lived in cottages, smoked weed, accepted everyone for who they are, and listened to wonderful music. I wish money didn’t make us who we are. I just wish we could redo society. – Bob Marley
27. How I would handle the stresses of this fucking business without yoga, I have no idea. Make yoga a must in all Chinese schools – that’s my suggestion. ― Aravind Adiga
28. Yoga is almost like music in a way; there’s no end to it. ― Sting
29. More yoga in the world is what we need. ― Diane Lane
30. I had discovered something; there was a pleasure in becoming something new. You could will yourself into a fresh shape. Now all I had to do was figure out how to do it out there, in my life.― Claire Dedererz
31. Go from a human being doing yoga to a human being yoga. – Baron Baptiste
Iyengar Quotes
B.K.S. Iyengar was a well-known yogi who created a unique form of yoga today known as Iyengar yoga and was paramount in introducing yoga to the western world.
He was also an author who provided many profound quotes about yoga.
These are some of his best:
32. Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.
33. My body is my temple and asanas are my prayers.
34. Yoga is a light, which once lit will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter your flame.
35. Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present.
36. The pose begins when you want to leave it.
37. It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.
Funny Yoga Quotes
These yoga quotes provide a few laughs along with their inspiration… if you can call it inspiration.
38. Calming the mind is yoga. Not just standing on the head. ― Swami Satchidananda
39. The word “yoga” literally means “uniting”, because when you’re doing it you are uniting your mind and your body. You can tell this almost immediately because your mind will be thinking, “Ouch, that hurts,” and your body will say, “I know.” And your mind will think, “You have to get out of this position.” And your body will say, “I agree with you, but I can’t right now. I think I’m stuck. – Ellen DeGeneres
40. I like tea and yoga, but I don’t do yoga. – Moby
41. I meditate, I do yoga and I have a lot of friends who are healers…..And if none of that works, I go by a chocolate bar and a bottle of cognac. ― Susan Strasberg
42. I’ve started doing Bikram yoga. You’re in a boiling hot room, bending over pretending to be a locust, you can’t do that at the gym. – Bill Bailey
43. I’ve always loved yoga because you get to connect to a deep religious truth while stretching your legs. – Katya Zamolodchikova
44. Meditation, yoga, working out, and eating well. That’s my wellness. And I think occasionally you have to treat yourself, so if you do need to take yourself shopping, go take yourself shopping. – Cynthia Erivo
45. But every time she tried yoga she found herself silently chanting her own mantra: I’m so boooored, I’m so boooored. ― Liane Moriarty
46. I think there should be holy war against yoga classes. – Werner Herzog
47. Surely if God had meant us to do yoga, he would have put our heads behind our knees. – Rod Stewart
Balance Yoga Quotes
Yoga is meant to align both your body and your chakras, to bring you into physical, mental, and spiritual balance.
These inspirational yoga quotes capture this essence of yoga.
48. Yoga means union, in all its significances and dimensions. – Indra Devi
49. Yoga is the ultimate practice. It simultaneously stimulates our inner light and quiets our overactive minds. It is both energy and rest. Yin and Yang. We feel the burn and find our bliss. — Elise Joan
50. Yoga is a dance between control and surrender – between pushing and letting go – and when to push and when to let go becomes part of the creative process, part of the open-ended exploration of your being. – Joel Kramer
51. I think it’s interesting that the opposite of being active in yoga is not being passive. It’s being receptive. — Cyndi Lee
52. Balance is key. In everything you do. Dance all night long and practice yoga the next day. Drink wine but don’t forget your green juice. Eat chocolate when your heart wants it and kale salad when your body needs it. Wear high heels on Saturday and walk barefoot on Sunday. Go shopping at the mall and then sit down and meditate in your bedroom. Live high and low. Move and stay still. Embrace all sides of who you are and live your authentic truth! Be brave and bold and spontaneous and loud and let that complement your abilities to find silence and patience and modesty and peace. Aim for balance. Make your own rules and don’t let anybody tell you how to live according to theirs. – Rachel Brathen
Gratitude Yoga Quotes
To stay in the present, one must forget past hurts and future desires.
Gratitude for what you have in the here and now is key to staying in the current moment.
That’s why it’s a core principle of yoga.
These yoga quotes should help inspire your gratitude.
53. The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga. ― Yogi Bhajan
54. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet. ― Thich Nhat Hanh
55. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. ― Epicurus
56. Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. ― Maya Angelou
57. It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up. ― Eckhart Tolle
58. If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough. ― Meister Eckhart
59. Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward & learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude. ― John Chrysostom
60. The most beautiful moments in life are moments when you are expressing your joy, not when you are seeking it. ― Jaggi Vasudev
61. Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your perspective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality. ― Jen Sincero
62. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ― Melody Beattie
63. Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. ― Henry Ward Beecher
Want yoga content with some yuks? Check out Yoga Puns.
Just getting started with yoga? Check out our beginners guide – Getting Started With Yoga.
