40 Yoga Quotes to Inspire Your Practice

Stepfanie Romine for The Beachbody Blog shares 40 inspirational yoga quotes from yoga professionals. Try incorporating these into your meditations and yoga practice.

As both a yoga instructor and a writer, I love to share yoga quotes with my students. I find that inspirational yoga quotes can sometimes be just what you need to find a deeper connection to your practice or provide a link between what’s happening on your mat to what’s going on in your life.

Quotes about yoga can serve as an introduction to using mantras in your practice, or help you stay inspired and motivated, whether you’re new to yoga or you’ve been doing downward dogs for decades. Yoga is a mind-body practice — no matter which type of yoga you do — and it’s helpful to give your mind something to focus on as you move on your mat.

Sharing with Students

The kinds of quotes I share with my students vary from class to class. Sometimes I share funny yoga quotes to lighten the mood during a challenging flow, and sometimes I share more profound quotes on balance and how to make the most out of the practice. I frequently read from the classic Yoga Sutras, and other times I select a more modern source. When my students are in restorative yoga poses that are held for 5 minutes or longer, I like to read passages from whatever inspirational book I’m reading at the time (Brené Brown and Jen Sincero are always well-received).

Here are 40 of our favorite yoga quotes to motivate and inspire you, whatever your mood may be. Pick some favorites and think of them the next time you go to a yoga class, whether that’s at a studio or at home.

40 of the Best Inspirational Yoga Quotes

1. “Yoga is a light, which once lit will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter your flame.” — B.K.S. Iyengar

2. “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.” — Beachbody Yoga Expert Elise Joan

3. “Move your joints every day. You have to find your own tricks. Bury your mind deep in your heart, and watch the body move by itself.” — Sri Dharma Mittra

4. “The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body.” — Jason Crandell

5. “True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; it is to be lived. Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; it cares about the person you are becoming. Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.” — Aadil Palkhivala, Fire of Love

6. “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 Dederer, Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses

7. “Yoga is not a work-out; it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice, to make us teachable, to open up our hearts, and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are.” — Rolf Gates

8. “Change only happens in the present moment. The past is already done. The future is just energy and intention.” — Kino MacGregor

9.  “I think it’s interesting that the opposite of being active in yoga is not being passive. It’s being receptive.” — Cyndi Lee

10. “Learning to be present with yourself and to abide in that which is steady and comfortable does not allow space for self-judgment. When you live this way, you are practicing yoga: you are living fully.” — Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life

11. “Yoga begins with listening. When we listen, we are giving space to what is.” — Richard Freeman

12. “If we practice yoga long enough, the practice changes to suit our needs. It’s important to acknowledge that the practice isn’t meant to be one practice for everybody. The beautiful thing about yoga is that there are so many different approaches. As we go through our life cycles, hopefully we are able to find a practice that suits us. And if you practice yoga long enough, that will change many times. What exactly that looks like is going to be different for each person.” — Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine

Want to read all 40 quotes? Click here to view the rest of this article!