Quotes About Yoga

During salât (Islamic prayers) the body is metamorphosed into a manifestation of the sacred. These bodily postures are very similar to the bodily postures one observes in Hindu Hatha Yoga, which is a branch of Tantric Yoga. Islam's unitary, holistic view of the body and spirit is evident in the alchemical saying of the Shi'ite Imams, 'arwâhunâ ajsâdunâ wa-ajsâdunâ arwâhunâ' (our spirits are our bodies and our bodies are our spirits).

Tajrid and Tafrid and forms of mental 'yoga,' used in Arab systems of illumination, to help the mystic to free him or herself from (abandon) cultural programming. In Muqarribun texts, Khadhulu is the power that makes the practices of Tafrid and Tajrid possible for the Sufi.

This is the silliest thing I've heard since the cat yoga craze a couple of years ago. I went right out and bought a cat yoga instruction book and tiny terry-cloth headband and renamed my girl cat 'Olive Neutered John,' which she didn't think was funny. Cats have no sense of humor.

The real difference between yoga and religion is this: Religion says believe, do not doubt, often citing the word of God and promises of an eternal afterlife, reciting dogma (unsubstantiated pre-modern myths), while yoga only points the way and urges its students to practice and experience for themselves. In this way yoga is very scientific in its approach to self-knowledge, transcendence and enlightenment. Its message is: Try the practice for yourself and only then can you truly believe.

I have seen yoga teachers, almost in frenzy, looking for something new; new postures, breathing exercises, styles of yoga, teachers and so on. But what are they really searching for? Escape from boredom.

The yogic scriptures paint a picture of perfection, and perfection can be your aim, but I can tell you sad stories about myself and others who have entered into a state of premature holiness with unpleasant consequences.

Despite an ever increasing diversity when it comes to yoga brands, there are only four major paths in yoga and they have the same end goal; enlightenment. The end goal can be likened to the top of a pyramid. Even though people may start climbing the pyramid from different sides, at the end they will reach the same goal and thusly achieve unity.

For reasons unknown, the philosophical aspect of the yoga movement has had to make way for the yoga fit revolution; today's image of a yogi is a slender and scantily clad young female doing postures on the cover of a bestselling magazine, whereas the older image was of an Indian man with long beard sitting in a cave wearing a loin cloth.

Speaking softly and slowly, and breathing through the vocal chords in a low voice, has become the mythical ideal voice for a yoga teacher.

If you want to increase your self-confidence as a yoga teacher very fast – go out there, face your fears, and teach as much as you possibly can!

Yoga teachers must be willing to step down from this imagined pedestal and utter the words "I don't know" on a regular basis.

It's a really simple formula: Your experience + Yoga = New Students.

Yoga is not about self-improvement, it's about self-acceptance.

In our uniquely human capacity of connect movement with breath and spiritual meaning, yoga is born.

2.49) O Arjuna, action is very much inferior to the yoga of the intellect (buddhiyoga). Seek refuge in the intellect! Wretched are they who are motivated by results.

Some see the self in the self by means of the self through meditation; others through S??khya yoga; and others through the yoga of action.

Reading poetry gives me a sense of calm, well-being, and love for humanity - the same stuff more flexible women get from yoga.

There's a very strong connection between the body and the mind. In Tibetan tantric yoga, we take advantage of that strong connection: by concentrating strongly on the body's psychic channels we can affect the mind accordingly. Therefore, even in everyday life, the food you eat and the other things your body touches have an effect on your mind.

highest yoga tantra meditations, with their ritualized deity-yoga visualizations.

The Autobiography of a Yogi

But no, it's yoga pants and T-shirts with slogans like "Save the Rain Forest" on them, made only of natural fibers of course.

In forward bends, one uses the outer mind while in backbends the outer mind is silenced and the inner mind is made to work.

The Tapas and the other hard Yogas that were practiced in other Yugas do not work now. What is needed in this Yuga is giving, helping others.

I think there's room for both private exploration and group work in Yoga.