100+ Yoga Quotes To Ignite Your Inner Yogi (and Find Your Flow)

Feeling like your downward-facing dog is more downward-facing dud? Maybe your warrior poses feel more like wimpy whines? We’ve all been there.

Sometimes, a little inspiration is all it takes to dust off your mat and get your om on. Enter the world of yoga quotes!

These bite-sized bits of wisdom can be just the thing to nudge you back into the practice, tickle your funny bone, or maybe even make you furrow your brow and ponder the meaning of life (in a good way, of course). So, grab your yoga mat (or a metaphorical one, no judgment!), settle in, and let’s get inspired!

Best Yoga Quotations

Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are.
Jason Crandell
Yoga exists in the world because everything is linked.
Desikachar
What yoga philosophy and all the great Buddhist teachings tell us is that solidity is a creation of the ordinary mind and that there never was anything permanent to begin with that we could hold on to. Life would be much easier and substantially less painful if we lived with the knowledge of impermanence as the only constant.
Donna Farhi
When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace.
Unknown
Inhale love, exhale hate.
Unknown
Sweat – Smile – and repeat.
Unknown

Buddhist Quotes

Rule your mind, or it will rule you.
What you think, You become.
What you feel, You attract.
What you imagine, You create.

Yoga Quotes About Life

Your mind is your instrument. Learn to be its master and not its slave.
Unknown
Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. Without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they’re meant to be.
Unknown
Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.
Unknown
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
Unknown
Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours.
Unknown

Meditation Quotes

When asked what gift he wanted for his birthday, the yogi replied: I wish no gifts, only presence.
Unknown
Meditation and concentration are the way to a life of serenity.
Unknown
Yoga has a sly, clever way of short-circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety.
Baxter Bell
To experience the beauty of the flower, you have to be in a state of meditation, not in a state of meditation. You have to be silent, utterly silent, not even a flicker of thought – and the beauty explodes, reaches you from all directions
Unknown
The pose begins when you want to leave it.
Unknown
For me, yoga is not just a workout – it’s about working on yourself.
Mary Glover
Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind.
Patanjali
The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind.
Rodney Yee
Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.
Buddha
True meditation is about being fully present with everything that is including discomfort and challenges. It is not an escape from life.
Craig Hamilton
Bury your mind deep in your heart, and watch the body move by itself.
Sri Dharma Mittra

Inspirational Yoga Quotes

Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.
The Bhagavad
The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ steady effort in the direction you want to go.
Sally Kempton
Change only happens in the present moment. The past is already done. The future is just energy and intention.
Kino MacGregor
Yoga means addition. Addition of energy, strength, and beauty to body, mind, and soul.
Amit Ray
The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It’s about using posture to understand and transform yourself.
B.K.S. Iyengar
When you listen to yourself, everything comes naturally. It comes from inside, like a kind of will to do something. Try to be sensitive. That is yoga.
Petri Räisänen
Yoga is a light, which once lit will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter your flame.
B.K.S Iyengar
Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.
Yogi Bhajan
Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.
Kathryn Budig
Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are.
Jason Crandell

Uplifting Yoga Quotes

The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga.
Yogi Bhajan
Yoga allows you to find an inner peace that is not ruffled and riled by the endless stresses and struggles of life.
B.K.S. Iyengar
Yoga happens beyond the mat; anything you do with attention to how you feel is doing yoga.
Unknown
Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The yoga pose is not the goal. Becoming flexible is not the goal. Standing on your hands is not the goal. The goal is serenity.
Unknown
Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even into your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.
Swami Sivananda
Yoga is designed for a vast and profound purpose, and for it to be truly called yoga, its essence must be embodied.
Aadil Palkhivala
All kidding aside, if everyone did yoga, we would have world peace.
Rory Freedom

Motivational Yoga Quotes

In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.
Deepak Chopra
Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.
Yoga Sutras
Yoga begins right where I am- not where I was yesterday or where I long to be.
Linda Sparrowe
Yoga is invigoration in relaxation. Freedom in routine. Confidence through self-control. Energy within and energy without.
Ymber Delecto
You may not be able to control the whole world, but you may learn to control your inner world through yoga.
Unknown
In asana practice, we learn to cherish each breath, to cherish every cell in our bodies. The time we spend on the mat is love in action.
Rolf Gates
Yoga is a way to freedom. By its constant practice, we can free ourselves from fear, anguish, and loneliness.
Indra Devi
We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Inspiring Yoga Sayings

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the victory over your lower self, triumph over your senses and mind, desires and cravings. If you have no peace within yourself, it is vain to seek it in external objects and outward sources.
Swami Sivananda
Yoga doesn’t care about what you have been; yoga 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
The future depends on what we do in the present.
Mahatma Gandhi
When we push for immediate results and instant healing, we never inhabit the important in-between phase, which is where much of the learning and growth actually happen.
Bo Forbes
Yoga believes in transforming the individual before transforming the world.
Swami Satchidananda
Make yourself so happy so that when others look at you, they become happy too.
Unknown
Can we dance with change? Can we fall and try again with playfulness? Do we have the focus, skill, and attunement to find the still point within it all?
Shiva Rea
Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success.
Hatha Yoga Pradipik

Self-Care Yoga Quotes

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
If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.
Jack Kornfield
The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.
Sakyong Mipham
Yoga is the fountain of youth. You’re only as young as your spine is flexible.
Bob Harper
The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body.
Jason Crandell
Yoga is not a workout; 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
Once you’re in touch with the life force around us, it’s natural to want to help keep it around.
Adi Carter
Yoga is not just repetition of few postures; it is more about the exploration and discovery of the subtle energies of life.
Amit Ray

Self-Acceptance Yoga Quotes

Yoga is not about self-improvement; it’s about self-acceptance.
Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
The ultimate essence of yoga is the contact and the union between the individual consciousness and the divine consciousness.
Raphael
Yoga becomes one lifelong journey to internal revelation.
Aadil Palkhivala
When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.
Peace Pilgrim
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.
Aadil Palkhivala
Confidence through self-control. Energy within and energy without.
Ymber Delecto
The ultimate goal of yoga is to always observe things accurately and, therefore, never act in a way that will make us regret our actions later.
T.K.V. Desikachar
Yoga is a light which once lit, will never dim; the better your practice the brighter your flame.
B.K.S. Iyengar

Self-Improvement Yoga Quotes

You may not be able to control the whole world, but you may learn to control your inner world through yoga.
Debasish Mridha
Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.
Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois
Balancing in yoga and life is a reflection of our inner state.
Shiva Rea
When breath control is correct, mind control is possible.
Pattabhi Jois
The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.
B.K.S. Iyengar
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
You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.
Sharon Gannon
But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
Socrates
Yoga does not always cure stress. It neutralizes it through increasing awareness and by changing self-perception.
Debasish Mridha

Inner Peace Quotes

Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.
Pema Chodron
Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself.
Rumi
Yoga reveals to you the beauty of mindfulness and takes you into the essence of an endless present moment. Debasish Mridha
Don’t ruin a good today by thinking about a bad yesterday. Let it go.
Unknown
We are awakened to the profound realization that the true path to liberation is to let go of everything.
Jack Kornfield
I think it’s interesting that the opposite of being active in yoga is not being passive. It’s being receptive.
Cyndi Lee
Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind. Ravi Ravindra
A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.
Zen Shin
What I’m looking for is not out there, it is in me.
Helen Keller
If you seek peace, be still. If you seek wisdom, be silent. If you seek love, be yourself.
Becca Lee

Closing Thoughts

So, next time you step onto your mat, take a moment to reflect on these inspiring words. Whether they spark a moment of introspection or a renewed sense of determination, yoga quotes can be powerful tools to enhance your practice and guide you on your yogic journey. After all, a little wisdom can go a long way, both on the mat and off.

By Mike O’Halloran

Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories

Mike O’Halloran founded Sports Feel Good Stories in 2009. He co-authored four trivia books for kids under the Smart Attack line. Mike coached basketball for 15 seasons, taught tennis, and has written four books on basketball coaching. He has been a contributing writer for USA Football, the youth arm of the NFL. Mike is the founder of the Fantasy Football Team Names Hall of Fame.