“The decision to relax rather than to grip, even in the face of impatience or fear, is a conscious and brave choice.”

Lack of knowledge is the source of all pains and sorrows whether dormant, attenuated, interrupted or fully active.

Illuminated emancipation, freedom, unalloyed and untainted bliss await you, but you have to choose to embark on the Inward Journey to discover it

If the foundation is firm the building can withstand calamities. The practice of yoga is the foundation so that the self is not shaken under any circumstances.

Keep your attention internal, not external, not worrying about what others see, but what the Self sees.

We need sound bodies so we can develop sound minds.

Backbends are to be felt more than expressed. The other postures can be expressed and then felt. Like in meditation each person has to feel backbends.

I think overall the majority of people who are practicing it as a subject are following the right line. For the aberration, don’t blame yoga or the whole community of yogis

Yoga has a threefold impact on health. It keeps healthy people healthy, it inhibits the development of diseases, and it aids recovery from ill health.

As a mighty river which when properly harnessed by dams and canals, creates a vast reservoir of water, prevents famine and provides abundant power for industry; so also the mind, when controlled, provides a reservoir of peace and generates abundant energy for the human uplift.

You must purge yourself before finding faults in others. When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake. This is the way to take judgment and to turn it into improvement.

Yoga is about the will, working with intelligence and self-reflexive consciousness, can free us from the inevitability of the wavering mind and outwardly directed senses.

We are creatures that are designed for continual challenge. We must grow or we begin to die….So just standing still isn’t really an option. We have to move on. If not, disturbances will come.

Life itself seeks fulfillment as plants seek sunlight.

Persistent practice alone is the key to yoga. As you take pains to learn, continue with devotion what you have learn.

I also say with backbends, you have to be cautiously bold. Not carelessly bold. You have to descend to the dictation of the spine. You cannot command from the brain to do the poses. As you play with a child, guarding the child from injuries, similarly you have to play in backbends, guarding your spine.

Any action done with beauty and purity, and in complete harmony of body, mind and soul, is Art.

I think we all carry within us different versions of ourselves. Our true, greatest, most honest versions of ourselves can either be developed and nourished, or it can remain dead from neglect.

For each of us destiny is a blend of potential, circumstances, and choices.

Kids are not driving themselves to McDonalds. It’s not about kids and their choices. It’s about parents and their choices.

You can HAVE, DO or BE, anything you want! It’s a choice and it’s YOUR CHOICE.

I think it’s your own choice if you turn from an angry young man to a bitter, old bastard.

Our lives are made up of thousands of everyday choices. Over the years these little choices will be bundled together and show clearly what we value.

We need to make a game out of earning money. There is so much good we can do with money. Without it, we are bound and shackled and our choices become limited.

The choice of life is not between fame and fortune, nor wealth and poverty, but between good and evil.