From Iyengar’s Light on Life:
So, still reading his book but let me tell you - I am pretty much in love with this book! When I started reading it, I began highlighting and marking pages. Then I started flipping back and writing down all the quotes and pages on my computer at work...well that wasn’t enough. I started tabbing the pages and marking them to read in classes; to my yoga kids (aka patients). Well then I thought this isn’t enough...how can I spread the love of this book even more. And it dawned on me…Quote Jar!! EEEEK! Instead of a candy jar on my desk I now have a Quote Jar filled with nothing but quotes from Iyengar’s Light on Life…I pretty much carry this book everywhere I go…and catch myself quoting it without having to look things up…and he references barrels of monkeys!! How can you not love this guy?! J
I wanted to share in this journal some of my favorite quotes and passages. So, here we go. And don’t feel you must read them all…I know it’s a lot – think how I feel? I’m not even done reading the whole thing. I don’t like to think of myself as a slow reader, but as an inquisitive one. It’s not a race, it’s a marathon…and besides it’s always good to have some reading material for the beach! It’s fun because my kids and co-workers will ask “who’s that guy”? talking about Iyengar on the front or what are all those tabs? Lol. I chuckle and say..well he’s pretty much “the man” when it comes to yoga and start to go into his life story about how he was a sick child and overcame illness through breath and yoga…then they stop me and call me a tree hugger, then I ask them to pull out a quote from my jar and we chat about it!! Spreading the joys of yoga one line at a time! I love this stuff!! Wish I could get my PhD in YOGA!! Hahhaha.
The practice of yoga teaches us to live fully – physically and spiritually
It is through the alignment of my body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.
Your body is the child of the soul
…a healthy person, smiles & happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun
We need sound bodies so we can have sound minds.
Strength & flexibility allow us to keep an inner balance.
The body should be neither neglected nor pampered.
Hard like a diamond, hardness of a diamond is part of its usefulness, but its true value is in the light that shines through it
We must create a marriage between the awareness of the body & that of the mind
Action is movement with intelligence.
Pause & reflect between each movement then in the stillness, you can be filled with Awareness.
Do things rhythmically with a calm mind
Awareness allows us to overcome tiredness & exhaustion in our poses & in our lives.
Awareness brings life
You must find your center, & from there extend & expand
Each movement must be an art
It is not yoga that injures, but it is the way one does yoga that leads to injury
While stretching, you must always create space & extend from your center
Exhalation is freedom; it purges the stress & tension in the body
Relax the eyes
Think of yourself as graceful & expanding …no matter what
Injuries come by aggression…
Seek balance of awareness in all positions by observing the differences on the right and left as well as the intensity of stretch from plane to plane, limb to limb, muscle to muscle, joint to joint, and from bottom to top, side to side, and back to front. Create equal stretch, equal stability, equal spacing, and equal intensity of movement.
Feet are like the root of the tree. If one can’t stand properly on one’s feet, one develops a negative attitude toward life
Maintain stability in times of difficulty…stability becomes a habit, maturity and clarity follow. Stability requires balance.
Balance in the body is the foundation for balance in life.
There is no substitute for sweat.
We want a quick mind, not an agitated one.
Though the mass of our body is heavy, we are meant to tread lightly on this earth.
Only when there is pain will you see the light. Pain is your guru.
We do not run from the inevitable pain that is part of all growth and change.
We must face up to our emotions, not run away from them
Diseases and suffering are the fruits of our past actions
Time has mellowed me
If we are loyal to the path we are on, our lives will get better.
Success will come to the person who practices. Perform asanas each time with a fresh mind and with a fresh approach.
If there is no wind in our sails, the only way out is to row
You must purge yourself before finding faults in others.
You have to create love and affection for your body, for what it can do for you.
We all receive God-given talents, and it is our duty to develop them energetically to realize their full potential, otherwise it is as if we are turning our nose up at the gifts of life.
Do the Asana with your soul.
We are surrendering our egos.
Body is the bow, Asana is the arrow, and soul is the target.
Pain is temporary, freedom is permanent.
Pranayama is not normal breathing – nor is it just deep breathing. It is the technique of generating cosmic vital energy through the fusion of the antagonistic elements of fire and water.
The gift of breath is the gift of life
Pranayama is the beginning of withdrawal from the external engagement of the mind and senses. That is why it brings peacefulness.
You have to tame your breath to tame your brain
Only by learning how to relax the brain can one remove stress.
When the suffering, depressed mind is cured, the light of the soul can itself radiate to the surface of our being
…To be continued
Namaste.
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