108 Inspirational Yoga, Nature & Mindfulness Quotes
Sometimes we all need a little extra inspiration or motivation. So I put together this list of 108 yoga, nature and mindfulness quotes.
Why 108?
108 has long been a significant and sacred number in yoga and Hinduism. Traditional mala beads used for prayer or mediation contain 108 beads plus one larger guru bead.
Renowned yoga teacher Shiva Rea says “Mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.
According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.”
Enjoy this wide variety of words of wisdom from around the world!
– Miranda
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1. Understanding someone’s suffering is the best gift you can give another person. Understanding is love’s other name. If you don’t understand, you can’t love.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk from Vietnam
2. People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
3. Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School
4. To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is
-Thich Nhat Hanh
5. “Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.”
– Thích Nhất Hạnh
6. “The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.”
– Thích Nhất Hạnh
7. “Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.”
– Jack Kornfield Vipassana Meditation Teacher, Author, American
8. “Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.” – Jack Kornfield
9. “You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.”
– Pema Chödrön, Buddhist Nun and Author from America
10. “Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” – Pema Chödrön
11. “Altogether, the idea of meditation is not to create states of ecstasy or absorption, but to experience being.”
– Chögyam Trungpa, 11th Trungpa Tülku and Meditation Master, Kham from Tibet
12. “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.”
– Sharon Salzberg, Co-founded Insight Meditation Society, NY times best selling author, Buddhist Meditation Teacher, American
13. “That’s life: starting over, one breath at a time.” – Sharon Salzberg
14. “You cannot control the results, only your actions.”
– Allan Lokos, Mindfulness Author
15. “What would it be like if I could accept life – accept this moment – exactly as it is?”
– Tara Brach, American Psychologist and Buddhist Meditation Proponent
16. “Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.”
– Amit Ray, Spiritual Master, Author from India
17. “Open the window of your mind. Allow the fresh air, new lights and new truths to enter.”
– Amit Ray
18. “Step outside for a while – calm your mind. It is better to hug a tree than to bang your head against a wall continually.”
– Rasheed Ogunlaru, Life Coach, Speaker, Author from the United Kingdom
19. “A few simple tips for life: feet on the ground, head to the skies, heart open…quiet mind.”
– Rasheed Ogunlaru
20. “Three things can not hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth.”
– Buddha
21. “Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.”
– Buddha
22. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
– Buddha
23. “Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”
– Buddha
24. “The stiller you are the calmer life is.”
– Rasheed Ogunlaru
25. In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
-John Muir, Scottish-American Naturalist, Author, Environmental Philosopher, “Father of the National Parks”
26. Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.
-Henry David Thoreau, American Essayist, Poet, Philosopher, Naturalist
27. I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.
-John Muir
28. Nature is just enough; but men and women must comprehend and accept her suggestions.
- Antoinette Brown Blackwell, First Woman to be ordained as a Mainstream Protestant Minister, American
29. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
- Rachel Carson, American Biologist, Conservationist
30. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.
-Rachel Carson
31. The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
- Rabindranath Tagore, Poet, Musician, Artist from India
32. If we surrendered to earth’s intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees.
-Rainer Maria Rilke, Poet and Novelist, Czech Republic
33. Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard.
-Standing Bear Ponca, Native American Chief, Nebraska
34. Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.
-Lao Tzu, Ancient Philosopher Henan, China
35. Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
36. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth, becomes part of his daily food.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
37. I never saw a discontented tree.
-John Muir
38. When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
-John Muir
39. I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.
-Henry David Thoreau
40. When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.
-Peace Pilgrim, American spiritual teacher, and First Woman to walk the entire Appalachian Trail in one season
41. Don’t move the way fear makes you move. Move the way love makes you move. Move the way joy makes you move.
-Osho, Indian spiritual leader, Raisen district, India
42. I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul.
- Rumi, 13th century Persian poet, Sufi mystic, Afghanistan
43. 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, Author and Yoga teacher american
44. Yoga is a light which once lit will never dim, the better your practice the brighter your flame.
- B.K.S. Iyengar, founder of Iyengar yoga, Bellur, India
45. If you choose to see everything as a miracle, then where you are right now is perfect. There is nowhere to run to; there is nothing else to do except be in this moment and allow what is to be. From that place of radical acceptance, major change can happen. The first step in any transformational experience is acceptance and surrender to the present moment, the way that it is. From that place we have the awareness, humility and power to change what is.
- Mastin Kipp, Modern Spiritual Thinker, and Author, American
46. Wisdom is knowing we are all One. Love is what it feels like and Compassion is what it acts like.
- Ethan Walker III, Author
47. Have only love in your heart for others. The more you see the good in them, the more you will establish good in yourself.
– Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian Yogi and guru Gorakhpur, India
48. Your soul is your best friend. Treat it with care, nurture it with growth, feed it with love.
– Ashourina Yalda
49. Follow your nature. The practice is really about uncovering your own pose; we have great respect for our teachers, but unless we can uncover our own pose in the moment, it’s not practice — it’s mimicry. Rest deeply in Savasana every day. Always enter that pratyahara (withdrawn state) every day. And just enjoy yourself. For many years I mistook discipline as ambition. Now I believe it to be more about consistency. Do get on the mat. Practice and life are not that different.
- Judith Hanson Lasater -yoga teacher and writer, American
50. Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.
- Eckhart Tolle German spiritual teacher and author
51. Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.
- The Bhagavad Gita, Ancient Indian Text
52. 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, American Yogi
53. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
-Mother Teresa, Roman Catholic Nun, from Macedonia
54. Go from a human being doing yoga to a human being yoga.
– Baron Baptiste, Yoga Instructor, American
55. Yoga is the methodology with which to unveil the miracle that exists right in front of our faces and inside ourselves.
- Rodney Yee American yoga instructor
56. Yoga is not about touching your toes, it’s about what you learn on the way down.
– Jigar Gor
57. Yoga does not change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.
- B.K.S Iyengar
58. Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divinity within you.
- Amit Ray
Image © 2018 Namaste in Nature Waterfall Yoga Hike
59. When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.
– Helen Keller, American Author, Political Activist
60. The true miracle lies in our eagerness to allow, appreciate, and honor the uniqueness, and freedom of each sentient being to sing the song of their heart.
– Amit Ray
61. 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 Teacher from Mysore, India
62. Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
– Buddha
63. When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.
– John Lennon, Singer Songwriter, Peace Activist, Co-founded the Beatles, United Kingdom
64. Yoga is about clearing away whatever is in us that prevents our living in the most full and whole way. With yoga, we become aware of how and where we are restricted — in body, mind, and heart — and how gradually to open and release these blockages. As these blockages are cleared, our energy is freed. We start to feel more harmonious, more at one with ourselves. Our lives begin to flow — or we begin to flow more in our lives.
– Cybele Tomlinson, Director of the Berkeley yoga center, Yoga teacher and body worker, American
65. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
– Marianne Williamson American Spiritual Teacher, Author and Lecturer
66. Yoga is when every cell of the body sings the song of the soul.
- B.K.S. Iyengar
67. There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.
– Aldous Huxley, Writer, Novelist, Philosopher, United Kingdom
Image © 2018 Namaste in Nature Waterfall Yoga Hike
68. In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
– Albert Camus French, Philosopher, Author, and Journalist
69. “Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For 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.”
–B.K.S Iyengar
70. “There is always room for change, but you have to be open to that change.”
–Kathryn Budig, Yogi
71. True meditation is about being fully present with everything that is–including discomfort and challenges. It is not an escape from life.”
–Craig Hamilton, Spiritual Thought Leader
72. Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success.
– Hatha Yoga Pradipika
73. “Inhale the future. Exhale the past.”
–Unknown
74. “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 Teacher and Author, Finland
75. “I was looking for someone to inspire me, motivate me, support me, keep me focused… Someone who would love me, cherish me, make me happy, and I realized all along that I was looking for myself.”
–Unknown
76. “That’s why it’s called a practice. We have to practice a practice if it is to be of value.”
– Peace Pilgrim
77. “Calming the mind is yoga. Not just standing on the head.”
– Swami Satchidananda, Religious Leader, Spiritual Master form Chettipalayam, India
78. “Although yoga has its origins in ancient India, its methods and purposes are universal, relying not on cultural background, faith or deity, but simply on the individual. Yoga has become important in the lives of many contemporary Westerners, sometimes as a way of improving health and fitness of the body, but also as a means of personal and spiritual development.”
-Tara Fraser yogini and author, United Kingdom
79. “Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are.”
– Jason Crandell, Yoga Instructor
80. “Yoga is invigoration in relaxation. Freedom in routine. Confidence through self-control. Energy within and energy without.
- Ymber Delecto
81. Yoga is a dance between control and surrender — between pushing and letting go — and when to push and to let go becomes part of the creative process, part of the open-ended exploration of your well-being.”
– Joel Kramer
82. “Yoga is not about tightening your ass. It’s about getting your head out of it.”
– Eric Paskel, Yoga Instructor, American
83. “The pose begins when you want to get out of it.”
– Baron Baptiste
84. “The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the darkest corners of the body.”
– Jason Crandell
85. “Yoga does not remove us from the reality or responsibilities of everyday life but rather places our feet firmly and resolutely in the practical ground of experience. We don’t transcend our lives; we return to the life we left behind in the hopes of something better.”
– Donna Farhi, Movement Therapist and Yoga Teacher, New Zealand
86. “Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live.”
- Jim Rohn, Author, Motivational Speaker, American
87. “All kidding aside, if everyone did yoga, we would have world peace.”
– Rory Freedman, American Author
88. “The future depends on what we do in the present.”
– Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Activist
89. “Do not feel lonely. The entire universe is inside of you.”
– Rumi
90. “A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.”
– Zen Shin
91. “Doing anything with attention to how you feel is doing yoga.”
– Jean Couch, Yogini
92. “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
93. “You cannot always control what goes on outside, but you can always control what goes on inside.”
– Wayne Dyer, American Philosopher and Author
94. “Yoga is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are.”
-Erich Schiffmann, American Yogi
95. “Yoga teaches you how to listen to your body.”
–Mariel Hemingway, Actress and Yogini
96. "Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor."
- Thich Nhat Hanh
97. "The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence."
- Jiddu Krishnamurti Indian philosopher, speaker, and writer
98. "Few of us ever life in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone."
- Louis L'Amour, American Novelist
99. "The real question is not whether life exists after death. The real question is whether you are alive before death."
- Osho
100. "Suffering usually relates to wanting things to be different than they are."
- Allan Lokos
101. "Paradise is not a place; it's a state of consciousness."
- Sri Chinmoy, Spiritual Leader and Meditation Teacher, East Bengal, India
102. “Observe the space between your thoughts, then observe the observer."
- Hamilton Boudreaux
103. "Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it."
- Eckhart Tolle
104. "With meditation, you begin to relax in your seat and just watch the movie of life."
- Ken Wilber, American writer
105. "All that is necessary to awaken to yourself as the radiant emptiness of spirit is to stop seeking something different, and to turn your attention inward to the awake silence that you are."
- Adyashanti, Spiritual Teacher, American
106. "He who has freed himself of the disease of 'tomorrow' has a chance to attain what he came here for."
- G.I. Gurdjieff, Philosopher and Spiritual Teacher Armenia
107. "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
- Carl Jung, Swiss Psychiatrist
