Iyengar Quotes On The Body And Alignment, Explained
Iyengar quotes on the body: the short version
Do you live in your body, or just above it? Mr BKS Iyengar joked that people have landed on the moon but not in their own bodies. These Iyengar quotes on the body, from him, his daughter Geeta and his son Prashant, are short lines with a plain-English explanation of what each means and how it shows up in class. They cover living in the body, what alignment is for, and how body and mind work together.
These Iyengar quotes on the body in short form
- Arrive in your body: that’s the first job of a class.
- Treat it like a child: with care, patience and a little firmness.
- Alignment is a tool: it makes seeing and feeling clearer.
- Work the whole: to work one part, work the whole.
- Mind and body together: being bendy isn’t the same as learning.
Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is sometimes called modern classical yoga, and it’s the style we teach at Flametree. His daughter Geeta (1944 to 2018) and his son Prashant, who still teaches in Pune, became teachers too.
Why does Mr Iyengar talk about living in the body?
Man has landed on the moon but he has not landed in his own body.
What it means: A big, clever comparison: people have reached the moon but not “landed” in their own body. Mr Iyengar means that most of us don’t really live in the body, we live above it, in our head. Yoga is a way of arriving and noticing where you are.
Read more: Mountain pose: how to stand properly · More quotes on attention and awareness
I live in the body, not in Mauritius, London, India, or South Africa.
What it means: “I live in the body”, not in a country or a city. It’s a nice reminder that wherever you are on the map, the body is where you actually are. When you arrive at a class, the first job is to come home to it.
Read more: Pose and practice notes
Our body is our vahana – our vehicle. Without this vehicle we cannot experience anything.
What it means: Geeta calls the body our vehicle: without it we can’t experience anything. All feeling, tasting, walking, even thinking happens through it. If that’s so, it’s worth looking after the vehicle and learning to drive it well.
Read more: Yoga for body, breath and mind
Your body is your child, look after it.
What it means: Think of how you treat a child: with care, patience and a bit of firmness. Mr Iyengar suggests we treat our own body the same way. That means no bullying it into poses and no neglecting it either.
Read more: Managing effort in your yoga practice
The parts of your body are your pupils. Teach them well.
What it means: If every part of your body is a pupil, you become the teacher, and good teachers are patient and clear. Tell your hamstrings what to do the way you’d tell a student, calmly and with encouragement. If one part isn’t getting it, explain again more slowly.
Read more: More quotes on teaching
The muscles are more adamant than we are. Instead of serving us they boss us about.
What it means: Muscles can be stubborn. When habits take over, the muscles stop serving us and begin bossing us about. A tight neck that has held your head forward for years is one example. Slow, careful practice is how you politely renegotiate.
Read more: How to break up fascia · Yoga for flexibility and stiffness
Your brain may say, “We can do it.” But the knee may say, “Who are you to dictate to me? It is for me to say whether I can do it or not.”
What it means: The brain says “I can do this.” The knee says “Who are you to tell me?” Mr Iyengar’s point is to listen to the joint, not just the idea. Respect what the knee tells you, and the pose stays safe and sensible. If you feel pain, stop and ask your teacher.
Read more: Triangle pose · Pose and practice notes
What is alignment, and why is it a big deal in Iyengar yoga?
Correct alignment is enlightenment. It enlightens the practitioner.
What it means: He gives alignment a grand name: “Correct alignment is enlightenment. It enlightens the practitioner.” Put simply, when the body is lined up, you can see and feel more clearly. Alignment (how the parts of the body sit in relation to each other) is the tool, and the clarity is the reward.
Read more: Yoga for posture · Who was Mr BKS Iyengar?
To work a part, work the whole.
What it means: To work one part, you have to work the whole. A good Triangle Pose isn’t only about the leg. It needs the feet, hips, arms and breath. If one link is lazy, the chain sags.
Read more: Triangle pose · Warrior 2 pose
Divide the body into millions of parts and then stretch; do not attempt to stretch a lump.
What it means: Don’t stretch a lump. Divide the body into millions of tiny parts and stretch each one. In a forward bend, for instance, you can stretch the back of the knee, the middle of the thigh and the sitting bone as separate places. Slowing down and looking closely is how that happens.
Read more: Seated forward bend · Yoga for flexibility and stiffness
Slouching acts like a narcotic to the body.
What it means: A narcotic dulls the senses, and slouching, he says, dulls the body. When we slump, we stop feeling the back, the ribs and the breath. The remedy is simply to lift and notice, and a small change in how you sit can wake the whole thing up.
Read more: Desk yoga · Pelvic tilt in yoga
It is the spine’s job to keep the mind alert.
What it means: The spine’s job is to keep the mind alert. A spine that’s lifted and long gives you a bright feeling, a spine that’s collapsed makes you sleepy. Try sitting tall for a minute and see what changes.
Read more: Yoga for posture · Back care notes
Asanas, though appearing static externally, are full of dynamic action within.
What it means: From outside, a pose looks still. Inside, there’s lots of action: pressing, lifting, spreading. Geeta says asanas are full of dynamic action within. That’s why a class can feel like hard work even though you’re standing quietly.
Read more: How long to hold yoga poses · Yoga for strength
Bring life to every cell.
What it means: Short and vivid: bring life to every cell. Imagine the awareness reaching into your fingertips, your ankles, even the back of the knee. It’s a way to wake up the parts of the body that usually get ignored.
Read more: More quotes on attention and awareness
How do the body and the mind work together?
You all overstretch the brain and understretch the body.
What it means: He teases that we overstretch the brain and understretch the body. Many of us think and plan all day while the body sits. Yoga balances this by giving the body the stretch and the mind a rest.
Read more: Desk yoga: poses for sitting and driving all day
Density in bones is a virtue, but in brains it is a vice.
What it means: A joke with a point: density in bones is good, density in brains is not. He means a mind that is closed, stubborn or slow to learn. A mind that stays open and curious is an asset at any age.
Read more: Yoga for balance, bones and strength · More quotes on learning
If your body flexes like rubber, do not think you have learnt. You have to see whether the mind has reached there or not.
What it means: Being bendy doesn’t mean you have learnt yoga. What matters is whether the mind has reached the pose too. A flexible person can drift through poses, while a stiff person can work with real attention. Attention is the measure.
Read more: Yoga for stiff guys · More quotes on attention and awareness
Know that the brain exists in the head of man, but the mind exists everywhere in him.
What it means: The brain sits in the head, but the mind, he says, is everywhere in us. That’s why a good pose can change how you feel in your mood and thoughts, not only in your muscles. Body and mind aren’t two separate things in yoga.
Read more: Yoga for body, breath and mind · More quotes on the mind and meditation
Suppleness does not count. The organic strength counts.
What it means: Suppleness doesn’t count; organic strength counts. In other words, being bendy isn’t the goal. Strength from the inside, the kind that supports the body, matters more.
Read more: Can yoga build muscle? · Yoga for strength
Asanas are not done for the body but by the body.
What it means: Prashant turns the usual idea around: asanas aren’t done for the body but by the body. The body is the doer, the one that is learning and understanding. It’s a good way to treat yourself with respect in class.
Read more: More quotes on poses
Cells learn better than us.
What it means: Cells learn better than us. The body picks up a movement through repeating and feeling, often faster than the thinking mind can describe it. That’s one reason repetition matters so much in classes.
Read more: More quotes on learning
Shoulders are not meant to hang the overcoat on but to carry responsibilities.
What it means: Shoulders are for carrying responsibilities, not for hanging an overcoat on. A good-natured joke about letting the shoulders hang slack and weighed down. In class you’re often asked to lift and open the chest so the shoulders can do real work.
Read more: Yoga for posture
Related pages
- Iyengar yoga poses: pose and practice notes
- Yoga for posture
- Yoga for back care: notes and articles
- Yoga for flexibility and stiffness
More Iyengar quotes, explained: Ageing Well, Attention And Awareness, Effort And Discipline, Health, Illness And Injury, Learning, Life And Happiness, The Mind And Meditation, Philosophy, The Sutras And The Ego, Practice, Teaching. Or see all the quotes on the Iyengar Yoga Quotes, Explained page.
Frequently asked questions
What did Mr Iyengar mean by “correct alignment is enlightenment”?
He meant that when the body is lined up well, you can see and feel more clearly. Alignment, how the parts of the body sit in relation to each other, is the tool, and clear awareness is the reward.
What does “to work a part, work the whole” mean in yoga?
Mr Iyengar’s line means that no part of the body works alone. In Triangle Pose, for example, a good leg needs the feet, hips, arms and breath to work too. If one link is lazy, the whole pose sags.
Did Mr Iyengar think being flexible matters most?
No. He said, “If your body flexes like rubber, do not think you have learnt. You have to see whether the mind has reached there or not.” Geeta said, “Suppleness does not count. The organic strength counts.”
Where can I learn alignment-based yoga with props in Darwin?
Flametree teaches Iyengar yoga, which is built around alignment and props, in Darwin and LIVE online. The timetable shows the classes.
Practise this at Flametree
Your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree. New students, and anyone who has been away three months or more, can also get a half price 10 class pass, in the studio or LIVE online.
- Beginners: see the half price 10 class pass for new and lapsed students
- Already done some yoga: see the half price 10 class pass for new and lapsed students
- See the timetable, including online classes
Can’t make a class? Practise at home with our video courses.
Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin and LIVE online. This page is general information, not medical advice. The quotes are short credited extracts from works by the Iyengar family; each credit names the source. Sources quoted on this page: Astadala Yogamala, Chittavijnana of Yogasana, Iyengar: His Life and Work, Light on Life, Sparks of Divinity, The Tree of Yoga, Yoga Rahasya, Yoga: A Gem for Women. Further reading: Mr Iyengar on Wikipedia · Geeta Iyengar on Wikipedia
