Iyengar Quotes On Stress, Explained

Iyengar quotes on stress: the short version

Can yoga get rid of stress? Mr BKS Iyengar said no, and what he said instead is more useful. These Iyengar quotes on stress come from Mr Iyengar, Geeta and Prashant. They are about asking how much stress there is, spotting what makes it sour, and staying steady in a busy life. Each is explained in plain English, with links to our notes on stress and calm.

Iyengar quotes on stress in short form

• You cannot remove stress: ask what the degree is instead.
• Some stress is useful: Mr Iyengar called positive stress a life elixir.
• Name the causes: anger, fear, speed, greed, ambition and competition.
• Put the task down: finish it, then release it.
• Stay composed: Prashant asks for calm in chaos.

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. The quotes below come from Mr Iyengar, his daughter Geeta S Iyengar and his son Prashant S Iyengar, who both became leading teachers in the tradition.

Can you get rid of stress?

Mr Iyengar had a realistic view. He did not promise a stress-free life.

We cannot eliminate stress and tension from our lives. That is not the point. Life is of itself stressful.

What it means: Many of us hope to get rid of stress altogether. Mr Iyengar is blunt: you cannot, and that is not the point. Life itself has pressure in it: deadlines, traffic, family.

Yoga practice is about how we meet it. In class you meet small pressures on purpose, like a long hold in a standing pose, and you learn to stay steady inside them.

Read more: yoga for stress relief, relaxation, stress and sleep notes. See also: More quotes on life and happiness.

There is nothing in this world free from stress until death. Rather than asking, “Can I be completely free from stress?” we must ask, “What is the degree of stress?”

What it means: Mr Iyengar swaps the question. Instead of “Can I be free of stress?” ask “How much stress is this?” That is something you can notice and work with.

Try this at the end of a day. Ask yourself: is today’s load a three or an eight? Naming the level is a small step towards answering it.

Read more: yoga for stress relief, calming the nervous system. See also: More quotes on life and happiness.

A positive stress is a life elixir.

What it means: Not all stress is bad. A positive stress, like the effort of learning a new pose or the pull of a good stretch, wakes you up. Mr Iyengar calls it a life elixir (something that gives energy).

The skill is in the dose. Too little and we go slack. Too much and we are overwhelmed. A good teacher helps you find the amount that stretches you without breaking you.

Read more: managing effort in practice, yoga for stress relief.

Meditation is not going to remove stress, my friend. Meditation is only possible when one is in a stress-less state.

What it means: This line surprises people. We often think of meditation as the way to calm a stressed mind. Mr Iyengar says meditation needs a mind that is already fairly calm to work with.

That is why Iyengar classes begin with the body: standing poses, props, breath and rest. They prepare the ground. Meditation grows more naturally on prepared ground.

Read more: meditation classes, Iyengar yoga and philosophy notes. See also: More quotes on mind and meditation.

The main causes of negative stress are anger, fear, speed, greed, unhealthy ambition, and competition.

What it means: Here is a short list from Mr Iyengar of what makes stress sour: anger, fear, speed, greed, unhealthy ambition and competition. It is worth reading it twice.

Which one do you see in your own week? Most of us can tick at least two. Seeing them clearly is the first step towards easing off.

Read more: yoga and anger, yoga for stress relief. See also: More quotes on mind and meditation.

Rushing saps the strength, whether you are in Delhi or New York. Do things rhythmically with a calm mind.

What it means: Whether you are in Delhi or New York, or in Darwin’s peak-hour traffic, Mr Iyengar says rushing drains your strength. His remedy: do things rhythmically with a calm mind.

Try moving into your next pose at the pace of your outbreath. Slow does not mean lazy. It means the body and the breath arrive at the same time.

Read more: managing effort in practice, staying steady in Darwin’s build-up. See also: More quotes on practice.

What does stress do to the breath and the mind?

These quotes are about the breath, the nerves and the habits of mind that wind us up.

The diaphragm is the window of the self. The more tension you have, the more the window of the diaphragm gets closed.

What it means: The diaphragm is the big dome-shaped muscle under your lungs that moves when you breathe. Mr Iyengar calls it a window. When we are tense, the window closes and the breath gets short and shallow.

Notice what your belly does when you are worried. Often it tightens. In class you practise opening that window with lying poses and slow breathing, in a way your teacher shows you.

Read more: what pranayama is, a student on pranayama and staying sane. See also: More quotes on breath and pranayama, More quotes on body and alignment.

After all, our nerves are liquid semiconductors, and they do not react well to wild fluctuations of current any more than your computer would. You have to tame your breath to tame your brain.

What it means: Mr Iyengar uses a modern picture. Our nerves, he says, are like the circuits in a computer. They do not like wild jumps in current. His line is that you tame the breath to tame the brain.

Think of how your breath changes when you are startled: quick, high, jagged. Practising slow, even breathing is a way of teaching the system a steadier pace. A teacher will show you how to start gently.

Read more: what pranayama is, calming the nervous system. See also: More quotes on breath and pranayama, More quotes on mind and meditation.

Where’s the time to hark back and talk and listen to your own body and mind?

What it means: This is a question, not a lecture. In a busy life, where is the time to listen to your own body and mind? Mr Iyengar asked it in an article about aerobics and yoga, and it is just as sharp now.

A class is one answer. For an hour, nobody needs anything from you. You listen: to the feet, the breath, the quiet after a pose.

Read more: yoga practice at home, relaxation, stress and sleep notes. See also: More quotes on attention and awareness.

So when our boss is on holiday, we carry on hating him. This does not harm him, but it certainly pollutes and poisons us. It is both a blockage and a dissipation of our vital energies.

What it means: This one is funny and true. Your boss is on holiday and you are still cross with him. Mr Iyengar says it does not harm him, but it certainly poisons you.

Anger and grudges use up energy we could spend elsewhere. Next time you notice a resentment looping in your head, try ten slow outbreaths and see if you feel lighter.

Read more: yoga and anger, calming the nervous system. See also: More quotes on life and happiness.

Does it do any good? Do you feel better for letting your serenity be so easily shattered? Does blaming the other driver restore your peace of mind? No.

What it means: Mr Iyengar asks a string of plain questions. Does blaming the other driver restore your peace of mind? No. He leaves the answer short because it is obvious once you ask.

The next time someone cuts you off, try asking the question out loud. It might not stop the feeling, but it can shorten it.

Read more: yoga and anger, yoga for anxiety. See also: More quotes on life and happiness.

How do you stay steady when life is busy?

Practical ideas from all three speakers on keeping calm at work, at home and at night.

The practice of yoga teaches us to deal with each task in the day as it arises, and then to put it down.

What it means: Notice the second half: then put it down. Many of us do the task and then carry it around all evening.

Mr Iyengar’s idea is to give each job your full attention, finish it and let it go. A good yoga class trains this in miniature: one pose, full attention, then release and move to the next.

Read more: yoga for stress relief, yoga practice at home. See also: More quotes on mind and meditation.

A stable mind is like the hub of a wheel. The world may spin around you, but the mind is steady.

What it means: Picture a wheel. The rim races round, but the hub stays still and everything is held together by it. Mr Iyengar says a stable mind is like the hub.

You do not need to stop the world to find the hub. In a long hold in Triangle Pose, you can feel the legs working while some part of you stays quiet. That part is the hub.

Read more: stillness in yoga, Iyengar yoga and philosophy notes. See also: More quotes on mind and meditation.

Don’t go to bed with tomorrow’s pressure of work. Whatever you have to do, you have to do it, so why worry about the matter?

What it means: Practical advice from a 1959 talk: do not go to bed with tomorrow’s pressure. What has to be done will be done, so why worry?

Try a short wind-down before bed. Write tomorrow’s list on paper so your head can let go, then lie down and follow your outbreath.

A tired mind that keeps solving tomorrow’s problems in bed is not resting. Putting the day down on purpose is a skill, and it can be practised.

Read more: yoga and sleep, yoga when you are tired. See also: More quotes on relaxation, rest and sleep.

We have to learn how to face all problems calmly and quietly. You change your mental attitude in spite of having problems.

What it means: Geeta was asked how to cope with problems. Her answer is about attitude: the problems stay, the way you meet them can change.

This is a steady kind of encouragement. You do not wait for life to be easy before you feel calm. You practise calm while life is exactly as it is.

Read more: calming the nervous system, yoga for stress relief. See also: More quotes on life and happiness.

Natural sleep occurs in a tranquil body and mind and makes one well equipped to face the problems of the day.

What it means: Geeta describes natural sleep as something that happens in a tranquil body and mind, not something forced. It leaves you ready for the day’s problems.

The practical hint: a quieter evening, a few resting poses and an early finish to screens give sleep more room to arrive on its own.

Read more: yoga and sleep, Legs Up The Wall. See also: More quotes on relaxation, rest and sleep.

Learn to remain composed in chaos. That is important.

What it means: A short instruction from a class in Pune. Prashant says learn to stay composed in chaos, and adds that it matters.

You can practise on small chaos: a noisy room, a wobbly pose, a mind full of lists. Stay with the breath for a minute and see what changes.

Chaos shows up in small ways too. A noisy room, a late bus, a pose that will not behave. Each one is a chance to practise.

Read more: yoga for stress relief, staying steady in Darwin’s build-up. See also: More quotes on life and happiness.

Doing bad under the worst circumstance is the best. Doing the best under the best circumstances is not the best.

What it means: A riddle in Prashant’s style. Doing badly in terrible conditions can be better than doing very well in easy ones, because the first one asks more of you.

It is a kind way to think about a bad day on the mat. You turned up, the body was stiff, the mind was loud, and you stayed anyway. That counts for a lot.

Read more: managing effort in practice, a student on pranayama and staying sane. See also: More quotes on effort and discipline.

Related pages

• Yoga for Relaxation, Stress and Sleep: notes and articles
• Yoga for stress relief: what the research says
• How to calm your nervous system
• Does yoga help with anger?
• Iyengar quotes on relaxation and sleep

Frequently asked questions

Did Mr Iyengar say yoga removes stress?

No. He wrote that we cannot eliminate stress and tension from our lives, because life is of itself stressful. He suggested asking what the degree of stress is, and said a positive stress is a life elixir.

What did Mr Iyengar say causes negative stress?

He listed anger, fear, speed, greed, unhealthy ambition and competition as the main causes of negative stress. The list is in Light on Life, in the chapter on the energy body.

What did the Iyengars say about worry at bedtime?

Mr Iyengar advised not going to bed with tomorrow’s pressure of work, because what has to be done will be done. Geeta described natural sleep as something that happens in a tranquil body and mind.

Where can I learn calm, steady yoga in Darwin?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin, at Woolner and Coolalinga, in the studio and LIVE online. Your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree, and the timetable shows what is on.

Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and LIVE online. Information only, not medical advice. The quotes on this page are short credited extracts from the books, articles and talks named beside each one.