“The most important part that happens during a yoga class, is not what happens outside the body, but what happens inside the body.” David Scott

“I am in charge of how I feel and today I am choosing happiness. I am choosing to value myself. I am choosing to take time tonight and love myself.”

“The secret to having it all is knowing that you already do.”

“Love is the bridge between you and everything.” – Rumi

“I did not come to teach you. I came to Love you. Love will teach you”

“Yoga uses the body to discipline the mind and to reach the soul.” ~ BKS Iyengar

Yoga adds years to your life and life to your years. – Allan Finger

The five Niyamas – Personal Observances

1. Saucha (cleanliness)

Saucha can be translated as ‘cleanliness’, but it doesn’t just mean physical cleanliness. For example, cultivating Saucha gives us the ability to “Clean away” the habits we have picked up in our life that no longer serve us.

“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.” – Nejwa Sebian

This is a time of emotional cleansing and ridding ourselves of dead weight we have been carrying.

2. Santosha (contentment)

Santosha Instead of saying to yourself, “I will be happy when….” We learn to be content with exactly what we have. We learn that less can mean more. Instead of focusing on what we feel is lacking in our lives, we focus on what we have.

“Do not spoil what you do have by desiring what you feel is missing in your life. Remember that what you have now was once among the things you only hoped for.”

3. Tapas (discipline)

Tapas is the fire of our passions and we can use them to burn away our impurities. It is our inner wisdom that our ego can choose to ignore and it’s the fiery passion that feeds our sense of purpose!

4. Svadhyaya (self study)

“There is a voice in your head that does not use words, listen.” – Rumi

Svadhyaya teaches that the wisest mind always has something yet to learn and that learning to unlearn is the highest form of learning.

Patanjali writes “Study thyself, discover the divine”. Practicing self reflection, observation and study of the self makes us more aware of the things we do that harm us, plus the things that serve us, bringing us in closer contact with our true self.

If you seek peace, be still. If you seek wisdom, be silent. If you seek love, be yourself.

5. Isvara Pranidhana (surrendering to a higher power)

This is ‘surrendering to a higher power’ or simply letting go of our expectations. Joseph Campbell wrote, ‘We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. Disappointments are that gap between our expectations and reality. Do our best, be authentic and life live fully, but let go of the story and of our expectations.

“A great attitude becomes a great day which becomes a great month which becomes a great year which becomes a great life”

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow”

“Take time to do something that makes your soul happy.”

“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.” – Rumi

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“Pay close attention to people in your life that don’t clap when you win.” – Yogi Gupta

Be so positive that negative people don’t want to be near you.

“Most obstacles melt away when we make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” – Orison Swett Marden

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C. S. Lewis

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” – Hugh Downs

“Compassion is language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry Thoreau

“Persistence is probably the single most common quality of high achievers. They simply refuse to give up. They longer you hang in there, the greater the chance that something will happen in your favor. No matter how hard it seems, the longer you persist the more likely your success.” – Jack Canfield

“Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” – Roy T. Bennett

“Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.” ~ Alan Cohen