Insight into Asana (Postures)

from Illumination, Aphorisms of B.K.S. Iyengar

Our body

is the instrument

for our art.

The brain is the

hardest part of the body

to adjust in asana.

Do not contract your brain

when you stretch your body.

The brain is the heaviest limb in the body.

Inspire the brain to stretch the body.

What is the use of merely

developing the muscles

if the brain is not working?

Work from the energy body.

The energy body, not the physical body,

holds poses.

When an asana is done correctly

the body movements are smooth,

there is lightness in the body

and freedom in the mind.

Move the body with the Self

- no separation.

Body is the bow,

asana the arrow

And soul is the target.

B.K.S. Iyengar, one of the great exponents of yoga, inspired millions on their spiritual path of yoga.