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celebrating 14 years online 1998-2012
Quotations about Yoga & Tai Chi
Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. ~B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are. ~Jason Crandell, quoted in Yoga Journal, November 2005 Yoga is difficult for the one whose mind is not subdued. ~Bhagavad Gita Corpse pose restores life. Dead parts of your being fall away, the ghosts are released. ~Terri Guillemets Yoga doesn't take time, it gives time. ~Ganga White Yoga has a sly, clever way of short-circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety. ~Baxter Bell, quoted in "Worry Thwarts," Yoga Journal, March 2006 Concentrating on poses clears the mind, while focusing on the breath helps the body shift out of fight-or-flight mode. ~Melanie Haiken, about yoga and anxiety, "Worry Thwarts," Yoga Journal, March 2006 Warrior pose battles inner weakness and wins focus. You see that there is no war within you. You're on your own side, and you are your own strength. ~Terri Guillemets Mountain pose teaches us, literally, how to stand on our own two feet.... teaching us to root ourselves into the earth.... Our bodies become a connection between heaven and earth. ~Carol Krucoff Mountain pose is an affirmation. You can conquer anything with your natural boldness and resolute strength. Only you can reach the peak of your success. ~Terri Guillemets I tried yoga once but took off for the mall halfway through class, as I had a sudden craving for a soft pretzel and world peace. ~Terri Guillemets All unimportant matters drop off you in ragdoll pose. Very few things are genuinely important. The Truth sways before you. ~Terri Guillemets When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world. ~B.K.S. Iyengar The autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic system, which is often identified with the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic, which is identified with what's been called the relaxation response. When you do yoga - the deep breathing, the stretching, the movements that release muscle tension, the relaxed focus on being present in your body - you initiate a process that turns the fight-or-flight system off and the relaxation response on. That has a dramatic effect on the body. The heartbeat slows, respiration decreases, blood pressure decreases. The body seizes this chance to turn on the healing mechanisms. ~Richard Faulds Tree pose grows confidence. ~Terri Guillemets Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God. ~Krishnamacharya Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end. ~Jiddhu Krishnamurti For those wounded by civilization, yoga is the most healing salve. ~Terri Guillemets Chair pose is a defiance of spirit, showing how high you can reach even when you're forced down. ~Terri Guillemets Basketball is an endurance sport, and you have to learn to control your breath; that's the essence of yoga, too. So, I consciously began using yoga techniques in my practice and playing. I think yoga helped reduce the number and severity of injuries I suffered. As preventative medicine, it's unequaled. ~Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Before you've practiced, the theory is useless. After you've practiced, the theory is obvious. ~David Williams, an Ashtanga yoga teacher in Maui, Hawaii, quoted from yoga.com Tai chi does not mean oriental wisdom or something exotic. It is the wisdom of your own senses, your own mind and body together as one process. ~Chungliang Al Huang It has long been my dream that one day Americans of all ages, creeds and colors will be practicing taijiquan in the parks of this nation as they do in China. Few places in the world have such beautiful open spaces which can and should be used productively at no expense. The result would be tremendous improvement in mental and physical well-being. ~Jou, Tsung Hwa As the practitioner incorporates the quality of tai chi movement into his life, he finds that he stops banging into things. The result of not falling into each step provides the opportunity to instantaneously ease back from unexpected barriers. ~Wolfe Lowenthal Of all the exercises, I should say that T'ai Chi is the best. It can ward off disease, banish worry and tension, bring improved physical health and prolong life. It is a good hobby for your whole life, the older you are, the better. It is suitable for everyone - the weak, the sick, the aged, children, the disabled and blind. It is also an economical exercise. As long as one has three square feet of space, one can take a trip to paradise and stay there to enjoy life for thirty minutes without spending a single cent. ~T.T. Liang (Liang Tung-Tsai, 1900-2002), T'ai Chi Ch'uan for Health and Self-Defense Think of the circular path of each movement, in Tai Chi every movement is in curve or circle that has no ending or beginning. ~Paul Lam Tai chi is the one exercise that can universally help solve our growing health crisis. It has stood the test of thousands of years. We have a generation of baby boomers with increasing health problems; old people who are sick, in pain, fearful, and cranky; a middle class that is increasingly incapable of affording most of the drugs that are prescribed for their ailments; children that are flaccid, diabetic and asthmatic. People of all ages are addicted to drugs, alcohol, sugar, cigarettes, and caffeine. Stress follows almost everyone like a shadow. ~Bruce Frantzis
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