Art of Living Yoga developed by contemporary yoga and spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, is a form of Hatha Yoga that has an emphasis on the overall well-being of the body while nurturing your mind and spirit.

It is firmly based on the traditional eight limbs of yoga as expounded by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutrasand other ancient yoga scriptures like Hatha Yoga Pradapika and Gherand Samhita. In Sri Sri Yoga, the wisdom and techniques of Yoga are brought to you in a very joyful manner.

The following 10 beautiful quotes on yoga by Sri Sri Yoga helps one to understand the profoundness of yoga and leaves one wonderstruck:

1. “Like a flower bud, human life has the potential to blossom fully. Blossoming of human potential to fullness is yoga.”

Art of Living Yoga is a discipline that is both gentle and powerful for uniting body, breath and mind in awareness. It integrates elements from all the different paths of Yoga where in you get glimpse of Raj Yoga (Sahaj Yoga), Ashtang or Hatha Yoga (eightfold yoga), Karma Yoga (selfless service), Bhakti Yoga (path of devotion with soulful chanting and singing) as well Gnana Yoga (yogic wisdom) making the yoga experience wholesome and complete. It is a beautiful combination of disciplined practices, wisdom, and fun leading to blossoming of your full human potential.

2. “Yoga brings the knowledge, passion and action together.” 

Yoga is not just doing some body-twisting postures – it is experiencing the union of the body, mind and breath – and Sri Sri Yoga gives you that experience. Sri Sri Yoga is taught globally by certified teachers of Art of Living Foundation (registered under Yoga Alliance) who have chosen to teach and promote yoga wisdom as a passion and selfless service to humanity across the world.

3. “Yoga is a study of life, study of your body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, and ego; study of your inner faculties.”

The practice of yoga has been known for centuries to produce benefits in the areas of heath, mental clarity and spiritual connection. Designed in such a way that practice of Sri Sri Yoga touches all levels of your existence – the body, breath, emotions, intellect, memory, ego and the Self. Thus it expands to benefit not just the outer most or gross physical existence but the inner most faculties are also sharpened. This helps tremendously to integrate the yoga wisdom to day to day living.

4. “Withdraw your senses from the object to its source, then the union happens, then the yoga happens.” 

During the Sri Sri Yoga Retreat, you learn correct way of doing asanas and pranayama, you learn to stretch yet relax in asanas, you learn to harmonize breath with asanas, you learn precautions and common error while doing asanas and pranayama, you learn how to let go and go deeper into your practice to experience that “union” which yoga promises.

5. “Peace is our very nature, and yoga leads you to inner peace.”

Sri Sri Yoga teaches you how to pay attention on what you experience inside, how is the state of your mind while you practice rather than how much your body can bend and go into pretzel. While off the yoga mat, life seems to be constant struggle, here you learn how to become effortless to experience that inner peace which is your real nature.

6. “The purpose of yoga is to stop suffering even before it arises.” 

Sri Sri Yoga is a holistic way of energizing and integrating your mind, body and spirit.  This ancient knowledge made applicable for modern times can be easily added to your daily routine resulting in a lasting experience of your true inner power and overall well-being. Its regular practice has helped thousands to prevent sufferings.

7. “Yoga is not just weight-loss program, it is a science to make you feel lighter. You lose mental stuff of anger, jealousy, hatred, greed, etc.”

During the Sri Sri Yoga basic program that is taught in 10 to 12 hours at Art of Living Retreat Center and all over, certified teachers will help you to experience the real depth of yoga that bring benefits not just at physical level but at mental, emotional and spiritual level too. A complete experience, Sri Sri Yoga will leave you feeling rejuvenated inside and out.

8. “One of the rules of yoga is to cultivate the practice of being happy.”

Everybody ultimately wants to be happy. But what is real happiness? Wise say shifting your gear from pursuit of happiness to being happy, making happiness a journey rather than destination is the key. How to unlock the gates to happiness with this key? In my experience, consistent and disciplined Practice of Sri Sri Yoga facilitates a happier approach to life and healthier lifestyle.

9. “The wisdom of Yoga transforms one from arrogance to self-confidence; meekness to humility; from dependence to a realization of interdependence.” 

One may wonder if yoga a self-help program. Taught in two different programs – Sri Sri Yoga Level 1 and Level 2, will bring you in touch with the ancient yoga wisdom which flourishes your inner beauty as human being.

10. “The wisdom of Yoga transforms one from craving for freedom to recognition of unboundedness, from limited ownership to oneness with the whole.” 

Really? Hard to believe, right? But yes, this is the real potential of yoga. Simple yoga postures, rejuvenating breathing techniques, blissful meditations integrated with invaluable ancient wisdom of yoga puts you definitely on the path of life transformation.

As a yoga explorer with two decades of experience, I invite my fellow explorers to dive deeper and experience what it takes to be real yogi (or yogini).