Yoga Quotes for Depression

For centuries, yoga has helped relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Because of this, some of the best teachers and minds of all time have pondered and written about the connection. If you struggle with depression and anxiety, you’re not alone — more than 121 million people worldwide experience depression!

Here are some quotes to be keep in mind during your practice to help you manage your symptoms and to clear your mind. Try picking a quote from the list below, and reading it at the beginning and end of your practice and see how it sits with you.

1. For Calmness of the Mind

“Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and indifference toward the wicked.”
― Patanjali, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

2. The Cure

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.”
— BKS Iyengar

3. Swim in Acceptance

“When you catch yourself slipping into a pool of negativity, notice how it derives from nothing other than resistance to the current situation.”
― Donna Quesada

4. When You Want to Judge Everyone

“You must purge yourself before finding faults in others. When you see a mistake in somebody else, try to find if you are making the same mistake. This is the way to take judgment and to turn it into improvement. Do not look at others’ bodies with envy or with superiority. All people are born with different constitutions. Never compare with others. Each one’s capacities are a function of his or her internal strength. Know your capacities and continually improve upon them.”
― B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life

5. Let Go of Yesterday

“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”
— Buddha