Quotes & Readings

Short Quotes

“Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“The most complete and true happiness comes in moments when you feel right there, completely present, with no ideas about good and bad, right and wrong – just a sense of open heart and open mind.” – Pema Chodron

“We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming. We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they are. They are gifts from the universe that we cannot refuse. But we can choose what we will contribute to life when each arrives.“ – Gary Zukav

“Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots.“ – Rumi

“Take care of yourself and remember that taking care of something else is an important part of taking care of yourself, because you are interwoven with the ten trillion things in this single garment of destiny that has been stained and torn, but is still being woven and mended and washed.” – Rebecca Solnit

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.” – Dalai Lama

“Express, express, express. Open yourself up, do not harden yourself to the world, and be bold in who, and how you love. There is courage in that.” – Bianca Sparacino

“You are enough, just as you are. Each emotion you feel, everything in your life, everything you do or do not do…where you are and who you are right now is enough. It is perfect. You are perfect enough.” – Melanie Jade

“A drop of water, if it could write out its own history, would explain the universe to us.” – Lucy Larcom

“A tree that wants to touch the sky must extend its roots deep into the earth. The more it has to go upwards, the more it has to go downwards. So to rise in life, we must be humble, down to earth, and grateful.” – Derek Rydall

“Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.” – Jack Kornfield

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Pay attention to the gap – the gap between two thoughts, the brief, silent space between words in a conversation, between the notes of a piano or flute, or the gap between the in-breath and the out-breath. When you pay attention to those gaps, awareness of ‘something’ becomes – just awareness.” – Eckhart Tolle

Readings from Poems

“i am sending my love to your eyes. may they always see goodness in people. and may you always practice kindness. may we see each other as one. may we be nothing short of in love with everything the universe has to offer. and may we always stay grounded. rooted. our feet planted firmly onto the earth.“

From “a love letter from me to you” by Rupi Kaur

“Do not resist the darkness,
Do not chase the light,
Do not be afraid to step into the dark,
Do not be attached to the sunshine bright,
A star cannot exist without the dark,
A day cannot exist without the night.“

From Neha’s Notebook

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.“

From “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

“Pause from your full calendar and long task list. Take a moment – or ten – to simply be. To remind yourself that this is life, right here and right now. To reacquaint yourself with your pulsing heart and your incredible body that allow you to do all that you do.“

From “Pause“ by Nikki Banas Warne

“Sometimes, you have to let go.
You have to accept that
some of the trees you thought were evergreen
would only hold their leaves for a season.“

From “Lett i n g g o poem no. 3“ by Morgan Harper Nichols

“Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awake;
Those moments we missed
Are now these moments we make,
The moments we meet,
And our hearts, once altogether beaten,
Now all together beat.“

“Come, look up with kindness yet,
For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.
We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,
But to take on tomorrow.“

From “A New Day’s Lyric“ by Amanda Gorman

“Gratitude is the understanding that many millions of things come together and live together and mesh together and breathe together in order for us to take even one more breath of air, that the underlying gift of life and incarnation as a living, participating human being is a privilege; that we are miraculously part of something, rather than nothing. Even if that something is temporarily pain or despair, we inhabit a living world, with real faces, real voices, laughter, the color blue, the green of the fields, the freshness of a cold wind, or the tawny hue of a winter landscape.“

From “Gratitude“ by David Whyte

Sanskrit Mantras

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu
May all beings everywhere be happy and free.

Sat nam
Truth is my essence.

So hum
I am that

Om mani padme hum
Praise to the jewel in the lotus.

Adi Mantra:
Ong namo gurudev namo
I bow to the teacher within.

Pavamana Mantra:
Om asato ma sadgamaya
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
Mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya
Om shanti shanti shanti
From falsehood lead me to truth,
From darkness lead me to light,
From death lead me to immortality.
Peace, peace, peace.

Recommended Books

The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice, by Deborah Adele

Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears, by Pema Chodron 

Bringing Yoga to Life: The Everyday Practice of Enlightened Living, by Donna Farhi

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams

Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life, by Judith Hanson Lasater

Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What Is Sacred, by Mark Nepo

The Radiance Sutras: 112 Gateways to the Yoga of Wonder and Delight, by Lorin Roche