All we actually have is our body and its muscles that allow us to be under our own power.

Allegra Kent, Once a Dancer…

Oh, darling, let your body in, let it tie you in, in comfort.

Anne Sexton (1928 - 1974)

Be sure that it is not you that is mortal, but only your body. For that man whom your outward form reveals is not yourself; the spirit is the true self, not that physical figure which and be pointed¹ out by your finger.

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Safeguard the health both of body and soul.

Cleobulus

But the body is deeper than the soul and its secrets inscrutable.

E. M. Forster (1879 - 1970)

I live in company with a body, a silent companion, exacting² and eternal.

Eugene Delacroix (1798 - 1863)

Of one thing I am certain, the body is not the measure of healing - peace is the measure.

George Melton

The body is an instrument, the mind its function, the witness and reward of its operation.

George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

The mind's first step to self-awareness must be through the body.

George Sheehan

Each individual woman's body demands to be accepted on its own terms.

Gloria Steinem (1934 - ), O Magazine, May 2004

Each body has its art...

Gwendolyn Brooks³ (1917 - )

Every man is the builder of a temple called his body.

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

I stand in awe⁴ of my body.

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack.

Henry Miller⁵ (1891 - 1980)

A sound mind in a sound body is a short but full description of a happy state in this world.

John Locke (1632 - 1704)

A healthy mind in a healthy body.

Juvenal (55 AD - 127 AD)

You should pray for a sound mind in a sound body.

Juvenal (55 AD - 127 AD), Satires⁶

He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted⁷ with the empire.

Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC), The Way of Lao-tzu

Over the years your bodies become walking autobiographies⁸, telling friends and strangers alike of the minor⁹ and major stresses of your lives.

Marilyn Ferguson

The body is a sacred garment.

Martha Graham (1894 - 1991)

The body is shaped, disciplined, honored, and in time, trusted.

Martha Graham (1894 - 1991)

The body says what words cannot.

Martha Graham (1894 - 1991)

There is but one temple in the universe and that is the body of man.

Novalis (1772 - 1801)

I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself.

Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine

It is confidence in our bodies, minds and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures, new directions to grow in, and new lessons to learn - which is what life is all about.

Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), Oprah Magazine, May 2004

It's also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that's sitting right here right now... with its aches and it pleasures... is exactly what we need to be fully¹⁰ human, fully awake, fully alive.

Pema Chodron

Bodily exercise, when compulsory¹¹, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.

Plato (427 BC - 347 BC), The Republic

Choose rather to be strong of soul than strong of body.

Pythagoras (582 BC - 507 BC)

I am convinced that life in a physical body is meant to be an ecstatic experience.

Shakti Gawain

Our bodies communicate to us clearly and specifically, if we are willing to listen to them.

Shakti Gawain