“If you can breathe, you can do yoga”

Some people believe that yoga is both physically and mentally demanding, but many yoga instructors dispel that, stating that each person goes at his or her own pace. “If you can breathe, you can do/practice yoga” is a popular saying that has been printed on several images.
   
“If you can breathe, you can practice yoga” has been cited in print since at least 1970 and is of unknown authorship. “If you can breathe, you can do yoga” was printed in a 1973 newspaper.
   
   
10 April 1970, Dayton (OH) Daily News, “Yoga for Everyone?” by Elaine Morrissey, pg. 37, col. 1:
“If you can breathe, you can practice yoga,” vows Marcia Moore, yogi teacher, astrology, writer, mother and wife.
 
30 December 1973, Anderson (IN) Sunday Herald, “Yoga Blends Self-Awareness With Physical Health” by Toni L. Apgar, pg. 11, col. 5:
Suzi Adams says, “If you can breathe, you can do yoga.”
 
29 October 1975, Anderson (IN) Herald “Places & Faces” by Holly Miller, pg. 6, col. 1:
“If you can breathe, you can do Yoga.”
(Betty Sims, of the Self Awareness Yoga Center.—ed.)
 
Google News Archive
24 January 1991, Idahonian (Moscow, ID), “Yoga: uniting body and mind,” pg. 1B, col. 1:
The requirements for yoga are few. If you can breathe, you can do it.
 
Google News Archive
4 September 2003, Gainesville (FL) Sun, “Yoga: Harn offers free week of classes,” pg. 2D, col. 3:
On their advertisements, they claim if you can breathe, you can do yoga.
 
Google Books
Yoga of Heart:
The Healing Power of Intimate Connection
By Mark Whitw
New York, NY: Lantern Books
2004
Pg. 76:
If you can breathe, you can do yoga!
 
Google Books
Beth Shaw’s YogaFit-2nd Edition
By Beth Shaw
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
2009
Pg. VI:
As Beth Shaw says, “If you can breathe, you can do yoga.”
 
Google Books
Yoga Cures:
Simple Routines to Conquer More Than 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free
By Tara Stiles
New York, NY: Three Rivers Press
2012
Pg. 9:
If you can breathe, you can do yoga.
 
Twitter
Modo Yoga Las Vegas
‏@ModoYogaLV
Yoga is for EVERYONE. If you can breathe, you can yoga. The people who think they don’t need yoga are the ones… http://fb.me/3WFZNn9XZ
3:49 PM - 14 Aug 2015
 
Twitter
Evelyn Lim
‏@abundancetap
You don’t need to be flexible to practice yoga. If you can breathe, you can practice yoga. http://www.simplemindfulness.com/2015/08/13/restoring-the-mind-and-body-with-yoga-the-yapana-way/ … via @paigeburkes
8:18 PM - 16 Aug 2015