A Brief Yoga Glossary

---

Adho: Downward

Adho Mukha Svanasana: Downward Facing Dog

Agni: Fire

Ahimsa:The first of the five Yamas (the principles that guide individual behavior), and is traditionally translated as non-harming. Also translated as nonviolence, caring, kind, non-harming in thoughts and actions.

Ajna Chakra: Third-eye chakra

Anahata 

Chakra: Fourth primary chakra

Ananda: Bliss; love

Anjali Mudra:The gesture of Anjali, palms together at the heart, typically used when saying Namaste

Anjaneya: The monkey god

Antara 

Kumbhaka: Holding the breath after inhalation 

Apana: The downward force of energy, it’s energy that moves from top to bottom. Poses that ‘ground’ you or use downward energy, like goddess squats, promote apana.

Apanasana: Pelvic-floor poses

Apana-Vayu: Downward moving prana

Aparigraha: Non-holding; one of the five Yamas

Ardha: Half

Asana: Poses or postures, the word is built into the names of poses, such as: utkatasana (chair pose) or virabhdrasana (warrior pose). The third limb of the eight-limbed path outlined in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.

Ashtanga: In Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, the eightfold path is called ashtanga which literally means "eight limbs" (ashta=eight, anga=limbs).  These eight steps basically act as guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life.

Asteya: Non-stealing; one of the five Yamas.

Atman: The true self; the real self of the individual; consciousness

Avidya: Ignorance

Ayurveda: Ancient Indian science of life; traditional form of Indian medicine

Baddha: Bound

Bahya: External

Bandha: Energetic locks located throughout the body that can be accessed through muscle contraction. They ‘act as valves’ that direct the flow of energy. The three most common are: bandha (root lock, located in the pelvic floor), uddiyana bandha (abdominal lock), and jalandhara bandha (base of the throat). Engaging the bandha at the navel (by contracting the abdomen up and in) can support the low back while engaging the pelvic floor and throat locks encourage a flow of energy up and down the spine. Maha Banda involves contracting all three at once.

Bhadra: Peaceful or auspicious

Bhagavad Gita: Song of the Lord chapter in the epic Mahabharata and the most influential of all writings on yoga and spiritual philosophy.

Bhakti: This term denotes a yoga practice that’s more spiritual, with a devotion to one’s personal higher power or god. A more heart-centered practice that might include chanting and singing.

Bharadvaj: An Indian sage

Bhujanga: Cobra

Brahma: God, the supreme being; the creator; the first deity of the Hindu trinity

Brahmacharya: Celibacy- one of the five yamas

Brahman: Infinite consciousness

Buddhi: Intellect, seat of intelligence

Cervical Spine: The seven vertebrae of the neck

Chair Yoga: A gentle form of yoga that is practiced sitting in a chair, but can include standing poses as well, and supported standing poses. Often asanas are adaptations of Hatha yoga poses. This form of yoga is frequently used for yogis unable to participate in traditional yoga classes due to the effects of aging or physical disabilities.

Chakra: Literally translated, ‘wheel’, a chakra (pronounced: CHUH-kruh) is a subtle energy center, the most common of which run along the spine. The modern interpretation holds that chakras are focal points for physical, mental, and emotional energies.

Chandra: Moon

Chaturanga Dandasana: Translated as ‘four-limbed staff pose’, chaturanga is often the staple in vinyasa flow classes and serves as a transition from plank pose into cobra or upward-facing dog. The pose begins in plank, then on an exhale the body lowers so that your elbows are bent 90 degrees right at your sides (like the bottom of a triceps push-up).

Danda: Staff or stick

Dhanu: Bow

Dharana: Mental concentration; the sixth limb of Patanjali's Ashtanga yoga

Dharma: The eternal and inherent nature of reality

Dhyana: Meditation

Dirga

Pranayama: Three-part breath 

Drishti: Drishti means gaze, and it is used in yoga practice to draw attention inward. Being able to steady the eyes in one place, softly, throughout each pose and find balance in the body and avoid distraction.

Eka: One

Eka Pada: One-legged or one-footed extension; movement of a joint whereby one part of the body is moved away from another

Galava:  An Indian sage; son of Viswamitra

Garuda: Eagle-name of the king of birds. Garuda is represented as a vehicle of Vishnu and as having a white face, an aquiline beak, red wings, and a golden body.

Gheranda: A sage, the author of the Gheranda Samhita- a classical work on Hatha yoga

Gomukha: Cowface

Guru: A teacher or spiritual guide, one who illuminates the spiritual path. While the term sometimes implies a holy or reverent figure, a guru may simple be a teacher or leader who students look up to or seek advice from. The term is reserved for one who has a profound influence on your practice or life.

Hanuman: The monkey god, son of Anjaneya and Vayu

Hasta: Hand

Hatha: Hatha has become an all encompassing term for any type of yoga that integrates physical poses, however more often it refers to a slower, gentler form of practice. The term derives from the Sanskrit word for force, or effort, and is based on the balancing of opposing forces.

Ishvara: The supreme being; Brahma with form

Iyengar yoga: Named for its founder, B.K.S. Iyengar, this classical, alignment-based practice comes from Indi, having been popularized in the US in the 70’s. Iyengar yoga is noted for its abundant use of props: straps, blocks, & bolsters, as well as chairs, walls, and benches.

Janu: Knee 

Jathara: Belly 

Jnana: Sacred knowledge derived from meditation on higher truths of religion and philosophy which teaches people how to understand their own nature. 

Kapala: Skull

Kapalabhati: Skull cleansing-a pranayama technique  

Kapota: Pigeon

Karma: Action

Karma Yoga: The yoga of action 

Klesha: Suffering due to ignorance, egoism, desire, hatred or fear 

Krishna: An incarnation of Vishnu; a form of God 

Kumbhaka: Breath retention after a complete inhalation or exhalation

Kundalini: Pranic energy, symbolized as a coiled and. sleeping serpent lying dormant in the lowest nerve center at the base of the spinal column; a form of Hatha yoga practice 

Lumbar Spine: The five vertebrae of the lower back 

Mahabharata: A major Sanskirt epic of ancient India, contains the Bhagavad Gita and major elements of Hindu mythology. 

Maha Mudra: Great seal   

Mandala: Sanskrit for ‘circle’, and usually takes the form of a geometric pattern meant to represent the universe and our relationship to the infinite.

Manduka: Frog

Manipura 

Chakra: Navel chakra

Mantra: Mantras are words, phrases, or sounds repeated within a meditation practice, to give the mind something to focus on, like ‘Om’ or ‘you are enough’. It helps to draw attention to the present moment, and can even simulate the body’s relaxation.

Marichi: A sage, one of the sons of Brahma

Matsyendra: Lord of the fishes, a tantric adept

Mudra: Literally translates to: seal. It refers in yoga to the hand positions used in poses or meditation practices. Each finger is associated with a different element, and connecting them in a specific way can direct the flow of energy in the body to convey a certain intention. Different mudras can help you feel strong, energized, or grounded.

Mukha: Face

Mula: Root, base

Mula Bandha: Root lock; energetic engagement; sustained lifting of the perineum and levator ani

Muladhara 

Chakra: Root chakra

Nadi: Literally: river, energy channel

Nadi Shodhana: Purification or cleansing of the nadir; pranayama technique for this purpose

Namaste: Literally means, ‘I bow to you’, or 'bowing to you' and is often used at the very end of a yoga class. Saying namaste is acknowledging that you recognize and reciprocate the light and good in another soul. The appropriate response to namaste is namaste.

Naravirala: Sphinx

Niyamas: Second limb of Patanjalis eight-limbed path. Consist of: saucha, santosa, tapas, svadhyaya and ishvarapranidhana

Om: Om/aum is a syllable in Sanskrit, and it’s commonly used as a mantra. It is believed to be the vibration of the entire universe, and as you say it, you may feel the tingling vibrations throughout your entire body. Often believed that using om as a mantra it is a way of connecting ourselves to nature and the universe.

Pada: Foot

Pada Hasta: Feet-Hands

Padma: Lotus

Parigha: Gate

Paripurna: Full

Parivrtta: Revolved with a twist

Paschimo: West, the back body

Pingala: A nadi or channel of energy starting from the right nostril, moving to the crown of the head and downward to the base of. the spine.

Pitta: On the three Ayurvedic fundamental bodily bio-elements or doshas (vata and kapha)

Prakriti: Nature; it is the key concept in Hinduism, it refers to the primal matter with three different innate qualities whose equilibrium is the basis of all observed empirical reality.

Prana: It translates as ‘vital life force’ or energy. It is sometimes used synonymously with upward energy. Your yoga practice encourages prana to flow throughout the body by breathing slowly and steadily.  

Pranayama: Like asana and meditation, pranayama is a branch, or limb, of yoga. Often, you’ll hear yoga instructors talking about your breasth or telling you when and how to breathe, this is pranayama, or the act of controlling your breath. Pranayama can be used to create more energy or more calm in the body, and breathing exercises are also used to relax the body before meditation.

Prasarita: Spread out; stretched out 

Pratyahara: Independence. of the mind from sensory stimulation; the fifth limb of Patanjali's eight-limbed path.

Purna: Complete

Purva: East, the front side of the body

Purvottana: Intense stretch of the front side of the body

Raga: Love, passion, anger 

Restorative Yoga: A type of yoga that uses props to help the body relax completely during poses. Each position is held for a few minutes or longer, and the practice is designed to pacify the nervous system.

Sahasrara 

Chakra: Thousand-petaled lotus chakra, located in the cerebral cavity

Savasana: Known in English as corpse pose, it’s usually the last pose of a yoga class, though some forms of yoga, like Sivananda yoga, start with savasana or integrate it in the middle as well. Most yogis agree that getting to this ‘last pose’ of laying down has never felt better in your life.

Salabha: Locust  

Salamba: With support  

Sama: Equal, same

Samadhana: Mental peace  

Samadhi: Bliss; meditative absorption

Samasthiti: A state of balance; four parts equal standing

Santosha: Contentment; one of the five Niyamas

Sattva: Light, order; one of the three elements of prakriti   

Satya: Truth, one of the five Yamas

Saucha: Purity, cleanliness; one of the five Niyamas

Setu 

Bandhāsana: Bridge Pose

Shakti: In Hindu tradition, the goddess Shakti is the divine mother who represents the feminine energy in the universe. It is possible to hear this word mentioned when your instructor leads you into goddess pose. Shakti energy is important for creativity, emotions, health, and vibrancy, as well as taking in positive energy while ridding yourself of the negative.

Shala: Literally translated it means, ‘house’ in Sanskrit. While most styles of yoga in the West are practiced at what we call studios, some traditional forms—forms like ashtanga—use the term shala. Its interpretation can be studio or yoga communities.

Shanti: Peace. It is often said, ‘Om shanti, shanti, shan-ti-hi—Om, peace, peace, perfect peace.

Shiva: A form of God in Hinduism, the destroyer of illusion

Sirsa: Head

Sukham: Comfort, ease, pleasure

Supta: Supine

Surya: Sun

Surya Namaskar: Sun Salutation; this is the sequence designed to warm up the entire body, using vinyasa to connect breath and movement. Many types of yoga, including ashtanga, use sun salutes at the beginning of a practice. Sun saluation starts and ends in tadasana with half and full forward folds, plus a vinyasa. Surya namaskar is bookended by utkataskasana (chair pose) and adds two more vinyasas plus virabhadrasana (Warrior 1 pose)

Sutra:  The Yoga Sutras is a book of aphorisms that explain the spiritual as well as the physical limbs of yoga. Sutra means thread—and altogether it taken to mean pieces of wisdom to understand the divine—a tapestry of wisdom.

Svadhisthana

Chakra: Seat of vital force, situated above the reproductive organs 

Svana: Dog     

Swatmarama:  Author of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the original book on Hatha Yoga            

Tadasana: Mountain pose, the foundation of all standing asanas. Though it is a simple asana, tadasana is an active pose that aligns the body and connects body and breath through a lengthened spine.

Tantra/

Tantric: Tantra is a yoga that uses the body as a spiritual tool to transcend good and bad in the world. Tantric yoga, is the practice of using all energies, including the mundane, for spiritual awakening. Expect a practice with chanting, breathing exercises, and visualizations.

Tapa:  Austerity

Tapas: Heat; burning effort that involves purification, self discipline & austerity. It is one of the five Niyamas.

Thoracic Spine: The 12 vertebrae of the mid-spine (ribcage)

Trikona: Triangle

Uddiyana: Upward flying; a bandha

Uddiyana 

Bandha:  The drawing of the lower abdominal core/navel in and up

Ujjayi: Also called: ‘victorious, warrior, or ocean breath’. The breath enters and exits through the nose, and is brushed across the back of the throat, thereby enlivening the sense organs and make you more present.

Upavista: Seated with legs wide

Urddhva: Upward

Utkata: Powerful and fierce

Utkatasana: Commonly called chair pose, but also means fierce pose.  This pose is part of the traditional sun salutation and it’s a common standing pose.

Uttanasana: Forward bend

Utthita: Extended

Vajra: Thunderbolt

Vasistha: A Vedic sage

Vata: Wind; one of the three Ayurvedic doshas

Vedas: Oldest sacred texts of humankind

Vidya: Knowledge; learning; lore; science

Vinyasa: Is more than a type of flowing yoga. It translates as ‘to place in a special way’ the conscious connection of breath and movement. In addition, the term vinyasa is used as a noun to describe a specific transition from plank to chaturanga, to up dog, and finally downward dog.

Viparita: Inverted; upside down

Vira: Hero; brave

Virabhadra: Warrior

Vishnu: A primary form of God in Hinduism; governs preservation balance, sustainability

Vishuddha 

Chakra: Pure chakra, located in the pharyngeal region

Vrksa: Tree              

Yamas and 

Niyamas: Yamas and niyamas are two (of the eight) of the philosophical branches, or limbs of Patanjali. Yamas are the first step in a practice that addresses the whole fabric of our lives. Yamas tell us what to avoid doing because it would do harm to others. Yamas apply to actions, words and thoughts. Yamas: ahimsa (non-harming), sayta (truthfulness), asteya  (non-stealing),  brahmacharya (conduct that leads to the realization of one's own Self), aparigraha (non-attachment/non-possessiveness). Niyamas (the second step) are subsequently are concepts to embrace as they are more intimate and personal:  saucha (purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (discipline, heat), svadhyaya (self-study), and ishvara  (surrender). Traditionally they supersede asana, or the physical component of the practice.

Yin yoga: A slower style of yoga, yin yoga emphasizes longer holds of up to five minutes or more. Yin yoga is rooted in martial arts, and helps to increase circulation in the joints and improve flexibility. Also based on Chinese meridians, it uses props to let gravity do the work on your connective tissues.

Yoga: Yoga means ‘union’; from the root, yuj meaning to join, to yoke, to make whole. In the West we more commonly use it to refer to the physical side of the practice. However, yoga also encompasses spiritual and mental aspects, including pranayama, meditation, and the Yamas and Niyamas.

Yogi/

Yogini: Yogi is the male or gender-neutral term for a practitioner of yoga; yogini is the female version. There is no prerequisite for using this yoga term, whether you’re a beginner or have been practicing for decades, you’re a yogi if you do yoga.