| Terms |
Description |
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| Abhyasa |
disciplined practice of an art form (c.f. mindless repitition of action/words) |
| Acharya |
a teacher, one whose teaching is imparted through his action (rather than by words!) |
| Advaita |
a philosophy propounding singluarity of conciousness. The observed multiplicity is due to abberations in conciousness |
| Agni |
indicates heat or source of heat, e.g., fire |
| Agnisar kriya |
one of the shatkarmas
(cleansing practices) -intestinal cleansing |
| Aham |
ego; especially when inextricably attached to the body and its identity |
| Ahimsa |
non-violence; avioding actions, words and thoughts that might cause hurt; also one of the yamas of ashtanga yoga |
| Akasha |
ether, space; one of the 5 elements that combine to form the observable universe |
| Ananda |
bliss, happiness without cause |
| Antar dhauti |
internal yoga cleansing
(shatkarma) techniques |
| Antar kumbhaka |
internal breath retention.
The stage of pranayama where breath is retained after inhalation. |
| Antar mouna |
internal silence; thoughtless state of mind |
| Anubhava |
experience |
| Ardha |
half |
| Ardha dhanurasana |
half bow yoga pose |
| Ardha matsyendrasana |
half spinal twist yoga position |
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| Ardha padmasana |
half lotus pose |
| Asana |
yoga position or yoga pose; A balanced and stable position. |
| Ashrama |
a place/phase of rest; contextually it might mean a place where people practising yoga may live in harmony |
| Ashwini mudra |
practice of contracting the anal sphincter. |
| Atman |
soul; our real identity! The aim of Yoga is eliminating false identification with the body (ego) |
| Aum |
see Om |
| Avidya |
mistaken-knowledge (c.f, ignorance). Ignorance can be removed by gaining knowledge, to remove avidya one has to begin by unlearning |
| Bahir |
outside, external |
| Bahir kumbhaka |
external breath retention. The stage of pranayama where breath is retained after exhalation. |
| Bahiranga trataka |
concentrating the attention (gaze) upon an external object such as a candle flame. |
| Bandha |
lock, stop; a posture in which organs and muscles are contracted to create energy lock in a specific area. |
| Basti |
a colon cleansing technique (shakarma), yogic enema |
| Bhagvad Gita |
a part of the famous Hindu epic 'Mahabharata'. Teachings of Lord Krishna to his disciple Arjuna at the commencement of the battle of Kurukshetra, with explanations on karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and jnana yoga. |
| Bhakti |
devotion |
| Bhakti yoga |
the yoga through devotion. |
| Bhastrika pranayama |
'bellows' breathing technique in which the breath is forcibly drawn in and out through the nose in equal proportions, like the pumping action of the bellows. |
| Bhramari pranayama |
breathing practice in which a soft "humming-bee" sound is produced during exhalation. |
| Bhujangasana |
cobra' pose. |
| Brahman |
supreme consciousness, absolute reality; a synonym for Atman (see above). |
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| Chakra |
circle or wheel |
| Chin mudra |
posture enabling concentration; hand gesture in which the first finger is kept at the root of the thumb, the last three fingers are unfolded. |
| Danda |
stick |
| Danda dhauti |
one of the cleansing techniques (shatkarmas), used to clean the oesophagus with a stick. |
| Danta dhauti |
teeth cleansing technique |
| Dhanurasana |
bow' pose; backward bending pose where the spine forms a bow shape |
| Dharana |
sixth of the eight fold path in ashtanga yoga |
| Dharma |
natural state, duty, righteous path |
| Dhauti |
second of the shatkarmas; cleansing technique of the eyes, ears, tongue, forehead, oesophagus, stomach, rectum and anus |
| Dhyana |
concentration; single-pointed focus of mind on either a form, thought or sound. |
| Diksha |
grace-initiation received from a Guru. |
| Dugdha neti |
nasal irrigation or cleansing technique using milk |
| Ghrita neti |
neti (nasal cleansing technique) performed with ghee (clarified butter) |
| Gomukhasana |
cow's face' posture |
| Gorakshasana |
pose named after Shri Gorakhnath |
| Guna |
quality of nature viz. tamas, rajas, sattwa |
| Guptasana |
the 'secret' pose |
| Guru |
a spiritually enlightened soul, who can dispel darkness, ignorance and illusion from the mind and enlighten the consciousness of a devotee/disciple; Guru is essentially one-with-God |
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| Hatha yoga |
practise of purification of the physical body by means of shatkarma, asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha and concentration |
| Jala |
water |
| Jala basti |
the yoga technique of enema using water - one of the yoga shatkarma |
| Jala neti |
a shatkarma technique - cleansing of the nasal passages with water by alternating the flow of water in the nostrils, preferably using a neti pot |
| Jalandhara bandha |
throat lock' to restrict the flow of bereath through the throat - done by resting the chin on the upper sternum (chest). |
| Japa |
continuous and concious repetition of a mantra |
| Jihva dhauti |
one of the shatkarma techniques for cleansing the tongue. |
| Jnana |
wisdom, understanding |
| Jnana mudra |
the gesture of knowledge - in this the index finger is bent so that its tip is joined with the tip of the thumb, the other three fingers are spread out. |
| Jnana yoga |
yoga through investigation of self |
| Kapal |
skull or cerebrum |
| Kapalbhati pranayama |
a breathing technique aimed at cleaning the frontal part of the brain; also called skull polishing - done through rapid breaths with more force on exhalation. |
| Karma |
action; the act of doing |
| Karma yoga |
yoga through action |
| Karna dhauti |
one of the shatkarma which involves cleansing the ears. |
| Kati chakrasana |
waist rotating' pose. |
| Kevala kumbhaka |
spontaneous cessation of breath without any conscious effort. |
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| Klesha |
afflictions |
| Koormasana |
tortoise' |
| Kosha |
sheath, cover |
| Kriya |
activity |
| Kukkutasana |
cockerel' pose |
| Kumbhaka |
breath retention |
| Kunjal kriya |
a shatkarma (cleansing) technique that involves the cleansing of the stomach by drinking in water and then expelling it by inducing vomiting. |
| Laghoo shankhaprakshalana |
a
shatkarma technique - also referred as the short intestinal wash. Involves the drinking of several glasses of water and the expelling it through stool after a series of exercises (asanas); in the process a thorough cleansing of the colon takes place. |
| Maha |
great |
| Maha bandha |
the great lock - combines the three locks in yoga - the moola bandha, jalandhara bandha and uddiyana bandha - together with breath retention. |
| Maha mudra |
the great gesture - combines the practice of moola bandha, shambhavi and khechari mudras simultaneously. |
| Makara |
crocodile |
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| Makarasana |
crocodile' pose |
| Mantra |
subtle sound vibration, which through repetition aims at expanding one's awareness or consciousness. |
| Mantra shakti |
the power of mantra |
| Matsyendrasana |
a spine twisting pose, so named after Shri Matsyendra |
| Mayur |
peacock |
| Mayurasana |
peacock' pose |
| Moola |
root |
| Moola bandha |
energy lock created by the contraction of the perineum in the male and the cervix in the female. |
| Mooladhara chakra |
lowest energy centre in
the human body where the kundalini shakti (serpent power) resides
- situated in the perineal floor in men and the cervix in women. |
| Moorchha pranayama |
fainting or swooning breath' in which the breath is inhaled slowly and retained for an extended period. |
| Mouna |
silence |
| Mudra |
gesture |
| Nadi shodhana pranayama |
breathing technique - is the 'alternate nostril breathing' or 'balanced breathing' by balancing the flow of breath through the right and left nostrils. |
| Nasagra/nasikagra mudra |
hand gesture adopted during pranayama to alternate the flow of breath through the nostrils. |
| Nauli |
'abdominal massage' - a cleansing technique (shatkarma) involving the contraction of the rectus abdominal muscles. |
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| Neti kriya |
another shatkarma (cleansing technique) - involves cleaning of the nasal passages (sinus irrigation); jala neti forms a part of the various neti kriyas. |
| Nidra |
sleep |
| Niyama |
rule |
| Om |
primordial sound |
| Pada |
foot, part |
| Padmasana |
lotus pose - a seated meditative posture |
| Pancha tattwa |
the five elements - ether, air, fire, water and earth |
| Param |
highest, supreme |
| Paramatma |
the supreme atma; God |
| Paschimottanasana |
back stretching pose |
| Patanjali |
author of the Yoga Sutras |
| Plavini pranayama |
breathing technique which involves gulping air and swallowing it into the stomach and retaining it |
| Poornima |
full moon night |
| Prakamya |
fulfillment of desire |
| Prakasha |
light |
| Prakriti |
nature |
| Pramana |
proof |
| Prana |
life-sustaining vital energy |
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| Pranayama |
technique of breathing and breath control which regulates energy flow and aims at maintaining energy balance |
| Prasad |
consecrated food |
| Pratyahara |
sense withdrawal; first stage of concentrating on the mind during meditation |
| Pravritti |
natural state or behavior |
| Prithvi tattwa |
the earth element |
| Purusha |
man; pure consciousness |
| Purushartha |
purpose of the consciousness, of man's existence- the four goals viz., dharma, arth, kaama, moksha |
| Rechaka |
exhalation |
| Rudra |
another name of Lord Shiva |
| Sakshi |
witness |
| Samskara |
cumulative impressions carried over from past lives and learnings |
| Sankalpa |
resolve. |
| Sannyasi |
one who has renounced the world |
| Santosha |
contentment |
| Saraswati |
Goddess who bestows knowledge of fine arts and power of speech |
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| Sarvangasana |
shoulderstand - an inverted posture |
| Sat |
truth |
| Satguru |
Guru |
| Sattwa guna |
quality unwavering purity |
| Satya |
truth |
| Seetkari pranayama |
Breathing technique which involves hissing leading to a cooling effect upon the whole body. |
| Shakti |
vital force; energy |
| Shambhavi mudra |
a yoga gesture in which one focusses at the mid-eyebrow centre |
| Shashankasana |
moon pose |
| Shatkarma |
the six yogic techniques of purification of the body, viz. neti, dhauti, nauli, basti, trataka, kapalbhati |
| Sheetali pranayama |
cooling breath' - a pranayama technique that lowers the body temperature by inhaling through the mouth while letting the breath flow in over the tongue. |
| Shishya |
disciple; student |
| Siddha yoni asana |
the female counterpart of the siddhasana meditative posture, in which the left heel presses the entrance to the vagina |
| Siddhasana |
a meditative seating posture
in which the left heel presses the perineum; also called as the adept's pose or the 'pose of perfection'. |
| Sirshasana |
inverted pose - the 'headstand' in which the body is inverted and balanced on the crown of the head |
| Soham |
represents a mantra in meditation; literally means, 'I am That'. Represents the sound 'so' during inhalation and 'ham' during exhalation. |
| Sukhasana |
a comfortable meditative pose; also called the 'easy pose' or simply the cross-legged pose. |
| Surya bheda pranayama |
breathing technique in which inhalation is done through the right nostril ; increases vitality |
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| Sutra neti |
yogic technique to cleanse the nasal passage using a special thread |
| Swastikasana |
auspicious pose -meditative posture similar to siddhasana |
| Tadasana |
palm tree pose- standing posture |
| Tamas |
the quality of inertia, laziness, procrastination. |
| Tiryaka bhujangasana |
twisting cobra pose |
| Tiryaka tadasana |
swaying palm tree pose |
| Trataka |
one of the cleansing techniques (shatkarma) in which the gaze is focussed upon an object such as a candle flame. |
| Uddiyana bandha |
abdominal retraction lock'; drawing in of the abdomen towards the backbone after exhaling |
| Ujjayi pranayama |
a kind of breathing technique which produces a light sonorous sound. |
| Utkatasana |
squatting position |
| Uttankoormasana |
Tortoise pose |
| Vajrasana |
the 'thunderbolt' pose; a kneeling posture with buttocks resting upon the heels. |
| Vama swara |
flow of breath in the left nostril |
| Vaman dhauti |
yogic technique to cleanse the stomach by voluntary vomiting. There are two types: kunjal kriya (regurgitating of water) and vyaghra (regurgitating of food) |
| Varisara dhauti |
yogic cleansing technique in which a large quantity of water is drunk in conjunction with asanas to cleanse the entire digestive tract; also known as shankhaprakshalana. |
| Vastra dhauti |
yogic detoxification technique in which a specially prepared cloth is swallowed and removed after ten minutes, in order to remove mucus from the stomach |
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| Vatsara dhauti |
a cleansing technique in which the air swallowed into the stomach is belched out. |
| Vayu tattwa |
air element |
| Vedas |
four ancient texts- Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva. They were revealed to the sages and saints in India which explain and regulate every aspect of life from supreme reality to worldly affairs. The oldest books in the library of mankind. |
| Veerasana |
hero,s pose - for concentration and discrminative thinking. |
| Yoga |
state of union |
| Yoga abhyasa |
practice of yoga, typically refers to asana. |
| Yoga nidra |
a deep relaxation technique also called 'yogic sleep' in which mind and body is at complete rest but with complete awareness. |
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