abhiniveśa Self-preservation; instinctive clinging to life and the fear that one may be cut off from all by death; will to live; strong desire; fear of letting go of the stories of “I, me, and mine.”
abhyāsa Practice; action; method; continuous endeavor; repetition; exercise; exertion. From the verb root “as,” meaning to throw, plus “abhi,” meaning toward.
advaita Nondualism; nonduality. Literally “not two,” from “a,” meaning not, plus “dvaita,” meaning dual or two.
Agni Fire. A Vedic god
ahaṇkāra The concept of individuality, from the verb root “kṛ,” meaning action, plus “aham,” meaning I); ego or egoism; literally “the I-maker,” the state that ascertains “I know”; “I-maker,” source of egoism; the sense that identification is occurring.
ahiṁsā Not harming; non-injury; nonviolence. From the verb root “hiṁs,” meaning to injure, plus the prefix “a,” meaning not. The word has not merely the negative and restrictive meaning of “nonkilling” or “nonviolence,” but the positive and comprehensive meaning of “love embracing all creation.”
ānanda Bliss; joy; delight; a type of samādhi. From the verb root “nand,” meaning to rejoice.
ānandamaya kośa The sheath (kośa) of joy or bliss (ānanda) enveloping the ātman; the felt sense of everything being OK.
anātman With substance; non-self. From “an,” meaning not, plus “ātman,” meaning self.
annamaya kośa The sheath of food.
apana “Carrying-downwards breath”; inspired breath; out-breath; exhalation; digestive energy. From the root “an,” meaning to breath, plus “apa,” meaning away. The downward, contracting, rooting movement characteristic of exhaling. It is based at the center of the perineum, the Mūladhāra Chakra. Apān is said to tether prāṇa. The inner experience of hatha yoga begin by consciously uniting prāṇa with apāna, to feel their actions within each other.
aparigraha Nonpossession, nongrasping; nondesiring; not greedy; not being acquisitive; freedom from hoarding or collecting.
āsana Posture; seat; to “sit with.”
asmitā The sense of “I,” egoism; the state of concentration; an impurity.
asteya Not stealing.
aṣṭāṅga Literally, “Eight Limbs.” Refers to a yoga practice that leads to deep, spontaneous meditation and complete liberation. The variety of limbs guarantees that the awareness operates in all spheres of one’s life, so that no distortion, perversion, or fantasy will attempt to usurp the solid ground of real yogic insight. In many of the Yoga Upaniṣads the eight limbs are further expanded into fifteen. The advantage of considering the path of yoga to have many aspects is that one is encouraged not to neglect the moral, the ethical, the interpersonal, the physiological, the esoteric, and the meditative aspects of practice. The term aṣṭāṅga implies both a simultaneous realization of all these interrelated aspects of practice and a logical step by step progression in which one limb prepares one to truly practice the next one.
atha The present moment, a term used to express a beginning; doubt; interrogation; condition; “after, then, now.”
ātman The inner self. “Ātma” means “breath,” from the verb root “at,” meaning to breathe, or “āp,” meaning to pervade or reach up to.
avidyā Not seeing things as they are; lack of wisdom, ignorance of one’s true nature; from the root verb “vid,” meaning to know, plus the prefix “a,” meaning not.
bandha Bond; valve; control; determination. From the verb root “bandh,” meaning to bind.
bhakti Loving devotion. From the verb root “bhajj,” meaning to love, worship, revere.
bhūta Element; gross elemental principle. From the verb root “bhū,” meaning to become or to exist.
bhujaṅga Cobra.
Brahmā The creator of the universe; one of the Indian trinity comprising Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra.
brahmacharya Wise use of sexual energy; a code of conduct; dwelling in Brahman; a student; “the path that leads to Brahman” or “moving in Brahman”; a life of celibacy, religious study and self-restraint; impeccable conduct.
buddhi Intellect; the discriminative faculty; perception. From the verb root “budh,” meaning to enlighten, to know.
buddhindriyas Sense capacities, i.e., hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling.
chakra Wheel or circle; center; disc; plexus; centers in the body; energy center. From the verb root “car,” meaning to move.
citta Consciousness; where name and form meet. From the verb root “cit,” meaning to perceive, to observe, to think, to be aware, or to know.
dhāraṇā Meditation; support; single-mindedness; “holding bearing”; to keep in remembrance.
dhyāna Concentration.
duḥkha Unsatisfaction; lack; distress; suffering; sorrow; that which is unsatisfactory (because it is impermanent). From “dur,” meaning bad, plus “kha,” meaning state.
dveṣa Antipathy; hatred; aversion. From the verb root “dviś,” meaning to hate.
garuḍa Eagle; Viṣṇu’s vehicle; “devourer.”
granthi Knot. From the root “granth,” meaning to string together.
guna Quality; attribute; characteristic; excellence; rope; constituent; subsidiary; mode; fundamental quality of nature.
guru Teacher; preceptor; great; mentor; heavy; weighty; venerable. From the verb root “gṛ,” meaning to invoke or to praise.
hālāhala Poisonous herb; metaphor for samsara.
iḍā nadi The psychic nerve or tube on the right side of the spine; a nādī or channel of energy starting from the left nostril, then moving under the crown of the head and thence descending to the root of the spine. In its course it conveys lunar energy and is therefore called Chandra nadi (channel of lunar energy).
Indra Ruler; chief (of the gods in the Vedic pantheon); mighty; powerful.
īśvara-pranidhānā Devotion to a god; divine ideal of pure awareness (īśvara); surrender; dedication (praṇidhānāt).
jīva Invidual soul; life; embodied self; living entity. From the verb root “jīv,” meaning to live.
jñāna Knowledge; wisdom; insight; comprehension. From the verb roon “jñā,” meaning to know.
kaivalya The distinct difference between puruṣa, meaning pure awareness, and prakṛti, meaning all changing phenomena; emancipation; isolation of pure awareness.
kāma Desire; pleasure; lust; love. From the verb root “kām,” meaning to desire.
kapota Dove or pigeon.
karma Volitional action and result; creativity; rite; deed; cause and effect; accumulation of past actions; physical, verbal, or mental action. From the verb root “kṛ,” meaning to act, to do, or to make.
karmedriyas Action capacities, i.e., speaking, holding, walking, excreting, and procreating.
karuṇā Compassion.
kleṣa Cause of suffering; corruption; hindrance; affliction; poison; passion; defiling element. From the verb root “kliś,” meaning to torment or distress.
kośa Sheath; cover; subtle body; treasury; lexicon. From the root “kuś,” meaning to enfold.
krodha Anger; wrathful; furious. From the verb root “krudh,” meaning to be angry.
kuṇḍalinī Serpent; life force; a type of yoga; coiled; winding; spiraled; “coiled one.” From the verb root “kuṇḍ,” meaning to burn. The burning up of knots and holding patterns in mind and body, the most significant of which is the clinging to self-image.
lobha Greed; covetousness.
mada Pride; conceit; intoxication; exhilaration; dementia.
mahābhūta The five gross material elements, i.e., space, wind, fire, water, air, and earth.
maṇḍala Circle; magic circle; the special domain of any particular divinity; energy cycle; a section of the Ṛg Veda.
manomaya kośa One of the sheaths (kośa) covering the atman; the sheath of the mind, the manomaya kośa affects the functions of awareness, feeling, and motivation not derived from subjective experience.
mārga Way; path; street. From the verb root “mārg,” meaning to seek, to strive.
mātsarya Envy; jealousy.
māyā The principle of appearance; illusion; marvelous power of creation; magical power; mystery; “that which measures.” From the verb root “mā,” meaning to measure, to limit, give form.
moha Infatuation; delusion. From the verb root “muh,” meaning to delude.
mokṣa Liberation; spiritual freedom; release; final emancipation of the ātman from recurring births. From the verb root “mokṣ,” meaning to liberate.
mṛtyu Death; to grind down.
mūla bandha Mūla root. Primary, original, text; the natural and spontaneous contraction of the perineal muscles and the drawing of the attention to its center point just in front of the anus and behind the genitals. It is essentially a meditative awakening at what it feels to be like at the root of the body (the mūla), done in conjunction with the breath.
nadi River; nerve; vessel; ducts for vital air (“prāṇa”); conduit; energy channel; vein; artery.
nama Name.
neti, neti Not this not this (not such, not such). From “na,” meaning not, plus “iti,” meaning thus.
nirodha Stilling; negation; cessation; restriction. From the root verb “rudh,” meaning to obstruct, arrest, avert, plus “ni,” meaning down or into.
nirvāna Extinction; perfection; the Great Peace; literally “blowing out,” from the verb root “vā,” meaning to blow plus “nir,” meaning out.
niyamas Internal discipline.
padmāsana Lotus posture.
paramātman The supreme self; Brahman; God; the Absolute; the selfless self of awareness. From “parama,” meaning highest, plus “ātman,” meaning self.
pariṇāma Change; modification; transformation; evolution; development; ripening; changing; the ever-constant change and transformation of the substratum of material existence.
piṅgalā A nadi or channel of energy, starting from the right nostril, then moving to the crown of the head and thence downwards to the base of the spine. As the solar energy flows through it, it is also call sūrya nadi (Sun channel). Piṅgalā means tawny or reddish.
prāṇamaya kośa The sheath of vital air; the physiological (prāṇamaya) sheath (kośa), which along with the psychological (manomaya) and intellectual (vijṅānamaya) sheaths, make up the subtle body (sūkṣma srira enveloping the ātman. The prāṇamaya kośa includes the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, endocrine, excretory and genital systems.
prajāpati Lord of creatures; creator; lord of becoming. From “prajā,” meaning creation, plus “pati,” meaning lord.
prajñã Wisdom; intuitive wisdom; gnosis.
prakṛti Primal nature; primordial nature; phenomenal world; creatrix. From the verb root “kṛ,” meaning to make or to do, plus “pra,” meaning forth.
prāṇa Vital air; life breath; vitality; the upward, expanding, blossoming movement characteristic of inhaling. From the verb root “an,” meaning to breathe, plus “pra,” meaning forth. It is said to be centered in the Anāhata Chakra (heart center); Apān is said to tether prāṇa. Yoga begins by consciously uniting prāṇa with apāna, to feel their actions within each other.
prana vāyuu A breath cycle with attention to the internal pattern of inhaling.
prāṇāyāma Control of breath; breath regulation; restraint of the breath.
pratyāhāra The natural uncoupling of sense organs and sense objects during concentration; withdrawal of the senses from their objects; beyond the mind.
pṛthvī The earth.
purāṇa Ancient; old; folk tales or Indian teachings. From the verb root “pur,” meaning to go before or to precede.
puruṣa Pure awareness; cosmic person.
raga Wanting; desire; passion; attachment.
rāja Royal; king. From the verb root “rāj,” meaning to reign, or illuminate.
rodha To hold or keep a check on something; the goddess of storms.
śāstra Scripture; teaching; doctrine; treatise. From the verb root “śās,” meaning to rule or to teach.
Śākti Power; capacity; energy; potency; “citi” or “kuṇḍalinī”; force, the divine cosmic energy which projects, maintains and dissolves the universive; the spouse of Śiva (from “śak”= to be able); female energy.
śauca Purity; cleanliness.
sahasrāra The thousand-petaled; the seventh subtle center.
saṁsāra Empirical existence; the wheel of birth and death; transmigration; the flux of the world; the flow of the world; the objective universe; this world; worldly illusion. From the verb root “sṛ,” meaning to flow plus “sam,” meaning together.
saṁskāra Psycho-physical grooves; latent impression; predisposition; consecration; imprint; innate tendency; innate potence; mold; inborn nature; residual impression; purificatory rite; rite of passage. From“sam,” plus “kṛ,” meaning to fashion or to do together.
saṁyoga Conjunction; contact; coupling; union; association; mingling.
samādhi One-pointedness; oneness; concentration; integration; absorption; union; a calm, desireless fixity; unifying concentration; “equal mind.” From the verb root “dhā,” meaning to hold, plus the prefixes “ā” and “sam,” meaning together completely.
samstitihi Equal standing.
santoṣa Contentment; peace.
satya Honesty; truthfulness; truth. From the verb root “as,” meaning to be.
śavāsanā Corpse pose.
Śiva Auspicious; the Ultimate Reality; Lord; male energy.
skandha Group; aggregate.
smṛti Memory; recollection; depth memory; “that which is remembered”; immediate attention; mindfulness with the following attributes in mature practice: present-centered, nonconceptual, nonjudgmental, intentional, engaged through nonattachment, nonverbal, exploratory, liberating, steady, and at ease. From the verb root “smṛ,” meaning to remember.
śūnya Boundlessness; empty; zero. From the verb root “śū” or “śva” or śvi,” meaning to swell.
śūnyatā Insubstantiality; emptiness.
suṣumnā nadi The subtle central nerve; the principal nerve; the main channel of energy situated in the spinal column.
sūtra Aphorism; thread; condensed mnemonic verse. From the verb root “siv,” meaning to sew.
svādhyāya Self-study; education of the self; reflection. From “sva,” meaning self, plus the verb root “adhi-i,” meaning to go over.
svarūpa Natural form; actual or essential nature; essence; own form, identity. From “sva,” meaning own or self, plus “rūpa,” meaning form, shape, or figure.
tanmātra The subtle essence of the fire elements; the pure elements; the subtle elements, namely, the essence of sound (śabda), touch (sparśa), form (rūpa), flavor (rasa) and odor (gandha). They are subtle objects of the sense powers (indriyas), namely, the powers of hearing (śrota), feeling (tvak), seeing (chaksu), tasting (rasanā) and smelling (ghrāna).
tantra Rule; ritual; scripture; religious treatise; loom; warp. From the root “tan,” meaning to do in detail, plus “trā,” meaning to protect.
tapas Heat; intensity of discipline; concentrated discipline; austerity; penance; energy; to heat up. From the verb root “tap,” meaning to burn.
vāsanā Latent tendency; impression; conditioning; self-limitation; predisposition; desires. Also called saṁskāra.
vāyuu Air; life breath; the wind; the vital airs.
vairāgya Dispassion; detachment; renunciation; nonattachment; absence of worldly desires.
vajra Thunderbolt; diamond.
vidyā Knowledge; meditation; wisdom; insight.
vij̃ñanamaya kośa The sheath of intelligence, affecting the process of reasoning and judgment derived from subjective experience.
vinyasa A sequence, connoting a step-by-step progression from one stage to another. This is how all things evolve in natural systems. Like a sprout bursting up and sinking roots in complete symbiosis with time, temperature, soil air and light; so yoga postures and meditative insights are part of a singular system which works from within the space of pure intelligence.
vipāka Effect of an action; a type of transformation; ripening, resultant; fruition.
virāsana Hero’s pose.
Viṣṇu The supreme Lord; the all-pervading; the spirit of time.
viveka Discrimination.
vṛtti Mental mode; a modification of the mind whose function is to manifest objects; being; condition; fluctuation; activity; patternings, turnings, movements. From the verb root “vṛt,” meaning to turn, revolve, roll, move.
yama Abstention; self-control; restraint; external discipline. From “yam,” meaning to restrain.
yuj To unite; join; connect.