Glossary of Yoga, Meditation,
and Pranayama Terminology
Acharya: a respectful add-on to a name, an instructor or guru. For example, Krishnamacharya
Adho: downward
Adho Mukha: downward facing
Agni: fire
Ahimsa: non-harming; one of the Yamas, a sub group of the eight limbs of Patanjali, and an important moral discipline of non-violence
Anjali Mudra: the gesture of Anjali, hands together in front of the heart
Ananda: bliss; the state one realizes when in Samadhi, or the realization of true and ultimate reality
Anga: limb; used mostly to describe one of the foundations of Patanjali’s system of Ashtanga or the eight limbs
Apana: the downward energy towards the pelvis or lower abdomen; the energy responsible for the elimination of waste products from the body
Ardha: half
Asana: seat; the third limb in Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, a physical posture meant for meditation. The term later became used to describe a variety of poses, such as in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and today it is used to describe the physical practice of yoga.
Ashram: a spiritual home, a hermitage, a place where one practices
Ashtanga yoga: eight-limbed union; Patanjali’s system described in eight parts, or limbs. Ashtanga consists of moral discipline (yama), self-restraint (niyama), posture (asana), breath control (pranayama), sensory control (pratyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and bliss (samadhi).
Awareness: consciousness of all that is in the present moment
Ayurveda: the science of life; India’s traditional medicine system, a system that looks at the root cause of the problem rather than the symptoms
Baka: crane
Bandha: a bond or a lock. In yoga these are like control centers). There are three main bandhas are mula bandha, uddiyana bandha, and jalandhara bandha. These control centers are one of the three pillars of Ashtanga Yoga described by Krishnamacharya; the bandhas generate physical and energetic reactions.
Bhujanga: cobra
Buddha: the awakened one; one who has attained enlightenment; also the name for Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, who lived in the sixth century B.C.E.
Chandra: moon
Danda: staff or stick
Danu: bow
Dharma: path, teachings, universal law. Dharma is one of the three pillars of Buddhism and has a variety of meanings, such as the path, the teaching, or the law. We study the dharma, follow the dharma, and obey the dharma, or we can be people of dharma (of virtue).
Dristi: view, gaze; one of three pillars of Ashtanga as described by Krishnamacharya; there are a variety of points on which the dristi is focused, such as at the tip of the nose or the spot between the eyebrows, to help in focus, concentration, and deepening of the pose.
Dwi: two
Eka: one
Eka Pada: one-legged, or one-footed
Garuda: eagle; the king of birds; having a white face, red wings, and a golden body, Garuda serves as Vishnu’s vehicle.
Gayatri mantra: a famous Vedic mantra often recited at sunrise: om bhur bhu vat svaha, tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat
Gomukha: cow head
Guru: a spiritual teacher. The one who shows the light.
Hala: plough
Hatha Yoga: forceful yoga; a major branch of yoga developed by Goraksha and other adepts c. 1000 C.E. that emphasizes the physical aspects of the transformative path, notably postures (asana), cleansing techniques (shodhana), and breath control (pranayama).
Hanuman: a monkey God, son of Anjneya and Vayu
Hasta: hand or arm
Ida Nadi: the left side energy channel that leads prana up from the base chakra. Ida nadi is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system and has a cooling or calming effect on the mind when activated.
Janu: knee
Jathara: belly
Karma: action, often thought of as the consequences of one’s own actions
Karma Yoga: yoga of action based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita; Krishna teaches action according to one’s duty without self-consideration.
Kapala: skull
Kapha: one of the three Ayurvedic humors
Kapota: pigeon
Karna: ear
Kona: angle
Krama: a sequence or succession of moments
Kumbhaka: breath retention used in pranayama (breath work)
Lola: to swing or dangle
Mala: garland, wreath
Manduka: frog
Matsyendra: Lord of Fish. Matsyendra is an early tantric master who founded the Yogini Kaula School and is remembered as a teacher of Goraksha.
Mudra: seal; a spiritual gesture, mostly done with hands and fingers, though there are some whole-body mudras. In yoga, mudras are used together with pranayama (breath work) to control the flow of prana (life force) in the body.
Mukha: face
Mula: root, base
Mula Bandha: root lock; root control center, the lifting of the perineum and activation of the PC muscle, creating an energetic stimulation
Nadi: conduit; one of the 72,000 or more subtle channels along or through which the life force (prana) circulates; the three most important are the ida nadi, pingala nadi, and sushumna nadi
Nadi shodhana: a pranayama (breath work) practice intended to cleanse and purify the channels of energy in the body
Namaskara: salutation, greeting
Nataraja: Dancing Shiva
Nauli: physical purification, a technique of churning the belly
Nidra: sleep, relaxation
Nirvana: ultimate attainment
Om: sometimes spelled ohm or aum; consisting of three sounds—A, U, and M, it is the original mantra symbolizing the ultimate reality and is a prefix to many mantric utterances
Parivrtta: crossed, with a twist
Parsva: side, lateral
Patanjali: compiler of the Yoga Sutra who lived c. 150 C.E.
Pingala Nadi: the right side energy channel that leads prana up from the base chakra. It’s associated with the sympathetic nervous system and has an energizing effect on the mind when activated.
Pitta: one of the three Ayurvedic humors
Prajna: wisdom; a tool for liberation in Buddhism, the others being skillful means (upaya) and compassion (karuna)
Prakriti: nature on all its levels, from physical to energetic. It is the changeable or observed, in contrast to purusha (the supreme consciousness). Prakriti is composed of three essential characteristics (gunas): sattva, rajas, and tamas.
Prana: life, breath; the life force that sustains the body; the breath as an external manifestation of the subtle life force
Pranayama: the extension of life force through breath control practices. In this manual we call it breath work.
Pratikriyasana: counter pose
Pratyahara: withdrawal; sensory inhibition; the fifth limb (anga) of Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga
Puraka: inhalation used in pranayama (breath work)
Purna: complete, infinite
Purusha: the transcendental self (atman) or spirit, a designation that is mostly used in samkhya and Patanjali’s yoga to differentiate from prakriti (nature). Purusha is unchangeable.
Raja: king, ruler
Raja Yoga: Royal Yoga; a late medieval designation of Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga, also known as classical yoga
Rechaka: exhalation used in pranayama (breath work)
Sadhana: spiritual discipline leading to siddhi (perfection or accomplishment); the term is specifically used in tantra
Sama: equal, same
Samadhi: putting together; the state in which the consciousness of the meditator is unified with the object of meditation; the eighth and final limb (anga) of Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga.
Sangha: spiritual community or those who practice according to the Dharma taught by Buddha
Santosha: contentment; one of the niyamas of Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga
Sat: pure, true essence, universal spirit, truth
Shodhana: cleansing, purifying; one of the foundations of all yoga paths is to purify
Sitali: a cooling form of pranayama (breath work)
Stirha: steady, controlled, firm
Sukha: ease, happiness
Sushmna-nadi: the main nadi (energy channel) through which kundalini shakti (kundalini power) rises.
Supta: supine, sleeping
Surya: sun
Sutra: thread; an aphoristic statement
Svana: dog
Tamas: inertia, heaviness, sluggishness, obstruction, sloth; resistance to action; one of the three gunas
Tri: three
Uddiyana: upward flying
Uddiyana bandha: flying up, a lock or control center. An action of drawing the lower abdominal core in and up.
Ujjayi: victorious
Utpluti: pumping or lifting up
Utthita: extended
Vatta: one of the three Ayurvedic humors
Vinyasa: to place in a specific way, or in today’s terms, the conscious connection of breath and movement
Vipassana: insight, seeing clearly; the direct perception (not thinking about or verbalizing) of the true nature of things. There is no vipassana technique per se, only techniques such as anapanasati (mindfulness of breath), which prepare the mind for vipassana.
Vriksha: tree
Yoga: union; from the root yuj, meaning to yoke or to make whole
Zen: a Buddhist school from the Mahayana tradition. Emphasis is placed on the practice of Zazen and the work with a spiritual teacher, to get direct experience and understand the true self (Buddha nature). Zen emphasizes the daily practice as a practice for the benefit of others.