You may be attending a Wicked Fitness yoga class and hear one of our fitness instructors use Sanskrit words for yoga poses (asanas) and concepts. It’s completely normal to think…”Give me yoga in plain English please.” Browse our list of 200 Key Sanskrit Yoga Terms.
Kaivalya (“isolation”): the state of absolute freedom from conditioned existence, as explained in ashta-anga-yoga; in the nondualistic (advaita) traditions of India, this is usually called moksha or mukti (meaning “release” from the fetters of ignorance, or avidya)
Kali: a Goddess embodying the fierce (dissolving) aspect of the Divine Kali-yuga: the dark age of spiritual and moral decline, said to be current now; kali does not refer to the Goddess Kali but to the losing throw of a die Kama (“desire”): the appetite for sensual pleasure blocking the path to true bliss (ananda); the only desire conducive to freedom is the impulse toward liberation, called mumukshutva
Kapila (“He who is red”): a great sage, the quasi-mythical founder of the Samkhya tradition, who is said to have composed the Samkhya-Sutra (which, however, appears to be of a much later date)
Karman, karma (“action”): activity of any kind, including ritual acts; said to be binding only so long as engaged in a self-centered way; the “karmic” consequence of one’s actions; destiny
Karma Yoga (“Yoga of action”): the liberating path of self-transcending action
Karuna (“compassion”): universal sympathy; in Buddhist yoga the complement of wisdom (prajna)
Khecari-mudra (“space-walking seal”): the Tantric practice of curling the tongue back against the upper palate in order to seal the life energy (prana); see also mudra
Kosha (“casing”): any one of five “envelopes” surrounding the transcendental Self (atman) and thus blocking its light: anna-maya-kosha (“envelope made of food,” the physical body), prana- maya-kosha (“envelope made of life force”), mano-maya-kosha (“envelope made of mind”), vijnana-maya-kosha (“envelope made of consciousness”), and ananda-maya-kosha (“envelope made of bliss”); some older traditions regard the last kosha as identical with the Self (atman)
Krishna (“Puller”): an incarnation of God Vishnu, the God-man whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata-Purana
Kumbhaka (“potlike”): breath retention; cf. puraka, recaka
Kundalini-shakti (“coiled power”): according to Tantra and hatha yoga, the serpent power or spiritual energy, which exists in potential form at the lowest psycho-energetic center of the body (i.e., the mula-adhara-cakra) and which must be awakened and guided to the center at the crown (i.e., the sahasrara-cakra) for full enlightenment to occur
Kundalini-Yoga: the yogic path focusing on the kundalini process as a means of liberation
Laya Yoga (“Yoga of dissolution”): an advanced form or process of Tantric yoga by which the energies associated with the various psycho-energetic centers (cakra) of the subtle body are gradually dissolved through the ascent of the serpent power (kundalini-shakti)
Linga (“mark”): the phallus as a principle of creativity; a symbol of God Shiva; cf. yoni
Mahabharata (“Great Bharata”): one of India’s two great ancient epics telling of the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas and serving as a repository for many spiritual and moral teachings
Mahatma (from maha-atman, “great self”): an honorific title (meaning something like “a great soul”) bestowed on particularly meritorious individuals, such as Gandhi
Maithuna (“twinning”): the Tantric sexual ritual in which the participants view each other as Shiva and Shakti respectively
Manas (“mind”): the lower mind, which is bound to the senses and yields information (vijnana) rather than wisdom (jnana, vidya); cf. buddhi
Mandala (“circle”): a circular design symbolizing the cosmos and specific to a deity
Mantra (from the verbal root man “to think”): a sacred sound or phrase, such as om, hum, or om namah shivaya, that has a transformative effect on the mind of the individual reciting it; to be ultimately effective, a mantra needs to be given in an initiatory context (diksha)
Mantra-Yoga: the yogic path utilizing mantras as the primary means of liberation
Marman (“lethal [spot]”): in Ayurveda and yoga, a vital spot on the physical body where energy is concentrated or blocked; cf. granthi
Matsyendra (“Lord of Fish”): an early Tantric master who founded the Yogini-Kaula school and is remembered as a teacher of Goraksha
Maya (“she who measures”): the deluding or illusive power of the world; illusion by which the world is seen as separate from the ultimate singular Reality (atman)
Moksha (“release”): the condition of freedom from ignorance (avidya) and the binding effect of karma; also called mukti, kaivalya
Mudra (“seal”): a hand gesture (such as cin-mudra) or whole-body gesture (such as viparita- karani-mudra); also a designation of the feminine partner in the Tantric sexual ritual
Muni (“he who is silent”): a sage Nada (“sound”): the inner sound, as it can be heard through the practice of nada yoga or kundalini yoga Nada-Yoga (“Yoga of the [inner] sound”): the yoga or process of producing and intently listening to the inner sound as a means of concentration and ecstatic self-transcendence
Nadi (“conduit”): one of 72,000 or more subtle channels along or through which the life force (prana) circulates, of which the three most important ones are the ida-nadi, pingala-nadi, and sushumna-nadi
Nadi-shodhana (“channel cleansing”): the practice of purifying the conduits, especially by means of breath control (pranayama)
Narada: a great sage associated with music, who taught bhakti yoga and is attributed with the authorship of one of two Bhakti-Sutras
Natha (“lord”): appellation of many North Indian masters of yoga, in particular adepts of the Kanphata (“Split-ear”) school allegedly founded by Goraksha
Neti-neti (“not thus, not thus”): an Upanishadic expression meant to convey that the ultimate Reality is neither this nor that, that is, is beyond all description
Nirodha (“restriction”): in Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga, the very basis of the process of concentration, meditation, and ecstasy; in the first instance, the restriction of the “whirls of the mind” (citta-vritti)
Niyama (“[self-]restraint”): the second limb of Patanjali’s eightfold path, which consists of purity (saucha), contentment (samtosha), austerity (tapas), study (svadhyaya), and dedication to the Lord (ishvara-pranidhana)
Nyasa (“placing”): the Tantric practice of infusing various body parts with life force (prana) by touching or thinking of the respective physical area Ojas (“vitality”): the subtle energy produced through practice, especially the discipline of chastity (brahmacharya)
Om: the original mantra symbolizing the ultimate Reality, which is prefixed to many mantric utterances
Parama-atman or paramatman (“supreme self”): the transcendental Self, which is singular, as opposed to the individuated self (jiva-atman) that exists in countless numbers in the form of living beings
Parama-hamsa, paramahansa (“supreme swan”): an honorific title given to great adepts, such as Ramakrishna and Yogananda
Patanjali: compiler of the Yoga Sutra, who lived c. 150 C.E.
Pingala-nadi (“reddish conduit”): the prana current or arc ascending on the right side of the central channel (sushumna-nadi) and associated with the sympathetic nervous system and having an energizing effect on the mind when activated; cf. ida-nadi
Prajna (“wisdom”): the opposite of spiritual ignorance (ajnana, avidya); one of two means of liberation in Buddhist yoga, the other being skillful means (upaya), i.e., compassion (karuna)
Prakriti (“creatrix”): nature, which is multilevel and, according to Patanjali’s yoga-darshana, consists of an eternal dimension (called pradhana or “foundation”), levels of subtle existence (called sukshma-parvan), and the physical or coarse realm (called sthula-parvan); all of nature is deemed unconscious (acit), and therefore it is viewed as being in opposition to the transcendental Self or Spirit (purusha)
Prakriti-laya (“merging into Nature”): a high-level state of existence that falls short of actual liberation (kaivalya); the being who has attained that state
Prana (“life/breath”): life in general; the life force sustaining the body; the breath as an external manifestation of the subtle life force
Pranayama (from prana and ayama, “life/breath extension”): breath control, the fourth limb (anga) of
Patanjali’s eigthfold path, consisting of conscious inhalation (puraka), retention (kumbhaka), and exhalation (recaka); at an advanced state, breath retention occurs spontaneously for longer periods of time
Prasada (“grace/clarity”): divine grace; mental clarity Pratyahara (“withdrawal”): sensory inhibition, the fifth limb (anga) of Patanjali’s eightfold path
Puja (“worship”): ritual worship, which is an important aspect of many forms of yoga, notably bhakti yoga and Tantra
Puraka (“filling in”): inhalation, an aspect of breath control (pranayama)
Purana (“Ancient [History]”): a type of popular encyclopedia dealing with royal genealogy, cosmology, philosophy, and ritual; there are eighteen major and many more minor works of this nature
Purusha (“male”): the transcendental Self (atman) or Spirit, a designation that is mostly used in Samkhya and Patanjali’s yoga-darshana
Radha: the God-man Krishna’s spouse; a name of the divine Mother Raja-Yoga (“Royal Yoga”): a late medieval designation of Patanjali’s eightfold yoga-darshana, also known as classical yoga Rama: an incarnation of God Vishnu preceding Krishna; the principal hero of the
Ramayana (“Rama’s life”): one of India’s two great national epics telling the story of Rama; cf. Mahabharata
Recaka (“expulsion”): exhalation, an aspect of breath control (pranayama) Rig-Veda; see Veda
Rishi (“seer”): a category of Vedic sage; an honorific title of certain venerated masters, such as the South Indian sage Ramana, who is known as maharshi (from maha meaning “great” and rishi); cf. muni
Sadhana (“accomplishing”): spiritual discipline leading to siddhi (“perfection” or “accomplishment”); the term is specifically used in Tantra
Sahaja (“together born”): a medieval term denoting the fact that the transcendental Reality and the empirical reality are not truly separate but coexist, or with the latter being an aspect or misperception of the former; often rendered as “spontaneous” or “spontaneity”; the sahaja state is the natural condition, that is, enlightenment or realization
Samadhi (“putting together”): the ecstatic or unitive state in which the meditator becomes one with the object of meditation, the eighth and final limb (anga) of Patanjali’s eightfold path; there are many types of samadhi, the most significant distinction being between samprajnata (conscious) and asamprajnata (supraconscious) ecstasy; only the latter leads to the dissolution of the karmic factors deep within the mind; beyond both types of ecstasy is enlightenment, which is also sometimes called sahaja-samadhi or the condition of “natural” or “spontaneous” ecstasy, where there is perfect continuity of superconscious throughout waking, dreaming, and sleeping
Samatva or samata (“evenness”): the mental condition of harmony, balance
Samkhya (“Number”): one of the main traditions of Hinduism, which is concerned with the classification of the principles (tattva) of existence and their proper discernment in order to distinguish between Spirit (purusha) and the various aspects of Nature (prakriti); this influential system grew out of the ancient (pre-Buddhist) Samkhya-Yoga tradition and was codified in the Samkhya-Karika of Ishvara Krishna (c. 350 C.E.)
Samnyasa (“casting off”): the state of renunciation, which is the fourth and final stage of life (see ashrama) and consisting primarily in an inner turning away from what is understood to be finite and secondarily in an external letting go of finite things; cf. vairagya
Samnyasin (“he who has cast off”): a renouncer Samprajnata-samadhi; see samadhi
Samsara (“confluence”): the finite world of change, as opposed to the ultimate Reality (brahman or nirvana)
Samskara (“activator”): the subconscious impression left behind by each act of volition, which, in turn, leads to renewed psychomental activity; the countless samskaras hidden in the depth of the mind are ultimately eliminated only in asamprajnata-samadhi (see samadhi)
Samyama (“constraint”): the combined practice of concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and ecstasy (samadhi) in regard to the same object
Sat (“being/reality/truth”): the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman)
Sat-sanga (“true company/company of Truth”): the practice of frequenting the good company of saints, sages, Self-realized adepts, and their disciples, in whose company the ultimate Reality can be felt more palpably
Satya (“truth/truthfulness”): truth, a designation of the ultimate Reality; also the practice of truthfulness, which is an aspect of moral discipline (yama)
Shakti (“power”): the ultimate Reality in its feminine aspect, or the power pole of the Divine; see also kundalini-shakti
Shakti-pata (“descent of power”): the process of initiation, or spiritual baptism, by means of the benign transmission of an advanced or even enlightened adept (siddha), which awakens the shakti within a disciple, thereby initiating or enhancing the process of liberation
Shankara (“He who is benevolent”): the eighth-century adept who was the greatest proponent of nondualism (Advaita Vedanta) and whose philosophical school was probably responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India
Shishya (“student/disciple”): the initiated disciple of a guru Shiva (“He who is benign”): the Divine; a deity that has served yogins as an archetypal model throughout the ages Shiva-Sutra (“Shiva’s Aphorisms”): like the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, a classical work on yoga, as taught in the
Shaivism of Kashmir; authored by Vasugupta (ninth century C.E.)
Shodhana (“cleansing/purification”): a fundamental aspect of all yogic paths; a category of purification practices in hatha yoga
Shraddha (“faith”): an essential disposition on the yogic path, which must be distinguished from mere belief Shuddhi (“purification/purity”): the state of purity; a synonym of shodhana Siddha (“accomplished”): an adept, often of Tantra; if fully Self-realized, the designation maha- siddha or “great adept” is often used Siddha-Yoga (“Yoga of the adepts”): a designation applied especially to the yoga of Kashmiri Shaivism, as taught by Swami Muktananda (twentieth century) Siddhi (“accomplishment/perfection”): spiritual perfection, the attainment of flawless identity with the ultimate Reality (atman or brahman); paranormal ability, of which the yoga tradition knows many kinds Spanda (“vibration”): a key concept of Kashmir’s Shaivism according to which the ultimate Reality itself “quivers,” that is, is inherently creative rather than static (as conceived in Advaita Vedanta) Sushumna-nadi (“very gracious channel”): the central prana current or arc in or along which the serpent power (kundalini-shakti) must ascend toward the psychoenergetic center (cakra) at the crown of the head in order to attain liberation (moksha)
Sutra (“thread”): an aphoristic statement; a work consisting of aphoristic statements, such as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra or Vasugupta’s Shiva-Sutra
Svadhyaya (“one’s own going into”): study, an important aspect of the yogic path, listed among the practices of self-restraint (niyama) in Patanjali’s eightfold yoga; the recitation of mantras (see also japa)
Tantra (“Loom”): a type of Sanskrit work containing Tantric teachings; the tradition of Tantrism, which focuses on the shakti side of spiritual life and which originated in the early post-Christian era and achieved its classical features around 1000 C.E.; Tantrism has a “right-hand” (dakshina) or conservative and a “left-hand” (vama) or unconventional/antinomian branch, with the latter utilizing, among other things, sexual rituals
Tapas (“glow/heat”): austerity, penance, which is an ingredient of all yogic approaches, since they all involve self-transcendence
Tattva (“thatness”): a fact or reality; a particular category of existence such as the ahamkara, buddhi, manas; the ultimate Reality (see also atman, brahman)
Turiya (“fourth”), also called cathurtha: the transcendental Reality, which exceeds the three conventional states of consciousness, namely waking, sleeping, and dreaming Upanishad (“sitting near”): a type of scripture representing the concluding portion of the revealed literature of Hinduism, hence the designation Vedanta for the teachings of these sacred works; cf. Aranyaka, Brahmana, Veda
Upaya (“means”): in Buddhist yoga, the practice of compassion (karuna); cf. prajna Vairagya (“dispassion”): the attitude of inner ren