Yoga Glossary

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Abhaya mudra	-			gesture of fearlessness
Abhinivesha	-			fear of death
Adhara mudra	-			perineal mudra
Adharas	-			16 bases which support the body
Adharmic	-			not fulfilling one's natural role in life
Advaita	-			non-dual experience; unity of the individual soul
Agni	-			fire, in all its aspects. Agni encompasses all fires, from the densest (the power of digestion) to the most rarefied (the essence of cosmic fire).
Agni mandala	-			'zone of fire'; visualizing entire body in the form of agni
Agnisar kriya	-			practice of emptying the lungs and pumping the stomach to strengthen the diaphragm and lower stomach region
Agocharam	-			beyond sensory perception
Agochari mudra	-			another name for nasikagra drishti
Aham Bhramasmi	-			vedic mantra, I am Brahman'
Ahamkara	-			ego
Ahimsa	-			absence of violence from within; non-violence
Ajapa japa	-			continuous, spontaneous repetition of mantra
Ajna chakra	-			'third eye'; command center
Ajna mandala	-			ajna chakra symbol at the eyebrow center
Akhanda kirtan	-			ongoing, unbroken kirtan
Akara	-			form, link, continuity
Akasha	-			space; ether
Akasha tattwa	-			ether element
Akashi mudra	-			awareness of the inner space; practice of the external stage of dharana; gazing into space with the head tilted back
Amaroli	-			auto-urine procedure; drinking of one's own urine in order to detoxify the body and develop stamina and vitality
Anadi	-			endless
Anahada nada	-			unheard, unstuck sound
Anahata chakra	-			heart chakra or emotional center
Anahata kshetram	-			trigger point of anahata chakra
Ananda	-			everlasting bliss
Ananda samadhi	-			fourth state of samadhi; blissful absorption
Anandamaya kosha	-			sheath or body of bliss, beatitude
Annamaya kosha	-			sheath or body of matter
Antah	-			inner
Antah karana	-			inner instrument; experienced or manifest mind which includes the four aspects of manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara
Antar kumbhaka	-			internal breathe retention
Antar lakshya	-			internal aim to be aspired for in dharana
Antar mouna	-			inner silence; meditative technique
Antaranga yoga	-			four internal stages of raja yoga
Anuman	-			inference
Anusandhana	-			discovery
Apah	-			water
Apana	-			sub-prana, which is located in the lower abdominal region, responsible for elimination and reproduction
Aparigraha	-			non-possessiveness
Ardhanareshwara	-			form of Shiva, which is half male and half female
Arjuna	-			one of the five Pandava back brothers; he to whom Lord Krishna addressed the Bhagavad Gita
Artha	-			material need; wealth
Asamprajnata samadhi	-			transitional stage of samadhi where the traces of the mind become active according to their intensity
Asamprayoge	-			'not coming into contact'
Asana	-			a physical posture in which one is at ease and in harmony with oneself
Asevitah	-			faith
Ashrama	-			four stages of life
Ashtanga yoga	-			eightfold path of yoga
Ashwini mudra	-			contraction of anal sphincter
Asmita	-			state where the ego and the sense of individuality are completely transcended and there is only pure awareness
Asmita klesha	-			feeling of 'I' identified with an action
Asmita samadhi	-			fifth state of samadhi; dissolution of ego; merging of body, mind and soul
Asteya	-			honesty
Asthi	-			bone found in the body tissues
Atadroop pratishtha	-			knowledge of false identity; inability to link name with form
Atma	-			individual soul; spirit
Aum	-			primordial sound; mantra
Avachetan	-			subconscious
Avidya	-			ignorance; lack of conscious awareness; mistaking the non-eternal for the eternal; confined cognition
Avyakta	-			unmanifest; unseen
Awarohan	-			descending passage to the subtle body; spinal passage
Ayurveda	-			vedic system of medical diagnosis and treatment

Bahir	-			external
Bahir kumbhaka	-			external breath retention
Bahir lakshya	-			external aim to focus on in order to achieve concentration
Bahiranga yoga	-			four external stages of raja yoga
Baikhari	-			audible sound produced by striking two objects
Bandha	-			psychic lock that concentrates the flow of energy in the body at one point or plexus; postural contraction of the body
Basti	-			excretory cleansing technique for the intestines and colon
Beeja	-			'seed'
Bhadrasana	-			gentleman's pose
Bhagavad Gita	-			Lord Krishna's discourse to Arjuna delivered on the battlefield of Kurukshetra during the great Mahabharata war
Bhaja Govindam	-			ode to Shakti by Adi Shankaracharya
Bhakti	-			devotion
Bhal bhati	-			forehead bellows
Bhastrika pranayama	-			'bellows' breathing technique
Bhati	-			to shine
Bhava samadhi	-			absorption' in meditation due to emotional cause, e.g. kirtan
Bheda	-			to pass through, pierce, purify
Bhoochari mudra	-			practice of the external stage of dharana; gazing into space after focusing on the finger nail of the hand held in front of the face
Bhoota	-			element
Bhrumadhya	-			eyebrow center
Bhrumadhya drishti	-			eyebrow center gazing
Bindu visarga	-			center or source of individual creation from where the psychic vibrations first emanate
Brahma	-			Lord of creation; manifest force of life and creation; potentiality of mooladhara chakra
Brahma dhyana	-			meditation on the concept of Brahma
Brahma granthi	-			perineal knot or psychic block
Brahma nadi	-			subtle pranic flow within sushumna nadi through which kundalini ascends
Brahmacharya	-			one who lives in higher consciousness; sexual control; redirection of sexual energy towards spiritual or meditational practices
Brahmacharya ashrama	-			first stage of life up to 25 years, which is devoted to study and learning
Brahman	-			absolute reality; 'ever-expanding consciousness'
Buddha	-			the enlightened one
Buddhi	-			discerning, discriminating aspect of mind; from the root 'bodh', 'to be aware of', 'to know'; intellect.

Chaitanya jyoti	-			eternal flame of spirit
Chakra	-			psychic center in the subtle body; circle, wheel or vortex of energy; conjugation point of the nadis
Chakrasana	-			wheel pose
Chandra bheda pranayama	-			breathing technique that pierces and purifies the ida nadi
Chandra mandala	-			another name for ajna mandala
Charvak	-			one of the six darshana or systems of Indian thought; philosophy which accepts only the perceivable phenomena as valid, not the unperceivable
Chaturmas	-			four months of the rainy season
Chetana	-			consciousness; unmanifest aspect of consciousness and energy
Chidakasha	-			space of consciousness experienced in the head region
Chidakasha dharana	-			technique of meditation involving awareness of the chidakasha
Chin mudra	-			attitude of chitta or consciousness; upward hand position with thumb and first finger touching
Chit	-			eternal consciousness
Chit shakti	-			mental force governing the, subtle dimensions
Chitta	-			individual consciousness, including the subconscious and unconscious levels of mind; memory, thinking, concentration, attention, enquiry
Chitta vritti	-			mental modification

Daharakasha	-			lower or deep space; encompassing mooladhara, swadhisthana and manipura
Daharakasha dharana	-			concentration on the symbols of chakra and tattwa within the lower space
Dakshina nadi	-			another name for pingala nadi
Danta dhauti	-			method of cleaning the teeth
Darshana	-			to glimpse; to see; to have a vision
Deerghakaala	-			for a long period of time
Dehasamya	-			body stillness
Desha	-			place
Deva tattwa	-			first tattwa: the divine element
Devadutta	-			minor prana
Devata	-			deity
Devi	-			female deity; goddess
Dhananjaya	-			minor prana
Dhara	-			stream, flow
Dharana	-			holding or binding of the mind to one point; concentration
Dharma	-			the natural role we have to play in life; ethical law; duty
Dhatu	-			layers of tissue in the body
Dhauti	-			cleansing practices for the stomach region involving gentle washing with air, water, cloth or stick
Dhyana	-			meditation
Divya	-			divine
Divya loka	-			plane of divine or transcendental experience
Divyabhava	-			divine feeling
Doshas	-			humors of the physical body
Drashta	-			seer, observer; awareness
Dridha bhoomihi	-			solid foundation
Drishti	-			vision, eyesight
Drishtisamya	-			stillness of vision
Drona	-			teacher of the Pandava and Kaurava princes from the Mahabharata epic
Durga	-			devi; goddess; representing energy
Dwesha	-			repulsion, aversion

Garbha	-			womb Ida
Gayatri mantra	-			vedic mantra of 24 matras or syllabes
Gherand Samhita	-			traditional yogic text by Rishi Gherand
Gomukasana	-			cow face pose
Granthis	-			psychic knots
Grihastha ashrama	-			second stage of life from 25-50 years; householder
Guna	-			attribute, quality or nature of the phenomenal world
Guna rahita akasha	-			one of the five mental spaces of vyoma panchaka; attributeless space
Gupta nadi	-			runs from the knees along the inside of the thighs into the perineum
Guru	-			one who dispels darkness

Hasta uttanasana	-			a pre-pranayama exercise
Hatha yoga	-			yoga of attaining physical and mental purity, and chanelling of the pranas in the body
Hatha Yoga Pradipika	-			yogic text, 'light on hatha yoga'
Himsa	-			anything which disrupts the natural flow of human perception and consciousness
Hiranya	-			'golden'
Hiranyagarbha	-			golden womb; golden egg
Hreem	-			beeja mantra
Hridayakasha	-			space of the heart, experienced between manipura and vishuddhi chakra
Hridayakasha dharana	-			vedic meditative process involving concentration on the heart space

Ida nadi	-			major pranic channel in the body; passive aspect of prana manifesting as mental force, chit shakti; lunar force governing the manifest subtle dimension
Indra	-			king of the vedic gods
Indriyas	-			sensory organs
Ishwara	-			higher reality; non-decaying principle of Samkhya philosophy; unmanifest existence; being; non-changing principle or quality
Ishwara pranidhana	-			cultivation of faith in the higher reality
Iti	-			`through' or 'thus'

Jagriti	-			wakefulness
Jala	-			water
Jala neti	-			nasal cleansing using warm and saline water, or oil, ghee, milk, yogurt or amaroli
Jalandhara bandha	-			chin lock; technique that frees ' the blockages of rudra granthi; controls the network of nadis, nerves and blood vessels flowing to the brain
Janma chakra	-			wheel of life
Japa yoga	-			yoga of mantra repetition
Jaya	-			victory, success
Jiva	-			individual identity
Jnana	-			intuitive knowledge
Jnana kanda	-			path of knowledge
Jnana mudra	-			hand position that joins fingers and thumb; gesture of intuitive knowledge
Jnana yoga	-			yoga of knowledge and wisdom attained through spontaneous self-analysis and investigation of abstract or speculative ideas
Jnanendriyas	-			five sensory organs
Jyoti mandir	-			temple of light

Kagra	-			tip
Kaivalya	-			state of consciousness beyond duality
Kala	-			time
Kala loka	-			plane that comes under the influence of time and its secondary aspect, space
Kama	-			emotional need or fulfillment
Kapalbhati pranayama	-			frontal brain bellowing technique used to raise the pranic energy of the body and center it at ajna chakra
Kapalshodhan	-			variation of kapalbhati
Kapha	-			phlegm, one of the three humors described in ayurveda
Karana	-			cause
Kari	-			that which produces
Karma	-			action; law of cause and effect, which shapes the destiny of each individual
Karma kanda	-			path of ritual
Karma shaya	-			deep layers of consciousness where the karma are stored in the form of impressions, symbols or archetypes
Karma yoga	-			yoga of action; action performed with meditative awareness; yoga of dynamic meditation
Karmendriyas	-			five physical organs of action (feet, hands, speech, excretory and reproductive organs)
Kama dhauti	-			ways to clean the ears
Khechad mudra	-			tongue lock
Kirtan	-			singing of God's name
Kleem	-			beeja mantra
Koorma	-			tortoise
Koormasana	-			tortoise pose
Kosha	-			sheath or body
Krishna	-			incarnation of Vishnu
Kriya	-			action or motion
Kriya yoga	-			practices of kundalini yoga
Kukkutasana	-			cockerel pose
Kumbha	-			a pot
Kumbhaka	-			internal or external retention of breath
Kundalini	-			'serpent power'; spiritual energy; evolutionary potential
Kundalini yoga	-			path of yoga, which awakens the dormant spiritual force
Kunjal kriya	-			cleansing the stomach by voluntary vomiting using warm saline water
Kuru princes	-			opponents of the Pandava princes in the Mahabharata epic

Laghoo	-			'short form'
Lakshya	-			aim; stage
Lalana upa chakra	-			minor chakra at the back of the throat
Lam	-			beeja mantra of mooladhara chakra
Laya	-			to dissolve
Laya yoga	-			yoga of conscious dissolution of individuality
Lokas	-			seven planes of consciousness

Madhya	-			intermediate
Madhya lakshya	-			intermediate stage
Maha	-			great
Maha bheda mudra	-			great piercing attitude
Mahamrityunjaya mantra	-			a long universal mantra
Maha mudra	-			great attitude
Maha samadhi	-			final liberation experienced on the departure of the spirit from the body
Mahabandha	-			great lock
Mahabharata	-			great epic of ancient India
Mahakasha	-			one of the five mental spaces of vyoma panchaka; bright like the middle of the sun
Mahaprana	-			prana in its cosmic, unmanifest aspect
Mahat	-			greater mind
Majja	-			nerves found in the body tissues
Mala	-			garland
Mananat	-			bondage of mind
Manas	-			mind
Manasi	-			mental
Mandala	-			zone; area; pictorial representation
Manduki	-			frog
Manduki mudra	-			frog attitude
Mandukya Upanishad	-			one of the major Upanishads, which describes the three states of consciousness, represented by the three syllables of AUM
Manipura chakra	-			psychic center behind the navel, associated with vitality and energy; 'city of jewels'
Manomaya kosha	-			mental sheath or body Mantra? - sound or vibration of power, which liberates the mind from bondage
Mantra yoga	-			path of yogawhich liberates the mind through sound vibration
Mantraha	-			force of vibration
Maya	-			illusion; partial understanding; wrong or false notions about self-identity
Mayurasana	-			peacock pose
Medha	-			fat found in the body tissues
Mehdra	-			plexus of the pranic body; nadi plexus located just a few centimeters below the nave
Mitahara	-			balanced diet
Moksha	-			liberation; freedom
Moola	-			`root'
Moola bandha	-			perineal lock; technique for locating and awakening mooladhara chakra; used to release brahma granthi
Mooladhara anusandhana	-			discovery of mooladhara chakra
Mooladhara chakra	-			root chakra, situated at the perineum; seat of the primal energy
Mooladhara dhyana	-			practice involving visualization of mooladhara chakra and sensing the vortex of energy at this point
Mouna	-			silence
Mrityu tattwa	-			decay able element; manifest aspect of tattwa
Mudra	-			psychic gesture; psycho-physiological posture, movement or attitude.
Mukti	-			liberation
Mumsa	-			muscle found in the body tissues
Mumukshutva	-			desire for liberation

Nabho mudra	-			another name for khechari mudra
Nada	-			psychic or internal sound
Nada Yoga	-			yoga of internal sound
Nadi	-			prana flow or channel
Nadi shodhana	-			purification of nadis
Nadi shodhana pranayama	-			practice of alternate nostril breathing by which the pranic channels are purified
Naga	-			one of the five minor pranas
Nairantarya	-			continuously without a break
Nara	-			decaying principle
Nashwara	-			decaying principle described in Samkhya philosophy; manifest existence; becoming; changeable
Nasi	-			nose
Nasikagra drishti	-			nose tip gazing
Nasikagra upa chakra	-			minor chakra at the nose tip
Natya mudras	-			dance mudras that express different attitudes or moods, such as love or anger
Nauli	-			practice of rotation of the abdominal muscles
Neti	-			cleansing practice for the head; nasal cleaning
Nidra	-			deep sleep
Nigraha	-			control
Nirbeeja samadhi	-			final state of samadhi where there is absorption without seed; total dissolution
Nirguna dhyana	-			meditation without gunas or qualities
Nirvichara samadhi	-			transitional stage of samadhi; absorption without reflection
Nirvichara dhyana	-			meditation without special attributes
Nirvichara samadhi	-			transitional stage of samadhi involving purification of memory which gives rise to true knowledge of the object of perception
Niyama	-			inner discipline
Nyaya	-			one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy; `logic'; recognition of the real spiritual experience by the omniscient mind

Om Namah Shivaya	-			Shiva mantra; `I salute Shiva (consciousness)'
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudeva	-			Krishna mantra; `I salute Krishna (consciousness)'
Om Namo Narayana	-			Narayan or Vishnu mantra; 'I salute Narayan (consciousness)'

Padmasana	-			lotus pose
Pancha klesha	-			five afflictions (ignorance, ego, attraction, aversion and fear of, death)
Panchaka	-			five
Pandavas	-			the five brothers in the Mahabharata epic
Para nada	-			transcendental sound
Param	-			supreme
Paramakasha	-			one of the five mental spaces of vyoma panchaka; 'deep, dark space with a twinkling star-like light'; state of shoonya, nothingness
Parigraha	-			collection
Pashubhava	-			instinctive personality
Pasyanti	-			mental
Patanjali	-			ancient rishi who codified the meditative stages and states into the system of raja yoga
Pawanmuktasana	-			series of wind releasing postures; preliminary asana series
Pingala nadi	-			major pranic channel in the body which conducts the dynamic force manifesting as prana shakti
Pitta	-			bile,. One of the three humors described in ayurveda
Pooraka	-			inhalation
Poorna	-			full
Poorna dhanurasana	-			full bow pose
Poorva Mimamsa	-			one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy in the form of answers; contains theory of karma kanda or ritual
Prajna	-			knowledge with awareness; the seer who observes the state of nidra; the all knowing; what is known; represents the 'M' of AUM; awareness of the 'one without a second'
Prakasha	-			light
Prakasha mandala	-			white light at the center of ajna chakra
Prakriti	-			individual nature
Pramana	-			direct knowledge; knowledge based on direct experience
Prana	-			vital energy; inherent vital force pervading every dimension of matter
Prana mudra	-			a technique of raising the prana
Prana nigraha	-			control of prana
Prana shakti	-			dynamic solar force governing the dimension of matter
Prana tattwa	-			third element representing the vital or life giving force
Prana vidya	-			knowledge and control of prana
Pranamaya kasha	-			energy sheath or body
Pranava	-			mantra Aum; primal sound vibration
Pranava dhyana	-			meditation on the mantra Aum
Pranayama	-			expansion of the range of vital energy
Pranidhana	-			'to believe in'
Pranothana	-			awakening of the pranas in the different chakras
Pratishtha	-			awareness of identity
Pratyahara	-			withdrawal of the mind from the senses
Pratyaya	-			seeds or impressions in the field of consciousness, which do not disappear even in samadhi
Pravrittis	-			four instincts; (i) desire for food, (ii) desire for sleep; (iii) desire to procreate and (iv) fear of death
Prithvi	-			earth or matter
Purusha	-			totality of consciousness
Purusharthas	-			four efforts which man must make in order to fulfill his individual existence: (i) artha (wealth), (ii) kama (love), (iii) dharma (duty), (iv) moksha (liberation)

Raga	-			attraction
Rahita	-			without
Raja yoga	-			yoga of awkening the psychic awareness and faculties through meditation
Rajas	-			one of the three gunas; dynamism; state of activity and the creativity combined with full ego involvement
Rakta	-			blood found in the body tissues
Rasa	-			serum found in the body tissues
Rechaka	-			exhalation
Rishi	-			seer; realized sage; one who contemplates or meditates on the Self
Rityam	-			the changing principle
Roodan	-			the cry
Roopa	-			form
Rud	-			to cry
Rudra	-			howling energy
Rudra granthi	-			psychic knot or block between ajna and sahasrara chakras

Sabeeja samadhi	-			absorption with seed where the form of awareness remains
Sadhaka	-			spiritual aspirant
Sadhana	-			spiritual practice
Saguna dhyana	-			meditation to develop awareness of the ttranscendental qualities
Sah	-			with
Sahaja	-			spontaneous; easy
Sahaja samadhi	-			spontaneous meditative experience where the mind is totally withdrawn from the external world
Sahajoli mudra	-			contraction and release of the urinary passage in the female body to stimulate Swadhisthana chakra and promote brahmacharya
Sahasrara chakra	-			abode of Shiva or superconsciousness; 'the thousand petalled lotus'; highest chakra or psychic center, which symbolizes the threshold between the psychic and spiritual realms; located at the crown of the head
Sahita	-			'combined with something'
Sakama karma	-			ego-inspired actions
Sakshi	-			witness; drashta aspect
Sam	-			perfect, balanced
Samadhi	-			culmination of meditation; state of unity with the object of meditation and the universal consciousness
Samana	-			one of the five sub-pranas; situated between the navel and diaphragm
Samapatti	-			complete absorption; samadhi
Samkhya	-			one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy; associated with yoga; based on the division of existence into purusha, prakr;ti and a number of elements
Samprajnata samadhi	-			first sate of samadhi; transcendental state where there is knowledge with awareness
Samskara	-			unconscious memories; impressions that do not fit into the known categories of our present personality
Samya	-			stillness
Samyam	-			harmonious control; culmination of pratyahara, dharana and samadhi
Sanatan	-			eternal
Sankalpa	-			resolve
Sannyasa	-			renunciation; dedication
Sannyasa ashram	-			fourth stage of life from 75 years onwards; total renunciation
Sanskrit	-			`language of the gods": original vedic language
Santosha	-			contentment
Sapta	-			seven
Saptavatan	-			awareness of seven things simultaneously
Saraswati	-			goddess of learning
Sat	-			true
Satchitananda	-			three divine attribrates of truth, consciousness and bliss
Satkaara	-			with faith
Satsang	-			gathering in which the ideals and principles of truth are discussed
Sattwa	-			one of the three gunas; pure, unadulterated quality; state of luminosity and harmony
Sattwic	-			pertaining to sattwa
Satya	-			truth, reality
Satyam	-			the unchanging principle
Savdhan	-			attention; alert
Savichara samadhi	-			third state of samadhi where the mind alternates between time, space and object
Savishesha dhyana	-			meditation with special qualities: awareness of the concept of Shakti as a powerful force equal to that of Brahman
Savitarka samadhi	-			second state of samadhi where there is alternating association of the consciousness between word, knowledge and sensory perception
Shaiva	-			one who worships Shiva as the supreme reality
Shaivism	-			practice of worshipping Shiva
Shakta	-			one who worships the various manifestations of Shakti in the form of Kali, Saraswati, Durga etc.
Shakti	-			primal energy; manifest consciousness
Shaktism	-			practice of worshiping Shakti as the supreme reality
Shambhavi	-			name for Parvati, consort of Shiva
Shambhavi mudra	-			eyebrow center gazing
Shambhu	-			name for Shiva
Shankhaprakshalana	-			cleaning the conch; shatkarma that uses saline water to clean the small and large intestines
Shankha mudra	-			conch Mudra
Shanmukhi mudra	-			closing the seven gates
Shat	-			six
Shatkarmas	-			group of six purificatory techniques of hatha yoga
Shaucha	-			cleanliness of the body
Sheetali pranayama	-			'cooling breath'; breathing principle technique where the breath is drawn in through the folded tongue
Sheetkan pranayama	-			'hissing breath'; practice of object drawing the breath in through clenched teeth
Shiva	-			pure consciousness
Shodhana	-			purification
Shoonya	-			nothingness; void
Shuddha	-			pure in nature
Shuddhata	-			virtue; purity
Shuddhi	-			to purify
Shukra/arthata	-			reproductive tissues in the body
Siddha	-			perfected being
Siddha yoni asana	-			female version of siddhasana
Siddhasana	-			accomplished pose
Siddhi	-			paranormal or supernormal accomplishment
Simhasana	-			lion pose
Smashan bhoomi	-			cremation ground
Smritti	-			memory; memory field
Soham	-			mantra of the breath; used in the practice of ajapa japa
Sthiti	-			condition
Sthoola	-			gross
Sukha poorvaka	-			'simple preliminary practice'
Sukhasana	-			easy pose
Sukshma	-			subtle dimension
Sumeru	-			mountain; tassle on mala
Surya	-			sun
Surya bheda	-			pranayama that pierces and purifies the pingala nadi
Surya mandala	-			image of the sun visualized at the eyebrow center
Surya namaskara	-			'salute to the sun'; series of 12 asanas for revitalizing prana
Surya tantra	-			path of realization through visualization and evocation of the vital energy within the sun
Surya vijnana	-			another name for surya tantra
Suryakasha	-			one of the five mental spaces of vyoma panchaka; luminous space of the sun or the soul
Sushumna	-			central nadi in the spine, which conducts the kundalini or spiritual force from mooladhara to sahasrara
Sutra	-			threads of thought which outline the ancient spiritual texts
Sutra neti	-			nasal cleansing using a catheter
Sva, Swa	-			one's own
Swadharma	-			acceptance of one's own duty in life
Swadhisthana chakra	-			'one's own abode'; second chakra associated with the sacral plexus
Swadhyaya	-			self study
Swami	-			master of the self
Swapna	-			dream state
Swara yoga	-			science of the breathing cycle
Swastikasana	-			auspicious pose

Tabla	-			Indian drums
Tadroop pratishta	-			knowledge of true identity; linking of name with form
Tamas	-			one of the three gunas; state of inertia or ignorance
Tamasic	-			pertaining to tamas
Tanmatra	-			nature, quality or essence of the five elements the sun visualized at
Tantra	-			ancient, universal science and culture which deals with the transcendence of human nature from the present level of evolution and understanding to transcendental level of knowledge, experience and awareness
Tapas	-			austerity; heat; process of burning impurities
Tarka	-			process of understanding through discussion and analysis
Tat	-			'that'
Tattwa	-			element
Tattwakasha	-			one of the five mental spaces of vyoma panchaka; elemental space of perfect stillness
Tattwamaasi	-			'Thou Art That'; vedic mantra
Teerthasthan	-			holy places of India
Tejas	-			luminosity; golden light or flame; the seer who observes the state of swapna
Tham, ksham	-			syllable or sound representing the sun or solar force
Trataka	-			to gaze steadily; dharana practice of gazing steadily at one point to focus the mind
Trayate	-			freed, liberated
Trimoorti dhyana	-			meditation on the three aspects of personality: sattwa, rajas and tamas
Turiya	-			fourth dimension of consciousness; super consciousness; simultaneous awareness of all three states of consciousness
Tyaga	-			renunciation or gradual dissociation of the mind from worldly objects and from the seed of desire

Udana	-			one of the five sub-pranas; energy located in the extremities of the body arms,legs and head
Uddiyana	-			'to raise up', 'to fly up'
Uddiyana Bandha	-			lock applied to the abdomen which causes the diaphragm to rise into the chest, thereby directing prana into sushumna
Ujjayi pranayama	-			psychic breathing performed by contracting the epiglottis, producing a light sonorous sound
Upa-pranas	-			five minor pranas responsible for such actions as sneezing, yawning, itching, belching and blinking
Upanishads	-			vedantic texts conveyed by ancient sages and seers containing their experiences and teachings on the ultimate reality
Upanshu	-			whispered sound
Upasana kanda	-			ritual of worship
Usha pan	-			drinking water through the nose; traditional form of cold water neti
Uttara Mimamsa	-			one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy which deals with the knowledge of ritual in the form of questions
Utthita Lolasana	-			'swinging while standing pose'; a pre-pranayama exercise

Vacha	-			speech
Vairagya	-			non-attachment
Vaisheshika	-			a treatise on the subtle, causal and atomic principles in relation to the five elements
Vaishnava	-			one who worships Vishnu in the form of Rama, Krishna, Narayana etc.
Vaishnavism	-			sect of Vishnu
Vaishwa	-			manifest universe
Vaishwanara	-			seer who observes the manifest universe or the, external, waking consciousness
Vajrasana	-			thunderbolt pose
Vajroli Mudra	-			contraction and release of the urinary passage in the male body to stimulate swadhisthana chakra and promote brahmacharya
Vama dhauti	-			method of cleaning the stomach by voluntary vomiting; includes kunjal kriya and vyaghra Kriya
Vanaprastha ashrama	-			third stage of life from 50-75 years; retirement from worldly life in order to practise sadhana in relative seclusion
Vashishtasana	-			balancing asana invented by Sage Vashishta
Vastra dhauti	-			cleansing of the stomach and esophagus, using a cloth
Vata	-			wind, one of the three humors described in ayurveda
Vata nadi	-			nadi running along the back of the neck and head into the brain; controls gas formation and elimination
Vatsara dhauti	-			form of stomach cleansing performed by drinking air through the mouth and belching
Vayu	-			wind, prana
Vedanta	-			one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy; 'the end of perceivable knowledge'; the mind experiencing its own limits and going beyond them; gaining realization and understanding of that exploration
Vedas	-			ancient spiritual texts of the Sanatan Dharma
Veerabhava	-			warrior personality
Veerasana	-			warrior pose (also known as the philosopher's pose or the thinker's pose)
Vichara	-			reflection
Vidya	-			knowledge
Vidyut mandala	-			visualization of lightning within the white light of prakash mandala
Vijnana	-			intuitive ability of mind; higher understanding
Vijnanamaya kosha	-			higher mental sheath or body
Vikalpa	-			fancy; unfounded belief; imagination
Vikshepa	-			dissipation
Vipareeta	-			inverted
Vipareeta karani mudra	-			inverted psychic attitude
Viparyaya	-			wrong knowledge
Vishaya	-			object
Vishnu granthi	-			psychic knot or block between manipura, anahata and vishuddhi chakras, symbolizing the bondage of personal and emotional attachment
Vishuddhi chakra	-			psychic center located at the level of the throat; center of purification
Vishwa	-			eternal
Vitara	-			reasoning
Viveka	-			right knowledge or understanding
Vrischikasana	-			scorpion pose
Vritti	-			circular movement of consciousness; mental and modifications described in raja yoga
Vyaghra kriya	-			cleansing the stomach by voluntary vomiting using warm saline water (performed on a full stomach)
Vyakta	-			manifest; seen
Vyakta prang	-			manifest life force
Vyana	-			one of the sub-pranas; reserve of pranic energy pervading the whole body
Vyoma	-			space
Vyoma Panchaka	-			the five subtle spaces

Yam	-			beeja mantra of anahata chakra
Yama	-			self-restraint, first step of ashtanga or raja yoga
Yantra	-			visual form of mantra used for concentration and meditation
Yoga angas	-			parts or aspects of yoga
Yoga mudra	-			psychic union pose
Yoga mudras	-			gestures, which help to channel the flow of prana in the body
Yoga nidra	-			technique of yogic or psychic sleep which induces deep relaxation
Yoga Sutras	-			ancient authorative text on raja yoga by Patanjali
Yoni	-			womb, source
Yoni mudra	-			attitude by which the primal energy inherent in the womb, or source of creation, is invoked