Asana

A yoga position intended primarily to restore and maintain a practitioner's well-being, improve the body's flexibility and vitality, and promote the ability to remain in seated meditation for extended periods

Bandhas

Bandha means “hold”,“tighten” or “lock”. When bandhas is practiced, certain organs or parts of the body are contracted or controlled. When prana is made to flow in the body through pranayama practice, bandhas helps to prevent dissipation of energy. They lock and redirect prana current into sushumna nadi (spinal cord) for activating the chakras and spiritual awakening. They include Jalandhara Bandha – Throat Locking, Uddiyana Bandha – Abdominal Contraction, Moola Bandha – Perineum locking, and Maha Bandha - Jalandhara + Uddiyana + Moola Bandha

Chakra

Chakra means“wheel”. The charkas are pranic energy centres at specific areas in the body. There are 7 major charkas located along the sushumna nadi through the spinal cord.

	Sahasrasa (crown)
	Ajna (mid forehead)
	Vishuddha (throat)
	Anahata (heart)
	Manipura (navel)
	Swadhishtana (genitals)
	Muladhara (perineum)

Guru

Sanskrit term for teacher.

Drishti

Visual focus. Drishti is often emphasized in Ashtanga style yoga, it means where the gaze rests during asana and meditation practice

Mudra

Mudra is a symbolic or ritual gesture of yoga. While some mudrās involve the entire body in a combination of asana, pranayama, bandha & dristi, most are performed with the hands and fingers.

Namaste / Namaskar

It means respect. Together with the mudra of palms together placed in front of the chest or above forehead and a slight bow, it means “ I bow to you”. Namaskar is considered a slightly more formal version than Namaste but both express deep respect. “ Yogis love to greet each other with “Namaste” before and after each yoga practice session.

Nadis

Nadis correspond to the veins and arteries that carry blood. But to yogis, they have a deepen meaning, representing the subtle channels or tubes through which prana flows. The three most important nadia are the ida (left), pingala (right) and sushumna (centre).

OM

Sacred Sanskrit syllable, primeval sound of the universe, the basic sound from which all else comes. Yoga philosophers believed that reciting the OM sound while contemplating the OM symbol can calm even the roaring waves of the most disturbed human psyche.

Prana

Prana refers to a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy in natural processes of the universe. Prana is a central concept in Ayurveda and Yoga where it is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle channels called nadis.

Pranayama

Pranayama is breath control. It is “prana” + “ayama”. “Prana” means vital energy or life force; “ayama” means extension or expansion. Techniques of pranayama activates and regulates prana to go beyond one’s normal boundaries to attain a higher state of consciousness.

Surya Namaskar

Sun Salutation

Vinyasa

Vinyasa means breath-synchronized movement, meaning that movements occurs on inhales and exhales. Vinyasa is sometimes used to refer to the series of poses from upward facing dog, downward facing dog, crocodile to cobra.