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Bikram Yoga - Index of yoga terms Category: Sport and Leisure > Yoga Date & country: 31/08/2013, IN Words: 206

Kirtan
Mantras that are sung to music. Chanting and singing devotional songs.

Knjee
A nourishing, easily digested rice-water drink.

Krishna
An incarnation of God Vishnu, the God-man whose teachings can be found in the Bhagavad-Gita and the Bhagavata-Purana.

Kriya Yoga
Technique of Yoga.

Kshaya
Reduction of the body, whether through purification and weight-loss measures, inadequate nutrition, or poor assimilation.

Kundalini
The body's energy that is found at the base of the spine; symbolized by a coiled female serpent. Kundalini yoga uses breath, sound, and meditation as its major resources - specifically, moving the breath along the spine to stimulate different energy centers.

Lassi
A drink made of organic plain yogurt blended with water, cardamom powder, organic sugar, and rosewater.

Laya Yoga
The goal of Laya Yoga is to quiet the conscious mind and give birth to the ecstatic state of Samadhi. Related to Kundalini Yoga, Laya Yoga stimulates the latent power of Kundalini, making it travel from the spine to the head.

Lotus Position
Padmasana, or Lotus Pose, named so because the position puts the souls of the feet up, reminiscent of a lotus flower. The prime position for meditation, it is the most renowned of all Hatha Yoga postures.

Maha
meaning Great.

Mahabharata
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.

Maharishi
Maha means great, rishi means 'seer', A Great sage. A Great soul.

Maharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK)
Proprietary name for a traditional herbal formula of MAV for health and longevity.

Maharishi Ayurveda (MAV)
The complete, consciousness-based system of natural medicine from the Vedic civilization of ancient India.

Majja
One of the seven bodily constituents, mainly the bone marrow and its metabolism.

Malas
Bodily wastes; includes urine, feces, sweat, and others.

Mamsa
One of the seven bodily constituents, mainly muscle and its metabolism.

Manas
The instinctive mind, ruler of motor and sensory organs. The seat of desire, Manas is termed the undisciplined mind. Manas is fraught with contradictions

Mandala
A circular geometric design that represents the cosmos and the spirit's journey. It is a tool in the pilgrimage to enlightenment. One of the most famous mandalas appears on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France.

Mantra Yoga
The yogic path utilizing mantras as the primary means of liberation.

Maya
The illusion by which the world is seen as separate from the ultimate Reality.

Meda
One of the seven bodily constituents, mainly fat and metabolism of fat, carbohydrates, and hormones.

Medhya
That which is especially nourishing and supportive to the mind and brain.

Meditation
The emptying of the mind of thoughts, or concentration of the mind on just one thing in order to aid mental or spiritual development, contemplation, or relaxation. Although the practice originated in India, it is common to many religions. Hatha yoga is a form of meditation.

Moksha
Freedom from birth and death liberation from the bondage of worldly action based on detachment and freedom within oneself. The nearest English equivalent is salvation.

MRT
Maharishi Rejuvenation Therapy; traditional cleansing and balancing treatments (panchakarma), specifically prescribed for each individual by a medical doctor trained in Maharishi Ayurveda.

Mudra
Hand movement mainly of the fingers, capable of expressing ideas and emotions. In yoga these sacred hand positions relate to a particular meditation, enhancing the effect of the posture.

Muladhara
The sanskrit name given for the first chakra located at the base of the spine, near the coccyx. It is a major energy center.

Murti
A representation of God or deity that has been sanctified by worship. A murti can be symbolic; a recognizable human figure, as in the image of a saint.

Nada
Inner sounds that may be heard during advanced stages of meditation; nada may take the form of sounds such as bells, the blowing of a conch, and thunder.

Nadi
A channel in the subtle body through which prana and kundalini flow. The channels loosely correspond to the central, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Nadi also refers to the normal veins and arteries of the physical body.

Nirvana
Characterized by bliss and freedom. Letting go of ego, passion and desire. Liberation.

Niyama
The second step in Raja Yoga, observance, purity and contentment.

Ojas
The subtle, health-promoting substance through which consciousness and Nature's intelligence are connected the body.

Om
also written as 'AUM' according the Yogi's and Rishi's OM (AUM) is considered to be the sound that represents the Ultimate Reality, the primordial vibration, which is prefixed to many mantras. Om shares many of the same meanings with its Semitic counterparts

Om Yoga
A practice that combines Buddhist meditation with an emphasis on alignment and fluidity.

Padma
Lotus; lotus flower. Another name for the chakras, because sometimes they are visualized as spoked wheels, and at other times as lotus flowers.

Padukhas
The Guru's sandals, objects of the highest veneration and a figurative term for the Guru's teachings.

Panchakarma
A series of traditional cleansing and balancing treatments.

Panir
A type of soft, fresh cheese.

Patanjali
The author of Yoga Sutras, the foremost scripture on Raja Yoga, The Yoga of meditation and mind control.He lived around the time of Christ and brilliantly summarized and synthesized the yoga practices of his time.

Phalam
The fruit of Karma, the results, outcome or consequences of our actions.

Pitta
The dosha governing all digestion, metabolism, and transformation in the body.

Pradakshina
The act of worshipful walking around a holy temple, shrine or place. Always done clockwise.

Prajapati
A name for the father of creation and protector of life.

Prana
Prana is the energy that animates everything and is a fundamental concept of Hatha Yoga. Prana is also breath, the life force sustaining the body.

Prana Vata
The chief subdivision of vata, it governs the mind, the heart, respiration, and life itself.

Pranayama
Breath control, consisting of conscious inhalation, retention and exhalation. Breathing is the essential element of all yoga.

Prem
Prem is Love, the highest form of Love.

Puja
Hindu Worship; flower offerings.

Raga
In Indian music, a series of five or more notes upon which a melody is based; a particular melody. Ragas evoke particular moods in the listener and are often performed to resonate with a season or time of day.

Raja
meaning royal; a king.

Raja Yoga
Royal Yoga. The Yoga path of meditation. Hatha Yoga is actually a branch of Raja Yoga.

Rajas Ajas
One of the three Gunas which generates passion and restlessness.

Rakta
One of the seven bodily constituents, mainly the red blood cells.

Rama
A very popular hero god who is an avatar of Vishnu, whose story is told in one of the most famous in India - The Ramayana. His wife is Sita.

Ramayana
For the past two thousand years the Ramayana has been among the most important literary and oral texts of South Asia. Telling the story of the banishment, wandering and eventual return of Prince Rama, this epic poem continues to influence the politics, religion and art of modern India.

Rasa
One of the seven bodily constituents, mainly the plasma (clear part of the blood).

Rasa Vaha Srotas
Those channels or blood vessels that carry the plasma throughout the body; includes the coronary arteries in the heart.

Rasayana
Herbs, foods, or behaviors that support immunity, good health, and long life; that which causes ojas to be produced.

Restorative Yoga
Designed to relieve stress; this is a very slow and relaxing kind of Yoga.

Rig Veda
The oldest of the four sections of the Vedas.

Sadhaka Pitta
A subdivision of pitta dosha that governs how we process our experiences, it coordinates thinking, feeling, and emotions and is responsible for the fulfillment of our desires.

Sadhu
Pious man; Sannyasin.

Samadhi
Ecstasy, total absorption, or a thoughtless state of the mind. It is the highest state of being.

Samsara
The world of change and becoming; the relative world.

Sannyasa
A person in the fourth ashrama, or stage of life when one lives as a wandering hermit, owning nothing save the clothes one is wearing and a small wooden bowl for food.

Sanskrit
The classical literary language of India. All the words relating to Yoga come from Sanskrit, the ancient Indo European language of Hinduism, the Vedas and other sacred texts.

Satsanga
The practice of being in the presence of the wise, in whose company it is easier to learn and practice.

Satya
also Sat - meaning Truth.

Shakti
Energy Force, feminine in nature, In Yoga, the muladhara chakra at the base of the spine houses the Shakti, or the feminine part of divine creative expression.

Shanti
Peace.

Shirodhara
A treatment of warm oil poured gently on the forehead to balance the mind and nervous system.

Shiva
The Divine; a deity that has served yogis as an archetypal model throughout the ages. Also, in the Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head, according to Yogic thinking, lives the yang or masculine aspect of divine creative expression. As the third member of the Hindu Trinity, Shiva is the Destroyer God, joining Brahma and Vishnu.

Shukra
One of the seven bodily constituents, mainly the ova and their supportive tissue

Siddhi
Spiritual perfection, being at one with reality. Siddhi often involves paranormal ability.

Sivananda
A form of Yoga integrating movement, breathing and meditation.

Smriti
Memory.

Srotas
Channels or spaces through which flow occurs.

Sthapatya Veda
the Vedic science of architecture.

Subdosha
A subdivision of a dosha; each dosha has five subdoshas that carry out different functions in the body.

Subhanga Karanam
True beauty, in which every aspect of the body is radiantly healthy.

Surya
the sun, also the Vedic Sun God or god of the enlightened mind.

Surya Namakara
Sun salutations - a series of Yoga postures honoring the sun.

Sushruta Samhita
A classical text of Ayurveda.

Svadhyaya
Self-study. The process of inquiring into your own nature, the nature of your beliefs, and the nature of the world's spiritual journey.

Swami
Title given to a monk; a swami is a monk who has taken vows of renunciation and of service to God and humanity.

Tantra
Literally a loom or warp. Tantra refers to a group of religious writings written over a period of 300 years, starting in the eighth century. The texts deal mainly with folk magic and rituals. The Tantras are in the form of a dialogue between Shiva and Shatki, and are best known for their blending of sensuality and religious practice.

Tapas
Sacred heat generated by certain physical or spiritual practices; ritual self-purification.

Trikanasana
The triangle posture is the only posture that improves every muscle. joint, tendon. and internal organ in the body

Tripti
A feeling of being deeply nourished and satisfied by your food.

Tuladandasana
The balancing stick posture that increases the circulation, and strengthens the heart muscle.

Upanishads
The second great collection of ancient sacred Hindu texts, the Upanishads followed the Vedas and set forth doctrines such as Self-realization, Yoga, meditation, karma and reincarnation, which were kept veiled under the symbols of the older texts.

Ustrasana
Known as the Camel posture. it stretches the abdominal organs to the maximum firming and slimming the abdomen and waistline, opens the rib cage to give more space to the lungs, produces maximum compression of the neck and spine.

Vaidya
An Ayurvedic physician.

Vanaprastha
The third ashrama, or stage of life in Classical India.

Varna
The Hindu term for caste, a social division into which a person is born. There are four major castes in Hindu society

Vastu Vidya
The precise rules of construction and design of Vedic architecture.

Vata
The dosha governing all motion and flow in the body.

Vayastyag
Lasting, ageless beauty.