Glossary of Yoga Terms
Asana: Steady Pose. In yoga, the holding of the body in a particular posture.
Hatha: One of the oldest forms of Yoga which involves combining many asanas and pranayama to create a feeling of well being and vitality in the body. Hatha yoga holds the asanas for varied lengths of time in order to: teach the body how to remain still; detach from the busy world we participate in; calm the mind; increase flexibility; and vanquish tension stored in the body.
Meditation: An act of turning one's thoughts inward, using relaxation and breathing as techniques to calm the mind down.
Namaste: A greeting and gesture acknowledging the soul in one by the soul in another. It is typically performed at the end of class by bringing the hands together in prayer posture, in front of hearts center, and bowing the head.
Prana: Vital energy, or "life force" absorbed in the body primarily through breath. Focus on the breath allows us to focus on the present moment and keep our minds from being cluttered.
Pranayama: The practice of breathing to maximize efficiency of Prana. At B Yoga, we typically use two pranayama techniques:
"Cleansing Breath" - Breathing through the nose into the lungs, expanding all parts of the chest, and releasing the breath audibly, though the mouth, as though blowing out a candle.
"Yoga Breath" - Breathing in slow and steady, through the nose into the belly, and out silently through the nose.
Yogi: One who practices yoga.
Hatha: One of the oldest forms of Yoga which involves combining many asanas and pranayama to create a feeling of well being and vitality in the body. Hatha yoga holds the asanas for varied lengths of time in order to: teach the body how to remain still; detach from the busy world we participate in; calm the mind; increase flexibility; and vanquish tension stored in the body.
Meditation: An act of turning one's thoughts inward, using relaxation and breathing as techniques to calm the mind down.
Namaste: A greeting and gesture acknowledging the soul in one by the soul in another. It is typically performed at the end of class by bringing the hands together in prayer posture, in front of hearts center, and bowing the head.
Prana: Vital energy, or "life force" absorbed in the body primarily through breath. Focus on the breath allows us to focus on the present moment and keep our minds from being cluttered.
Pranayama: The practice of breathing to maximize efficiency of Prana. At B Yoga, we typically use two pranayama techniques:
"Cleansing Breath" - Breathing through the nose into the lungs, expanding all parts of the chest, and releasing the breath audibly, though the mouth, as though blowing out a candle.
"Yoga Breath" - Breathing in slow and steady, through the nose into the belly, and out silently through the nose.
Yogi: One who practices yoga.