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Yoga Terms Simplified
YogaLondon on 20 August, 2010 | 
Beef up on your Yoga vocabulary: understand what your teachers and fellow classmates are talking about! Below is a list of widely used yoga terms and their definitions.
Asana: Also known as yoga positions. Asana is a movement to relax and calm the entire body. These movements also probe the practitioner toward a meditative state.
* Fact: There are said to be 84 asana used in modern yoga.
Ashtanga Yoga: A system of yoga popularised by Sri K Pattabhi. There are six practises or ‘series’ in the Ashtanga Vinyasa system. Each series follows a set sequence of poses that are never altered.
* Fact: Ashtanga literally means "eight limbed" in Sanskrit. The name draws from the Eight Limbs of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.
Bandha: Also known as a "bind" or a "lock". These locks help guide prana (energy) through the body. They also work as cues for correcting alignment in physical yoga postures (asana).
* Fact: There are three bandhas: Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha and Jalandhara Bandha.
Bikram Yoga: Also known as Hot Yoga. Popularised by Bikram Choudhury. Bikram Yoga involves a series of 26 poses and is practised in a heated room between 32-37 degrees Celsius.
* Fact: Bikram Yoga detoxifies the body through heat.
Drishti: Drishti is the gaze of the eyes during yoga poses. The purpose is to achieve balance and to concentrate.
* Fact: Each individual pose (asana) has its own prescribed gaze.
Iyengar Yoga: Props (straps, blocks, etc.) are essential to this yoga style. Iyengar Yoga focuses more on the correct positioning of the body than the intensity of the asanas themselves.
* Fact: Iyengar poses are held for much longer than most other styles of yoga.
Mudr?: A "gesture" or "seal". Most mudr?s involve the use of hands and fingers; often they are accompanied with breathing (see pranayama), meditation and asana practise.
* Fact: The use of mudr?s during yoga practise stimulate regions of the brain.
Namaste: Namaste is a traditional Indian greeting or salutation. It is said with reverence and respect, normally paired with a bow and palms pressed together.
* Fact: Namaste is translated to mean "I bow to you".
Om: Also spelled as Aum. Om is a universal mantra. The use and repetition of mantra helps focus the mind and develops sense withdrawal.
* Fact: Om or Aum is a sacred word in the Hindu religion.
Power Yoga: A relatively new style of yoga incorporating robust vinyasa-like poses and movement. Power yoga is a westerner's take on Ashtanga Yoga.
* Fact: Power Yoga was popularized in the early 1990's in the USA.
Pranayama: Yoga breathing exercises and techniques.
* Fact: Prana is a Sanskrit word meaning life-force. Ayama means to hold back and control.
Savasana: Also known as Corpse Pose. Savasana is a calming asana mainly practised at the start or finish of a yoga session.
* Fact: There is music especially for Savasana. The albums "Nada Himalaya" by Deuter and "Savasana" by Wah! are excellent sounds for this peaceful pose.
Ujjayi: Also known as victorious breath. Ujjayi is a type of breath that warms and detoxifies the body.
* Fact: If you are practising Ujjayi breath correctly, you should be making a hissing sound in your throat, and not in your nose.
Vinyasa Flow Yoga: A modern style of yoga derived from the Ashtanga Vinyasa system. The sun salutations and linking of poses through Vinyasa is retained; however the order of poses is open to change.
* Fact: Yoga London offers a dynamic and Vinyasa Flow style of yoga incorporating elements from many yoga traditions.
Yogi: One who follows yoga practise.
* Fact: The feminine version of yogi is yogini.