Glossary: ​​understanding Yoga and its philosophy

You are starting yoga, or you are interested in the names of yoga postures or you are simply evolving in your practice and you are interested in the spiritual and philosophical side of yoga. This glossary is for you. You will find a short definition of the Sanskrit words used by your yoga teacher and their original meaning.

Yoga (YUJ)

Let's start with the main and best known of all: the word "yoga" whose root comes from the radical YUJ in Sanskrit. No, the term "yoga" was not invented by Europeans to designate a sport. Its origin dates back to more than 3,000 years before our era. Subsequently, this root was transformed into JUG or YUG according to the Indo-European model.

Sanskrit terms often have multiple meanings. YUJ can mean:

• action of harnessing;
• to unite, to bind;
• instructions for use, technique;
• spiritual discipline;
• state of union or unity of the subjective being with the Supreme (Aur).

The Vedic texts (ancient religious sacred texts from India) are the first writings to use the root YUJ, but this word did not yet concern the spiritual discipline that we know today.

It was between the 2nd and 5th centuries BC that the philosophy of yoga appeared for the first time in the "Upanishads" (a collection of philosophical texts which form the theoretical foundations of the Hindu religion).

From then on, the Upanishads used the word yoga in a broad sense to express the effort, the mode of use, the technique.

Today, yoga teaches us the union of the human being represented by his soul, his body and his spirit, with the divine or the Supreme Spirit. This communion encourages the awakening of consciousness, but also to free ourselves from our emotional or physical blockages.

Asana

It is a common and widely used term in the practice of yoga, as it means "posture". In Sanskrit, "âs" the root of the word Âsana can mean:

• be ;
• live ;
• exist ;
• to sit, seat or seat.

In the practice of yoga, asanas help to develop "prana" or vital energy. Asanas maintain the physical body and balance energies.

Sun salutation is a beautiful example of asana, it is also called “Sūryanamaskāra”.

Prana

"Prana" evokes the vital breath, prana is everywhere and the source of everything, it is this infinite and omnipresent force that surrounds us in the universe. It is the principle of life.

Prana animates us and gives us this energizing and revitalizing energy. During your asanas, you help prana to circulate within you. By calling upon the vital source, you can fight against illnesses, physical and psychological ailments, as well as anxieties and anxiety.

Pranayama

"Pranayama" comes from "prana". Prana is the vital energy and yama the control of it, which means: the control of the breath.

Pranayama in yoga refers to the set of breathing practices that allow us to control, circulate and bring Prana into our being.

Pranayamas are the essence of yoga, because the control of the breath helps to energize or soothe the body and mind, depending on the desired effect. Breathing exercises accompany your asanas, so you can: calm your tormented mind, energize your body or relax it, or release your blockages.

As explained in the Sutras of Patanjali (the reference work of yoga), Pranayama is a branch in its own right of yoga, it is essential to its practice. We will return to it in the second part.

Sankalpa

Buddha teaches us: “With our thoughts we build our world.”

Sankalpa in yoga is the power of intention. This little thing that you will take care to mature in you and formulate to become one with it and until you are intimately convinced of it.

Sankalpa is a positive phrase that describes what we want to see embodied in our life. For the magic to work, you must formulate your intention with simplicity, positivity and conviction.

Preferred, for example: “I have confidence in myself” rather than “I want to have confidence in myself”.

It is a seed that you plant within yourself, a notion that will germinate until it becomes reality and shapes your life.

Mantra

Mantras are those sacred sounds or words that the wisest yogis repeat during their meditation sessions. The vibrations of these chants are so powerful that they act on the environment and the one who recites them.

Mantra has the power to protect the individual, it helps to channel mental forces. The best known of all is the mantra called Aum or Om.

Bandha

Bandha means to lock, block, or seal. In yoga practice, it means contracting a specific part of the body. That's why you regularly hear in yoga class: "Engage Mula Bandha," or: contract your pelvic area.

By contracting your bandhas during your asanas and with the help of pranayama, you help Prana to circulate. The bandhas act directly on vital energy. With training, you will learn to channel them to accumulate or direct this energy.

There are 3 main bandhas:

• Mula-Bandha (Moula-banda): it is performed by contracting the perineum and represents the first chakra;
• Uddiyana-Bandha (oudianabanda): which is the contraction of the abdomen, it is similar to the ^2nd and ^3rd chakras;
• Jalandara-Bandha (djalandara-banda): this is the contraction of the neck and throat, but also where our ^5th is located

Hatha

By breaking down its syllables we discover the original meaning of the word "hatha": ah for sun and tha for moon or the union of moon and sun.

Hatha yoga therefore aims to unite these two energies to find balance. In French, hatha yoga means: the yoga of tenacity or strength.

Hatha yoga is the combination of breath control (pranayama) with physical postures (asanas), mantras and meditation.

Samskara

Samskara represents the imprints that form on our mind and create unconscious behavioral habits. Samskara refers to the unconscious. We learn in the Yoga sutras that these samskaras, or conditioning of the mind can be a source of discomfort.

Yoga is precisely made to counter these negative samskaras and transform them into a positive impregnation. This is the whole point of yogic practice, to recondition the mind for more balance, to soothe suffering and to untie blockages.

Samadhi

The word "samadhi" has its origins in Hindu yoga and Buddhism. The root "sam" means: establishment, maintenance, "adhi" expresses: consciousness, attention. In a more generalized sense and particularly in yoga, samadhi means: union, totality, accomplishment, completion, putting in order, arrangement, total concentration of the mind, contemplation, absorption.

Those who practice Ashtanga yoga are familiar with this term, as it is the name given to the eighth and final stage of this practice as expounded in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It is a journey of the mind that leads the practitioner to the "ultimate reality".

Brahma

In Sanskrit "Brahma" is: the divine essence of the world. In Hindu mythology, he is the creator of all things. He is the first god, the one who created Indra (or Shiva) as well as Vishnu. Together, they form the Trimurti (trinity or cycle of the universe).

He is often represented with four heads and four arms. In yoga, these 4 heads are at the origin of the "Brahma Mudra", an exercise that combines sound and head movements to relax the neck. Finally, Brahma in yoga is the creative energy.

Shiva

Shiva is certainly the most famous and most represented Hindu deity of all. His name means: "the beneficent or the one who brings good luck". Shiva is a very powerful god in Hinduism, he can create as well as destroy.

He is the unconditional god of Yoga, symbol of pure consciousness. It is precisely the union between consciousness (Shiva) and energy (Shakti: goddess and wife of Shiva also called Parvati) that yoga teaches us.

The representation of Shiva shows us that he is also the king of dance. Thus, his moving body has inspired many yoga postures, it even seems that no less than 84,000 asanas are at the origin of his movements.

During your meditation sessions, you will certainly have noticed that it is Shiva that you invoke by reciting your mantras like the famous “ Om Namah Shivaya ”.

Purusha

Purusha is the Universal Principle, it is an imperceptible thing related to cosmic consciousness. In yoga, it represents the "true self", it is what we all aspire to, the ultimate goal of yogic practice.

Yoga teaches us that there are two realities:

• Purusha: consciousness, the soul which are imperceptible
• Prakriti: nature, primordial matter or that which is perceptible

These two realities are closely linked, their interaction is at the origin of everything we perceive and what allows us to perceive.

Purusha is the observer, the consciousness that observes “Prakriti”.

Prakriti

It is difficult to talk about 'Purusha' without talking about 'Prakriti'. Prakriti, as mentioned above, is the primordial matter, the origin of all things or the cause.

Prakriti activates Purusha who observes her, one does not go without the other, they are inseparable, because Prakriti realizes what the Purusha has designed. A bit like a computer program that needs a computer to make it work. Prakriti is the software and Purasha its computer.

Atman

This Sanskrit word means "Self" or "breath". Atman is the essential principle, by practicing yoga you are trying to awaken your awareness of the Self. Meditation helps to reveal our true inner Self.

It refers directly to Brahman, because it is, like it, the absolute consciousness. Atman (the true Self) is the opposition of the ego.

According to Hindu philosophy, "atman" is the vital breath from which all living beings are organized.

Mudra

Mudra means "sign". These signs are made using the hands that are positioned in a very specific way. Mudras most often accompany a spiritual act.

This technique of positioning the hands by joining the fingers acts on the circulation of energy and therefore on the body and mind. Just like asanas, mudras allow you to find the balance of the being and to harmonize it with the universe.

When you think about it, it is not surprising that practicing mudra helps the circulation of energy, because aren't our hands, the end of our body, riddled with energy points?

An example of a mudra to stop making mistakes during yoga class and to stop looking at your colleague out of the corner of your eye to copy them: anjali mudra.

This is the mudra of request and thanks, this sign links the spiritual and the material, solar energy and lunar energy, yin and yang. It is performed by joining the hands to the chest, in front of the heart chakra which brings peace and love and thus restores harmony.

Shanti

In Sanskrit, "shanti" means "peace". In the practice of yoga, it is used as a mantra that is chanted during meditation. "Om shanti shanti shanti" repeated 3 times is a way for yogis to end their session to find inner peace.

Chanting the Shanti mantra can help relieve stress, awaken the senses, aid in relaxation and concentration.

Savasana

Savasana is the sweet name for one of the easiest asanas (postures) to perform. In French its translation is much less glamorous, because "savasana" translates to "corpse posture".

You will understand the full meaning of this translation in the execution of this position. It is practiced:

• lying on the back;
• arms alongside the body, slightly apart, palms facing the sky;
• feet apart.

The simplicity of savasana does not take away its benefits, it allows the person who practices it a deep relaxation. Since it does not require any muscles, the nervous system is completely relaxed and the energies can thus circulate in complete freedom.

Take time at the end of your yoga session and let yourself be enchanted by savasana.

Namaste

In India “Namaste” is the greeting, it means “salutation” or more precisely “I bow to your form”.

Namaste is accompanied by a hand gesture, there are three of them:

• hands joined above the head in greeting to the Divine;
• hands joined in front of the face to greet our spiritual guides;
• hands joined in front of the heart chakra, this is the one you will use to greet your yoga teacher at the end of your class.

This gesture is a sign of recognition from one soul to another soul.

Ommm

Aum or Om is a Sanskrit syllable chanted during the recitation of mantras. "Ommm" is a powerful mantra, the "primordial" mantra whose vibration of sound is said to have helped structure the universe.

Each letter of “aum” is a symbol:

• “A” as in the beginning, the birth, it represents the creator god Brahma;
• “U” like life, continuation, it represents Vishnu;
• “M” for the end of all things, that is, death, represented by Shiva.