15 Yoga Terms for Beginner Yogis
Have you ever heard your yoga teacher use words that sound like they’re a different language? Me too! This is because many of the names of poses and terms we use are from Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language that yogis would originally have spoken. Historic yogic texts like the Vedas and Yoga Sutras are also written in Sanskrit.
In new places, jobs or experiences, if we become more familiar with the language and lingo being used we start to feel more comfortable and confident; and like we belong. This was definitely true for me when I spent a year teaching English in Austria as part of my uni degree, and even when I moved from the UK to Australia!
So whether you’re brand new to yoga, or you’ve been practicing for a while, here are 15 yoga terms to help you get a deeper understanding of the lingo used at your local or online yoga studio.
Yoga
It makes sense to start right at the beginning! Yoga means ‘yoke’, what is more commonly referred to as ‘union’. The aim of yoga is to create union between the body, mind and spirit, as well as between the self and something bigger than ourselves – this could be referred to as the divine or universal consciousness.
2. Flow Yoga
This is one of the most popular styles of yoga, so you may hear of it more often that others. A dynamic style of yoga, it involves connecting one pose to another using the breath. The inhale and exhale goes in time with moving in or out of postures; sequences incorporate breathe, movement and meditation, and tend to be energising, (which is why most of of our flow classes take place in the morning.) You can read our blog post on What is Flow Yoga? Here <link to post> Just to confuse you, Flow yoga is also sometimes called Vinyasa.
3. Yin Yoga
A more restorative style of yoga where poses are held for longer, targeting the joints, connective tissue and nervous system. This style is much slower and can feel like a moving meditation. Read more about this here <link to what is yin post> https://www.louisekelly.co/blog/what-is-yin-yoga
4. Asana
In our modern yoga practice, this refers to a physical pose or shape. A lot of poses literally have this word within them, for example Balasana (child’s pose), Ukatasana (chair pose). The traditional translation of the word is ‘seat’.
5. Comfortable Seat
Often at the start of class, a yoga teacher will guide you to come into a comfortable seat. This generally means to come into a cross legged position. If this is not comfortable, you might like to sit on a block, blanket or bolster; or come to kneeling.
6. Supta
‘Reclined.’ This is used in poses that involve lying on your back. Perhaps one of the most common that is often practiced at the start of a Restore or Yin yoga class is Supta Baddha Konasana (reclining bound angle pose), where you lie on your back with the soles of the feet together and the knees wide.
7. Mudra
A hand position. The most common one you’ll here is Anjali Mudra – where you place your hands together at your heart
8. Om
This is often chanted sounded at the start and end of yoga classes. The word Om is split into three parts - "ahh," "ooh" and "mm" – to signify three stages of life: creation, maintenance and destruction. When you chat Om in class, all the voices blend together to make one sound, signifying that we are all one (this again returns us to the notion that yoga means union, see our first definition.)
9. Shanti
‘Peace’. This may be added to Om, repeated three times and chanted to create an invocation of peace “Om Shanti Shanti Shanti“
10. Prana
Energy or ‘life force’.
11. Pranayama
This is made up of two Sanskrit words ‘prana’ meaning ‘life force’ and ‘yama’ meaning ‘regulation’. Breathing exercises are used to learn how to control the breath, which then impacts our energy and emotions. If we develop the ability to use the breath as a tool on our yoga mat, we start to be able to use it to support ourselves in our everyday life. For example, when you’re feeling stressed because you’re stuck in traffic and running late; or kids are testing your patience levels – you remember to focus on deepening and slowing your inhale and exhale. Or you’re feeling nervous in the dentist chair, so you start to lengthen your exhale or count the breath to help you stay calm and take it moment by moment, breath by breath.
12. Sun Salutations
Also referred to by the Sanskrit name, Surya Namaskar. These are often used at the start of a dynamic yoga practice to warm up the body.
13. Meridian
Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine, a meridian refers to a path or energy line that energy, ‘prana’ or ‘qi’ moves through. Some styles of yoga are influenced by TCM, especially Yin, and teachers may refer to certain meridians.
14. Savasana
At the end of every yoga class, students are guided to come into ‘savasana’, also referred to as ‘relaxation’ or ‘corpse pose’. At the end of a 60 minute class it will last around 4-7 mins, and it involves lying on your back with your legs and arms stretched out. You are aiming to find stillness, clarity and peace here, so you need to be comfortable. If you experience any discomfort in the lower back, you might like to place a roller blanket or bolster under your knees. Yogis argue that this is the most important pose of the entire class - my advice is to treat it as such - leaving class before or during Savasana is not acceptable.
15. Namaste
Yoga teachers will often close a class by saying “Namaste”. The direct translation of this is “the light within me honours the light within you”. There are some teachers who have chosen to stop saying namaste at the end of their yoga classes due to cultural appropriation. The reason for this is that traditionally namaste was used as a greeting, rather than as a ‘thank you’ or a form of goodbye. So you may hear this in class, or you may not – either way, it’s handy to know what it means if it does get mentioned.
I hope getting more familiar with yoga lingo, helps you to feel more comfortable and confident on your mat, within yourself and in your yoga community.