This glossary is your plain-language guide to the words you'll hear in yoga classes, teacher trainings, and studio conversations—from asana and pranayama to Yin, Yoga Nidra, and beyond.
Each term has its own dedicated page (300 words or less) so you can quickly understand what it means, how it shows up in class, and where to explore it next.
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The names you'll see on schedules: different ways to organize movement, breath, and rest.
AcroYoga is a playful practice that blends yoga, acrobatics, and Thai massage.
Anusara Yoga is a heart-centered Hatha yoga practice that combines precise biomechanical alignment principles with a philosophy of intrinsic goodness, inviting practitioners to align their bodies—and their lives—with grace.
A rigorous, traditional practice with a set sequence of postures, performed in the same order every time, synchronized with breath.
Chair yoga is yoga adapted to be practiced sitting on a chair or using a chair for support—making the benefits of practice accessible to anyone, regardless of age, mobility, or physical limitations.
Gentle yoga offers a slower, softer approach to practice—emphasizing accessibility, comfort, and nurturing attention over physical challenge or athletic achievement.
The root of all physical yoga practices.
Hot yoga is any yoga practice performed in a heated room—typically between 90°F and 105°F (32-40°C).
Jivamukti Yoga is a vigorous, spiritually-grounded vinyasa practice that weaves together asana, chanting, meditation, and ethical teachings to cultivate liberation while still living—not after death, but here, now, on the mat and in the world.
An ancient practice combining breath, movement, mantra, and meditation to awaken dormant spiritual energy.
Partner yoga is a practice where two people work together through yoga poses—using each other for support, balance, and deeper stretching.
A vigorous, fitness-oriented yoga style that emerged in the West during the 1990s.
Prenatal yoga is yoga adapted for pregnancy—gentle, supportive practice that honors your changing body, eases common discomforts, builds strength for birth, and creates space to connect with the life growing inside you.
The yoga of complete support and deep rest.
Vinyasa Yoga is one of the most popular and widely practiced styles of yoga in the modern world.
The practice of stillness under gentle stress.
Yoga Nidra, meaning "yogic sleep," is a guided meditation practice that systematically induces complete physical, mental, and emotional relaxation while maintaining conscious awareness at the threshold between waking and sleeping.
The building blocks of any physical yoga class. Knowing these gives you confidence walking into any studio.
Asana is the physical expression of yoga — shapes where breath meets stability, where your body becomes the language of your practice.
Balasana is yoga's sanctuary—a pose you can come home to at any moment.
Balasana is yoga's sanctuary—a pose you can come home to at any moment.
Boat Pose (Navasana) is a core-strengthening balance where you sit on your sit bones with legs and torso lifted, creating a V-shape—like a boat floating on water.
Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) is a seated hip opener where the soles of the feet come together and knees drop outward—like butterfly wings.
Bow Pose (Dhanurasana) is a deep prone backbend where the body curves like an archer's bow—hands grasping ankles, legs pressing back, chest lifting forward.
Breathwork is the only "manual override" for the Autonomic Nervous System.
Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) is a supine backbend that lifts the hips toward the sky, opening the chest and front body while building strength in the legs and back.
Ustrasana is a kneeling backbend that opens the entire front body—chest, abdomen, hip flexors, and throat.
The four-limbed staff pose—a low hover that builds profound upper body strength while teaching the body to work as one integrated unit.
Balasana is the resting pose of yoga—a gentle forward fold where you curl in on yourself like a child at rest.
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) is a gentle backbend that opens the chest, strengthens the spine, and mimics a serpent rising with hood spread.
Downward-Facing Dog is the iconic inverted V-shape pose—hands and feet grounded, hips lifted high.
Extended Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) is a foundational standing pose that creates a triangle between your legs and torso.
Ardha Matsyendrasana is a seated spinal twist named after the legendary yogi Matsyendra.
Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) is a standing balance that radiates in all directions—grounding through one leg while the lifted leg, torso, and arms expand outward like a crescent moon.
Sirsasana is the headstand—often called the "king of asanas" for its profound effects on body and mind.
Kapalabhati is an energizing pranayama technique that uses rapid, rhythmic exhalations to cleanse the respiratory system, stimulate digestion, and awaken mental clarity—quite literally making the skull "shine" with renewed vitality.
Locust Pose (Salabhasana) is a prone backbend that strengthens the entire posterior chain—back, glutes, and legs—through simple but demanding lifting.
Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana) is a deep hip-opening pose that stretches the hip flexors and quadriceps while building leg strength.
Nadi Shodhana is a calming pranayama technique that alternates breathing between nostrils to balance the nervous system, quiet the mind, and prepare for meditation—the yogic equivalent of pressing your body's reset button.
Halasana is an inversion where the legs fold over the head, feet reaching toward or touching the floor behind you.
Pranayama is the yogic practice of breath control — designed to cultivate and direct prana (life force energy) throughout the body to enhance physical vitality, mental clarity, and spiritual awareness.
Pranayama techniques are specific breathing methods used in yoga to regulate prana (life force), calm the mind, energize the body, and prepare for deeper meditation and spiritual practices.
Supta Baddha Konasana is the reclining version of Bound Angle Pose—a deeply restorative position that opens the hips and chest while inviting complete surrender.
Revolved Chair Pose takes the fierce leg work of Chair Pose and adds a spinal twist—creating a pose that builds heat, challenges balance, and stimulates digestion.
Savasana is often called yoga's most difficult pose—which seems absurd when you look at it.
Sarvangasana is the shoulderstand—often called the "queen of asanas" to complement Headstand's title of "king.
Staff Pose (Dandasana) is the foundational seated pose—sitting with legs extended and spine tall, like a staff or rod planted upright.
Standing Splits is a one-legged forward fold where the back leg reaches toward the sky while the torso drapes over the standing leg.
Surya Namaskar—the Sun Salutation—is a flowing sequence of poses synchronized with breath.
The "victorious breath" or "ocean breath"—a slow, audible breathing technique that creates internal heat, steadies the mind, and becomes the rhythmic soundtrack of your yoga practice.
Upward-Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) is a powerful backbend where arms straighten, chest lifts, and the entire body hovers above the floor supported only by hands and the tops of the feet.
Virabhadrasana is a series of standing yoga postures that build strength, stability, and focus while embodying the fierce grace of the mythological warrior Virabhadra—poses that teach us to stand our ground with power and presence.
Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana) is a full backbend where the body arches into a wheel or bridge shape, pressing up onto hands and feet.
Upavistha Konasana is a seated wide-leg forward fold that opens the inner thighs, stretches the hamstrings, and teaches the patient art of yielding.
Backbends are yoga poses that extend the spine in the opposite direction from our habitual forward curl.
Heart openers are yoga poses that expand and stretch the chest, front shoulders, and the area around the heart—creating space where we habitually contract.
Hip openers are yoga poses designed to increase flexibility and range of motion in the hip joint—one of the body's largest and most complex joints.
In yoga, an inversion is any pose where your head drops below your heart.
Twists are yoga poses that rotate the spine around its central axis—the vertebral column turning as the shoulders and hips face different directions.
Practices for presence, awareness, and mental clarity both on and off the mat.
Dhyana is the seventh limb of yoga—a state of sustained, effortless meditation where awareness flows continuously without interruption, bridging the focused concentration of Dharana and the complete absorption of Samadhi.
Drishti is a focused gaze point used in yoga to steady the mind, improve balance, and deepen concentration during asana and meditation practice.
Gratitude practice is the intentional cultivation of appreciation and thankfulness, a science-backed approach to rewiring the brain for positivity that reduces stress, improves mood, and deepens your capacity for presence and joy.
Meditation is deliberate mental training that, when practiced consistently, leads to measurable structural changes in the brain—specifically in the Default Mode Network (DMN), prefrontal cortex, and amygdala.
Nervous system regulation is the ability to consciously influence your autonomic nervous system, using yoga, breathwork, and somatic awareness to shift from states of stress and reactivity into calm, centered presence.
A specialized practice that brings awareness, strength, and release to the pelvic floor—the often-neglected muscular hammock at the base of your core.
Sankalpa is a yogic intention or heartfelt resolve that aligns your actions with your deepest values—not a goal to achieve, but a truth to remember, guiding practice and life from a place of inner wisdom rather than external striving.
Self-care is the intentional practice of attending to your physical, emotional, and mental needs—not indulgence or luxury, but the essential maintenance that allows you to function, heal, and show up fully in your life and relationships.
Somatic refers to body-based awareness and practices that use physical sensation as the primary pathway for learning, healing, and transformation—treating the body not as something to be controlled, but as a source of wisdom to be listened to.
Yoga for back pain uses specific poses and practices to relieve tension, strengthen supporting muscles, and improve spinal health—offering a drug-free path to relief that addresses both physical symptoms and underlying causes.
Yoga for flexibility uses targeted poses and practices to safely increase range of motion, release tight muscles, and create ease in the body over time—not through force, but through consistent, mindful practice that works with your body's natural resistance.
Yoga for stress relief isn't about escaping life's pressures—it's about changing how your nervous system responds to them.
The ancient wisdom and ethical framework underlying modern yoga practice.
The first and foundational yama of yoga—non-violence in thought, word, and deed.
Bandhas are internal energy locks used in yoga to control the flow of prana (vital energy), build core stability, and create a powerful connection between the breath, body, and mind.
Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion and love—a practice of opening the heart to the divine through prayer, chanting, service, and surrender, fostering compassion, gratitude, and spiritual connection in everyday life.
Chakra means "wheel" or "circle" in Sanskrit—spinning centers of energy that live along the spine, each one governing a different aspect of how we feel, express, and experience being alive.
Your sacred duty, life purpose, and the cosmic order that governs right action.
A guru is a spiritual teacher—one who guides students from darkness toward light.
Japa is the meditative practice of repeating a mantra—a sacred word, phrase, or sound—as a way of focusing the mind, cultivating inner stillness, and connecting with something larger than our everyday thoughts.
The path of wisdom—using discriminative inquiry and self-knowledge to realize the true nature of reality.
The path of selfless action—performing your duties without attachment to results, transforming everyday work into spiritual practice.
The kleshas are five fundamental afflictions—ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear of death—that cloud our perception, drive reactive behavior, and create the conditions for suffering.
Kriya Yoga is the "yoga of action"—a practical path outlined in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras that combines discipline (tapas), self-study (svadhyaya), and devotion (ishvara pranidhana).
A mantra is a sacred sound, word, or phrase repeated during meditation to focus the mind, cultivate spiritual awareness, and create energetic vibrations that support inner transformation.
A mudra is a symbolic gesture—most often a hand position—used in yoga and meditation to seal, direct, or channel energy.
Mula Bandha is the "root lock"—a subtle engagement at the pelvic floor that contains and directs pranic energy, creating stability, lift, and focused awareness throughout your practice.
Nadis are the subtle energy channels through which prana—life force—flows throughout your being.
Namaste is a Sanskrit greeting meaning "I bow to you"—traditionally spoken with palms pressed together at the heart, a gesture of respect that honors the light, divinity, or shared humanity in another person.
The five personal observances that form the second limb of yoga—inner practices for self-development and spiritual growth.
Om is the sacred syllable—considered in yoga and Hindu tradition to be the primordial sound from which all creation emerged.
Prana is the vital life force that animates all living things — the subtle energy that flows through breath, moves through the body, and connects us to the larger web of existence.
The 'royal path' of yoga—a systematic approach to mastering the mind through meditation, concentration, and the eight-limbed path outlined by Patanjali.
Sadhana is your dedicated spiritual practice—the daily discipline of yoga, meditation, study, and self-reflection that you commit to over time.
The eighth and final limb of yoga—a state of profound meditative absorption where the boundaries between self and other dissolve, and consciousness recognizes its own infinite nature.
Samskaras are the mental impressions, grooves, and conditioned patterns formed by past experiences.
Satsang means "company of truth" or "gathering with the wise"—the practice of being in the presence of teachers, teachings, and fellow seekers who support awakening.
The fourth niyama—the practice of self-study in two forms: introspection (watching your own patterns, thoughts, and reactions) and study of sacred texts (learning from wisdom traditions).
The five ethical restraints that form the first limb of yoga—universal moral principles governing how we relate to the world around us.
What you need to know about taking classes, finding teachers, and navigating studio culture.
Alignment in yoga refers to the precise positioning of the body in each pose—how joints stack, where weight distributes, which muscles engage.
Beginner yoga classes are specifically designed for those new to practice—offering slower pacing, thorough instruction, foundational poses, and an atmosphere free of assumptions about what you already know.
A class pack is yoga in bulk—multiple classes purchased together at a better rate than dropping in, with flexibility that monthly memberships don't offer.
A drop-in class is yoga without strings—one class, one payment, no membership required.
Intermediate and advanced yoga classes are designed for practitioners who have established a foundation—who know the basic poses, understand alignment principles, and can coordinate breath with movement.
A private session is yoga shaped entirely around you—your body, your questions, your pace.
Yoga props are the great democratizers of practice—blocks, straps, bolsters, and blankets that bring poses to your body rather than forcing your body to conform.
A yoga retreat is permission granted—days of practice, rest, and renewal away from everything that usually demands your attention.
RYT is more than letters after a name—it's a teacher's promise that they've walked the path of formal training and continue learning alongside you.
An unlimited membership is your all-access pass—one monthly fee for as many classes as your schedule (and body) can handle.
A yoga workshop is time unlocked—two to four hours to explore one corner of the practice in depth that regular classes can't provide.
Yoga Alliance is the organization that shapes how we recognize trained teachers—creating a shared language of credentials across studios worldwide.
Teacher training is where personal practice deepens into something you can share—a journey of learning to see, support, and guide others on the mat.
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