| Adharmic |
– |
|
|
not fulfilling one's natural role in life |
| Advaita |
– |
|
|
non-dual experience; unity of the individual soul |
| Agni |
– |
|
|
fire, in all its aspects. Agni encompasses all fires, from the densest (the power of digestion) to the most rarefied (the essence of cosmic fire). |
| Aham Bhramasmi |
– |
|
|
vedic mantra, I am Brahman' |
| Ahamkara |
– |
|
|
ego |
| Ahimsa |
– |
|
|
absence of violence from within; non-violence |
| Ajna chakra |
– |
|
|
'third eye'; command center |
| Akasha |
– |
|
|
space; ether |
| Akashi mudra |
– |
|
|
awareness of the inner space; practice of the external stage of dharana; gazing into space with the head tilted back |
| Anahata chakra |
– |
|
|
heart chakra or emotional center |
| Ananda |
– |
|
|
everlasting bliss |
| Ananda samadhi |
– |
|
|
fourth state of samadhi; blissful absorption |
| Anandamaya kosha |
– |
|
|
sheath or body of bliss, beatitude |
| Annamaya kosha |
– |
|
|
sheath or body of matter |
| Antah karana |
– |
|
|
inner instrument; experienced or manifest mind which includes the four aspects of manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara |
| Antar kumbhaka |
– |
|
|
internal breathe retention |
| Antar lakshya |
– |
|
|
internal aim to be aspired for in dharana |
| Antar mouna |
– |
|
|
inner silence; meditative technique |
| Antaranga yoga |
– |
|
|
four internal stages of raja yoga |
| Apana |
– |
|
|
sub-prana, which is located in the lower abdominal region, responsible for elimination and reproduction |
| Aparigraha |
– |
|
|
non-possessiveness |
| Ardhanareshwara |
– |
|
|
form of Shiva, which is half male and half female |
| Arjuna |
– |
|
|
one of the five Pandava back brothers; he to whom Lord Krishna addressed the Bhagavad Gita |
| Artha |
– |
|
|
material need; wealth |
| Asamprajnata samadhi |
– |
|
|
transitional stage of samadhi where the traces of the mind become active according to their intensity |
| Asana |
– |
|
|
a physical posture in which one is at ease and in harmony with oneself |
| Asevitah |
– |
|
|
faith |
| Ashrama |
– |
|
|
four stages of life |
| Ashtanga yoga |
– |
|
|
eightfold path of yoga |
| Ashwini mudra |
– |
|
|
contraction of anal sphincter |
| Asmita |
– |
|
|
state where the ego and the sense of individuality are completely transcended and there is only pure awareness |
| Asmita samadhi |
– |
|
|
fifth state of samadhi; dissolution of ego; merging of body, mind and soul |
| Asteya |
– |
|
|
honesty |
| Asthi |
– |
|
|
bone found in the body tissues |
| Atma |
– |
|
|
individual soul; spirit |
| Aum |
– |
|
|
primordial sound; mantra |
| Avachetan |
– |
|
|
subconscious |
| Avidya |
– |
|
|
ignorance; lack of conscious awareness; mistaking the non-eternal for the eternal; confined cognition |
| Awarohan |
– |
|
|
descending passage to the subtle body; spinal passage |
| Ayurveda |
– |
|
|
vedic system of medical diagnosis and treatment |
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| Bahir kumbhaka |
– |
|
|
external breath retention |
| Bahir lakshya |
– |
|
|
external aim to focus on in order to achieve concentration |
| Bahiranga yoga |
– |
|
|
four external stages of raja yoga |
| Bandha |
– |
|
|
psychic lock that concentrates the flow of energy in the body at one point or plexus; postural contraction of the body |
| Basti |
– |
|
|
excretory cleansing technique for the intestines and colon |
| Beeja |
– |
|
|
'seed' |
| Bhadrasana |
– |
|
|
gentleman's pose |
| Bhagavad Gita |
– |
|
|
Lord Krishna's discourse to Arjuna delivered on the battlefield of Kurukshetra during the great Mahabharata war |
| Bhaja Govindam |
– |
|
|
ode to Shakti by Adi Shankaracharya |
| Bhakti |
– |
|
|
devotion |
| Bhastrika pranayama |
– |
|
|
'bellows' breathing technique |
| Bhoochari mudra |
– |
|
|
practice of the external stage of dharana; gazing into space after focusing on the finger nail of the hand held in front of the face |
| Bhoota |
– |
|
|
element |
| Bhrumadhya |
– |
|
|
eyebrow center |
| Bhrumadhya drishti |
– |
|
|
eyebrow center gazing |
| Bindu visarga |
– |
|
|
center or source of individual creation from where the psychic vibrations first emanate |
| Brahma |
– |
|
|
Lord of creation; manifest force of life and creation; potentiality of mooladhara chakra |
| Brahma dhyana |
– |
|
|
meditation on the concept of Brahma |
| Brahma granthi |
– |
|
|
perineal knot or psychic block |
| Brahma nadi |
– |
|
|
subtle pranic flow within sushumna nadi through which kundalini ascends |
| Brahmacharya |
– |
|
|
one who lives in higher consciousness; sexual control; redirection of sexual energy towards spiritual or meditational practices |
| Brahmacharya ashrama |
– |
|
|
first stage of life up to 25 years, which is devoted to study and learning |
| Brahman |
– |
|
|
absolute reality; 'ever-expanding consciousness' |
| Buddha |
– |
|
|
the enlightened one |
| Buddhi |
– |
|
|
discerning, discriminating aspect of mind; from the root 'bodh', 'to be aware of', 'to know'; intellect. |
back to top >>
| Chakra |
– |
|
|
psychic center in the subtle body; circle, wheel or vortex of energy; conjugation point of the nadis |
| Chakrasana |
– |
|
|
wheel pose |
| Chandra bheda pranayama |
– |
|
|
breathing technique that pierces and purifies the ida nadi |
| Chandra mandala |
– |
|
|
another name for ajna mandala |
| Chetana |
– |
|
|
consciousness; unmanifest aspect of consciousness and energy |
| Chin mudra |
– |
|
|
attitude of chitta or consciousness; upward hand position with thumb and first finger touching |
| Chit |
– |
|
|
eternal consciousness |
| Chitta |
– |
|
|
individual consciousness, including the subconscious and unconscious levels of mind; memory, thinking, concentration, attention, enquiry |
| Chitta vritti |
– |
|
|
mental modification |
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| Daharakasha |
– |
|
|
lower or deep space; encompassing mooladhara, swadhisthana and manipura |
| Darshana |
– |
|
|
to glimpse; to see; to have a vision |
| Devata |
– |
|
|
deity |
| Devi |
– |
|
|
female deity; goddess |
| Dharana |
– |
|
|
holding or binding of the mind to one point; concentration |
| Dharma |
– |
|
|
the natural role we have to play in life; ethical law; duty |
| Dhatu |
– |
|
|
layers of tissue in the body |
| Dhauti |
– |
|
|
cleansing practices for the stomach region involving gentle washing with air, water, cloth or stick |
| Dhyana |
– |
|
|
meditation |
| Divya |
– |
|
|
divine |
| Doshas |
– |
|
|
humors of the physical body |
| Drishti |
– |
|
|
vision, eyesight |
| Durga |
– |
|
|
devi; goddess; representing energy |
| Dwesha |
– |
|
|
repulsion, aversion |
back to top>>
| Gayatri mantra |
– |
|
|
vedic mantra of 24 matras or syllabes |
| Gomukasana |
– |
|
|
cow face pose |
| Granthis |
– |
|
|
psychic knots |
| Grihastha ashrama |
– |
|
|
second stage of life from 25-50 years; householder |
| Guna |
– |
|
|
attribute, quality or nature of the phenomenal world |
| Guru |
– |
|
|
one who dispels darkness |
back to top >>
| Hasta uttanasana |
– |
|
|
a pre-pranayama exercise |
| Hatha yoga |
– |
|
|
yoga of attaining physical and mental purity, and channelling of the pranas in the body |
| Hatha Yoga Pradipika |
– |
|
|
yogic text, 'light on hatha yoga' |
| Himsa |
– |
|
|
anything which disrupts the natural flow of human perception and consciousness |
| Hridayakasha |
– |
|
|
space of the heart, experienced between manipura and vishuddhi chakra |
back to top >>
| Ida nadi |
– |
|
|
major pranic channel in the body; passive aspect of prana manifesting as mental force, chit shakti; lunar force governing the manifest subtle dimension |
| Indra |
– |
|
|
king of the vedic gods |
| Ishwara |
– |
|
|
higher reality; non-decaying principle of Samkhya philosophy; unmanifest existence; being; non-changing principle or quality |
| Ishwara pranidhana |
– |
|
|
cultivation of faith in the higher reality |
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| Jagriti |
– |
|
|
wakefulness |
| Jala |
– |
|
|
water |
| Jala neti |
– |
|
|
nasal cleansing using warm and saline water, or oil, ghee, milk, yogurt or amaroli |
| Jalandhara bandha |
– |
|
|
chin lock; technique that frees ' the blockages of rudra granthi; controls the network of nadis, nerves and blood vessels flowing to the brain |
| Japa yoga |
– |
|
|
yoga of mantra repetition |
| Jaya |
– |
|
|
victory, success |
| Jiva |
– |
|
|
individual identity |
| Jnana |
– |
|
|
intuitive knowledge |
| Jnana mudra |
– |
|
|
hand position that joins fingers and thumb; gesture of intuitive knowledge |
| Jnana yoga |
– |
|
|
yoga of knowledge and wisdom attained through spontaneous self-analysis and investigation of abstract or speculative ideas |
| Jnanendriyas |
– |
|
|
five sensory organs |
| Jyoti mandir |
– |
|
|
temple of light |
back to top >>
| Kaivalya |
– |
|
|
state of consciousness beyond duality |
| Kala |
– |
|
|
time |
| Kama |
– |
|
|
emotional need or fulfillment |
| Kapalbhati pranayama |
– |
|
|
frontal brain bellowing technique used to raise the pranic energy of the body and center it at ajna chakra |
| Kapha |
– |
|
|
phlegm, one of the three humors described in ayurveda |
| Karana |
– |
|
|
cause |
| Kari |
– |
|
|
that which produces |
| Karma |
– |
|
|
action; law of cause and effect, which shapes the destiny of each individual |
| Karma yoga |
– |
|
|
yoga of action; action performed with meditative awareness; yoga of dynamic meditation |
| Karmendriyas |
– |
|
|
five physical organs of action (feet, hands, speech, excretory and reproductive organs) |
| Khechad mudra |
– |
|
|
tongue lock |
| Kirtan |
– |
|
|
singing of God's name |
| Koormasana |
– |
|
|
tortoise pose |
| Kosha |
– |
|
|
sheath or body |
| Krishna |
– |
|
|
incarnation of Vishnu |
| Kriya |
– |
|
|
action or motion |
| Kriya yoga |
– |
|
|
practices of kundalini yoga |
| Kukkutasana |
– |
|
|
cockerel pose |
| Kumbha |
– |
|
|
a pot |
| Kumbhaka |
– |
|
|
internal or external retention of breath |
| Kundalini |
– |
|
|
'serpent power'; spiritual energy; evolutionary potential |
| Kundalini yoga |
– |
|
|
path of yoga, which awakens the dormant spiritual force |
| Kunjal kriya |
– |
|
|
cleansing the stomach by voluntary vomiting using warm saline water |
back to top >>
| Lam |
– |
|
|
beeja mantra of mooladhara chakra |
| Lokas |
– |
|
|
seven planes of consciousness |
back to top >>
| Maha |
– |
|
|
great |
| Maha samadhi |
– |
|
|
final liberation experienced on the departure of the spirit from the body |
| Mahabandha |
– |
|
|
great lock |
| Mahabharata |
– |
|
|
great epic of ancient India |
| Mahat |
– |
|
|
greater mind |
| Manas |
– |
|
|
mind |
| Manasi |
– |
|
|
mental |
| Mandala |
– |
|
|
zone; area; pictorial representation |
| Mandukya Upanishad |
– |
|
|
one of the major Upanishads, which describes the three states of consciousness, represented by the three syllables of AUM |
| Manipura chakra |
– |
|
|
psychic center behind the navel, associated with vitality and energy; 'city of jewels' |
| Manomaya kosha |
– |
|
|
mental sheath or body Mantra ? – sound or vibration of power, which liberates the mind from bondage |
| Mantra yoga |
– |
|
|
path of yogawhich liberates the mind through sound vibration |
| Maya |
– |
|
|
illusion; partial understanding; wrong or false notions about self-identity |
| Mayurasana |
– |
|
|
peacock pose |
| Moksha |
– |
|
|
liberation; freedom |
| Moola |
– |
|
|
`root' |
| Moola bandha |
– |
|
|
perineal lock; technique for locating and awakening mooladhara chakra; used to release brahma granthi |
| Mooladhara chakra |
– |
|
|
root chakra, situated at the perineum; seat of the primal energy |
| Mooladhara dhyana |
– |
|
|
practice involving visualization of mooladhara chakra and sensing the vortex of energy at this point |
| Mouna |
– |
|
|
silence |
| Mudra |
– |
|
|
psychic gesture; psycho-physiological posture, movement or attitude. |
| Mukti |
– |
|
|
liberation |
back to top >>
| Nada |
– |
psychic or internal sound |
| Nadi |
– |
prana flow or channel |
| Nadi |
– |
purification of nadis |
| Nadi shodhana pranayama |
– |
practice of alternate nostril breathing by which the pranic channels are
purified |
| Nauli |
– |
practice of rotation of the abdominal muscles |
| Neti |
– |
cleansing practice for the head; nasal cleaning |
| Nirguna dhyana |
– |
meditation without gunas or qualities |
| Nirvichara samadhi |
– |
transitional stage of samadhi; absorption without reflection |
| Niyama |
– |
inner discipline |
back to top >>
| Om Namah Shivaya |
– |
Shiva mantra; `I salute Shiva (consciousness)' |
| Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudeva |
– |
Krishna mantra; `I salute Krishna (consciousness)' |
| Om Namo Narayana |
– |
Narayan or Vishnu mantra; 'I salute Narayan (consciousness)' |
back to top >>
| Padmasana |
– |
|
|
lotus pose |
| Pancha klesha |
– |
|
|
five afflictions (ignorance, ego, attraction, aversion and fear of, death) |
| Pandavas |
– |
|
|
the five brothers in the Mahabharata epic |
| Param |
– |
|
|
supreme |
| Patanjali |
– |
|
|
ancient rishi who codified the meditative stages and states into the system of raja yoga |
| Pawanmuktasana |
– |
|
|
series of wind releasing postures; preliminary asana series |
| Pingala nadi |
– |
|
|
major pranic channel in the body which conducts the dynamic force manifesting as prana
shakti |
| Pitta |
– |
|
|
bile,. One of the three humors described in ayurveda |
| Pooraka |
– |
|
|
inhalation |
| Prakriti |
– |
|
|
individual nature |
| Prana |
– |
|
|
vital energy; inherent vital force pervading every dimension of matter |
| Pranamaya kosha |
– |
|
|
|
| Pranayama |
– |
|
|
expansion of the range of vital energy |
| Pratyahara |
– |
|
|
withdrawal of the mind fromythe senses |
| Pravrittis |
– |
|
|
four instincts; (i) desire for food, (ii) desire for sleep; (iii) desire to procreate and (iv) fear of death |
| Prithvi |
– |
|
|
earth or matter |
| Purusha |
– |
|
|
totality of consciousness |
| Purusharthas |
– |
|
|
four efforts which man must make in order to fulfill his individual existence: (i) artha
(wealth), (ii) kama (love), (iii) dharma (duty), (iv) moksha (liberation) |
back to top >>
| Raja yoga |
– |
|
|
yoga of awkening the psychic awareness and faculties through meditation |
| Rajas |
– |
|
|
one of the three gunas; dynamism; state of activity and the creativity combined with full ego
involvement |
| Rechaka |
– |
|
|
exhalation |
| Rishi |
– |
|
|
seer; realized sage; one who contemplates or meditates on the Self |
| Rudra |
– |
|
|
howling energy |
| Rudra granthi |
– |
|
|
psychic knot or block between ajna and sahasrara chakras |
back to top >>
| Sadhana |
– |
|
|
spiritual practice |
| Swadhisthana chakra |
– |
|
|
promote brahmacharya |
| Sahasrara chakra |
– |
|
|
abode of Shiva or superconsciousness; 'the thousand petalled lotus'; highest chakra or
psychic center, which symbolizes the threshold between the psychic and spiritual realms; located at the
crown of the head |
| Samadhi |
– |
|
|
culmination of meditation; state of unity with the object of meditation and the universal
consciousness |
| Samana |
– |
|
|
one of the five sub-pranas; situated between the navel and diaphragm |
| Samkhya |
– |
|
|
one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy; associated with yoga; based on the
division of existence into purusha, prakrti and a number of elements |
| Samskara |
– |
|
|
unconscious memories; impressions that do not fit into the known categories of our present
personality |
| Sanatan |
– |
|
|
eternal |
| Sannyasa ashram |
– |
|
|
fourth stage of life from 75 years onwards; total renunciation |
| Sanskrit |
– |
|
|
language of the gods": original vedic language |
| Santosha |
– |
|
|
contentment |
| Saraswati |
– |
|
|
goddess of learning |
| Sat |
– |
|
|
true |
| Satchitananda |
– |
|
|
three divine attribrates of truth, consciousness and bliss |
| Satsang |
– |
|
|
gathering in which the ideals and principles of truth are discussed |
| Sattwa |
– |
|
|
one of the three gunas; pure, unadulterated quality; state of luminosity and harmony |
| Satya |
– |
|
|
truth, reality |
| Shaiva |
– |
|
|
one who worships Shiva as the supreme reality |
| Shakti |
– |
|
|
primal energy; manifest consciousness |
| Shambhavi mudra |
– |
|
|
eyebrow center gazing |
| Shatkarmas |
– |
|
|
group of six purificatory techniques of hatha yoga |
| Shaucha |
– |
|
|
cleanliness of the body |
| Sheetali pranayama |
– |
|
|
'cooling breath'; breathing principle technique where the breath is drawn in through
the folded tongue |
| Sheetkan pranayama |
– |
|
|
'hissing breath'; practice of object drawing the breath in through clenched teeth |
| Shiva |
– |
|
|
pure consciousness |
| Shoonya |
– |
|
|
nothingness; void |
| Shuddha |
– |
|
|
pure in nature |
| Siddhi |
– |
|
|
paranormal or supernormal accomplishment |
| Simhasana |
– |
|
|
lion pose |
| Smritti |
– |
|
|
memory; memory field |
| Soham |
– |
|
|
mantra of the breath; used in the practice of ajapa japa |
| Sukhasana |
– |
|
|
easy pose |
| Sukshma |
– |
|
|
subtle dimension |
| Surya |
– |
|
|
sun |
| Surya namaskar |
– |
|
|
'salute to the sun'; series of 12 asanas for revitalizing prana |
| Sushumna |
– |
|
|
central nadi in the spine, which conducts the kundalini or spiritual force from mooladhara to sahasrara |
| Sutra |
– |
|
|
threads of thought which outline the ancient spiritual texts |
| Swadhisthana chakra |
– |
|
|
'one's own abode'; second chakra associated with the sacral plexus |
| Swadhyaya |
– |
|
|
self study |
| Swami |
– |
|
|
master of the self |
back to top >>
| Tamas |
– |
|
|
one of the three gunas; state of inertia or ignorance |
| Tantra |
– |
|
|
ancient, universal science and culture which deals with the transcendence of human nature from
the present level of evolution and understanding to transcendental level of knowledge, experience and
awareness |
| Tapas |
– |
|
|
austerity; heat; process of burning impurities |
| Tattwamaasi |
– |
|
|
'Thou Art That'; vedic mantra |
| Turiya |
– |
|
|
fourth dimension of consciousness; super consciousness; simultaneous awareness of all three
states of consciousness |
| Tyaga |
– |
|
|
fourth dimension of consciousness; super consciousness; simultaneous awareness of all three
states of consciousness |
back to top >>
| Udana |
– |
|
|
one of the five sub-pranas; energy located in the extremities of the body arms,legs and head |
| Uddiyana |
– |
|
|
'to raise up', 'to fly up' |
| Uddiyana Bandha |
– |
|
|
lock applied to the abdomen which causes the diaphragm to rise into the chest, thereby
directing prana into sushumna |
| Ujjayi pranayama |
– |
|
|
psychic breathing performed by contracting the epiglottis, producing a light sonorous
sound |
| Upanishads |
– |
|
|
vedantic texts conveyed by ancient sages and seers containing their experiences and
teachings on the ultimate reality |
| Uttara Mimamsa |
– |
|
|
one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy which deals with the knowledge
of ritual in the form of questions |
back to top >>
| Vairagya |
– |
|
|
non-attachment |
| Vajroli Mudra |
– |
|
|
contraction and release of the urinary passage in the male body to stimulate swadhisthana
chakra and promote brahmacharya |
| Vama dhauti |
– |
|
|
method of cleaning the stomach by voluntary vomiting; includes kunjal kriya and vyaghra
Kriya |
| Vanaprastha ashram |
– |
|
|
third stage of life from 50-75 years; retirement from worldly life in order to practise
sadhana in relative seclusion |
| Vastra dhauti |
– |
|
|
Vastra dhauti – cleansing of the stomach and esophagus, using a cloth |
| Vata |
– |
|
|
wind, one of the three humors described in ayurveda |
| Vata nadi |
– |
|
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nadi running along the back of the neck and head into the brain; controls gas formation and
elimination |
| Vatsara dhauti |
– |
|
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form of stomach cleansing performed by drinking air through the mouth and belching |
| Vayu |
– |
|
|
wind, prana |
| Vedanta |
– |
|
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one of the six darshana or systems of Indian philosophy; 'the end of perceivable knowledge'; the
mind experiencing its own limits and going beyond them; gaining realization and understanding of that
exploration |
| Vedas |
– |
|
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ancient spiritual texts of the Sanatan Dharma |
| Vichara |
– |
|
|
reflection |
| Vidya |
– |
|
|
knowledge |
| Vijnana |
– |
|
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intuitive ability of mind; higher understanding |
| Vijnanamaya kosha |
– |
|
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higher mental sheath or body |
| Vipareeta |
– |
|
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inverted |
| Vishnu granthi |
– |
|
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psychic knot or block between manipura, anahata and vishuddhi chakras, symbolizing
the bondage of personal and emotional attachment |
| Vishuddhi chakra |
– |
|
|
psychic center located at the level of the throat; center of purification |
| Vishwa |
– |
|
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eternal |
| Viveka |
– |
|
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right knowledge or understanding; the power of discrimination |
| Vritti |
– |
|
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circular movement of consciousness; mental and modifications described in raja yoga |
| Vyana |
– |
|
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one of the sub-pranas; reserve of pranic energy pervading the whole body |
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| Yam |
– |
|
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beeja mantra of anahata chakra |
| Yama |
– |
|
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self-restraint, first step of ashtanga or raja yoga |
| Yantra |
– |
|
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visual form of mantra used for concentration and meditation |
| Yoga mudra |
– |
|
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psychic union pose |
| Yoga nidra |
– |
|
|
technique of yogic or psychic sleep which induces deep relaxation |
| Yoga Sutras |
– |
|
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ancient authorative text on raja yoga by Patanjali |
| Yoni |
– |
|
|
womb, source |
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