I've really been getting into my yoga practices. Mostly, I believe because I'm trying to not only deepen my practice, but enhance my life through mantras. (More on that another time.) Something I'm also trying is to get more involved in things that I'm interested in. For example, I enjoy yoga. But, in the past, if someone had asked me to tell them about yoga and practice, I would have told them, "Well... I do a 30 minute at home practice a couple of days a week?" I think I can go deeper in life, relationships, my thoughts, and my interests. Hence... I looked up the history of yoga and some common yoga terms that I should be familiar with.
Asanas ("seat") (ah-sahn-ah)
: Physical postures of yoga.
Chakra: energy
center; the basic system has seven chakras (root, sacrum, solar plexus, heart,
throat, third eye and crown), each of which is associated with a color,
element, syllable, significance, etc.
Dharma: truth;
the teachings of the Buddha; the path of truth
Mudra (moo-drah) : A
seal. Positions of the body that have an influence on the energies of the body,
or mood. Mostly the hands and fingers are held in a mudra.
This term refers to the hand gestures used in yoga. This
word is often combined with other words in order to create a full image of the
desired hand gesture. For example, anjali mudra, is the term used to indicate
the gesture of placing the palms together and at your heart.
Namaste (Nah-mah-stay): Commonly said at the end of yoga class by
the instructor and the students. One beautiful interpretation: I honor that
place in you where the whole Universe resides. And when I am in that place in
me and you are in that place in you, there is only one of us. Or, “the divine essence in me recognizes the divine essence in you.” It is
common to hold the hands together in front of the heart (anjali mudra) while
saying this greeting.
Prana (Prah-nah) : life energy; chi; qi
Pranayama (Prah-nah-yah-mah) :
Breath awareness to facilitate inner stillness and awareness.
Savasana (Sah-vah-sahnah) : Final
relaxation; literally translated as "corpse pose."
Ujjayi (ooo-jay-ee) (a.k.a as Hissing
Breath, Victorious Breath): A type of pranayama in which the lungs are
fully expanded and the chest is puffed out; most often used in association with
yoga poses, especially in the vinyasa style.
Vinyasa (Vihn-yah-sah): Vinyasa literally
means to place in a special way. In a yoga class, it refers to the linking of
movement with breath through a series of postures.
Yogi/Yogini (Yo-gee
or Yo-gee-nee) : a male/female practitioner of yoga.
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