Philosophy · reviewed by a teacher
Sanskrit yoga glossary
This glossary gives the Sanskrit words you are likely to hear in a yoga class a plain, one-line meaning, from namaste and om to the names of the poses. Where a word has its own page on this site, the term links there for the longer explanation.
Teacher's note from Joahnna Lee
“In a private lesson I use the English names first, and the Sanskrit alongside when it helps.”
Yoga comes with its own vocabulary. In a first class you might hear namaste at the end, a teacher counting breaths in pranayama, and pose names that sound nothing like their English versions. None of it is meant to keep you out. Most of these words are plain descriptions once you know what they mean, and a good beginner class introduces them a few at a time. If you are heading to one soon, your first yoga class explains what to expect. For the words you will hear most, print the one-page yoga Sanskrit cheat sheet, and test yourself on pose names with the yoga pose quiz.
This page collects the ones that come up most often. Each has one line: what the word means, and where it belongs in the practice. When a term has a page of its own, it links there, and the longer pages explain where the idea comes from and how it shows up in a practice today.
How to read Sanskrit names
Sanskrit is the classical language of India, and the early texts on yoga were written in it. You do not need to learn it. A few small pieces unlock most of the names:
- Asana at the end of a word means posture. Tadasana is tada (mountain) plus asana.
- Supta means reclined, salamba means supported, eka pada means one leg.
- Yoga after another word names a path or a style: bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion.
Spellings vary. You will see Vrksasana and Vriksasana, Savasana and Shavasana, and all of them are correct. Transliteration from the original script was never fully standardised, so teachers and books simply differ.
Sanskrit words you already know
Some Sanskrit words reached everyday English long before most people took a yoga class: yoga, mantra, avatar, nirvana, karma and dharma among them. In English they often drift from their first meaning. Karma tends to mean cosmic payback, while the Sanskrit sense of karma is simply action and what follows from it. Dharma is used for a calling, while the older meaning of dharma is duty and the order that holds a life together. The glossary below keeps to the meanings the yoga texts use.
A to Z glossary
Every term below sits in one alphabetical list, so you can jump straight to a letter. The list covers three kinds of words: the larger ideas (the paths of yoga, the texts, and the frameworks that later practice grew from), the smaller words that turn up in a class (the limbs of the Yoga Sutras, breathing and attention terms, and the word asana itself), and the Sanskrit names of the poses. Each pose has its own page with the steps, teaching cues, and how to adapt it in pregnancy and after birth.
Each term has its own link on this page, so a teacher or another article can point straight to it. Where a word is spelled more than one way, the other spellings appear in brackets.
A
- Abhyasa: Steady, sustained practice; paired with vairagya in Yoga Sutra 1.12.
- Adho Mukha Svanasana: Downward-Facing Dog. Hands and feet on the floor with the hips high, the body in an upside-down V.
- Adho Mukha Vrksasana: Handstand. Balancing upside down on straight arms; the name means downward-facing tree.
- Agnistambhasana: Fire Log Pose. A seat with the shins stacked like logs; agni means fire and stambha pillar or log.
- Ahimsa: Non-harming, in action, speech and thought: the first of the five yamas.
- Ajna: The sixth chakra of the modern seven-chakra system, pictured between the eyebrows and often called the third eye.
- Anahata: The heart chakra, fourth of the seven in the modern system, placed in the chest; anahata means unstruck.
- Ananda Balasana: Happy Baby Pose. Lying on the back holding the feet with the knees wide; ananda means bliss.
- Anjaneyasana: Low Lunge. A lunge with the back knee on the floor; Anjaneya is a name for Hanuman.
- Aparigraha: Non-grasping or non-possessiveness: the fifth of the five yamas.
- Ardha Chandrasana: Half Moon Pose. A standing balance with one hand down and the other leg lifted level with the hip; chandra means moon.
- Ardha Matsyendrasana: Seated Twist. The name means half lord of the fishes, after Matsyendra, a figure from yoga stories.
- Ardha Padmasana: Half Lotus Pose. One foot rests on the opposite thigh while the other stays on the floor; ardha means half.
- Ardha Pincha Mayurasana: Dolphin Pose. A Downward-Facing Dog on the forearms; the name means half feathered peacock.
- Asana: A posture. First the steady seat for meditation, now the word for every yoga pose.
- Ashram: A hermitage or community where students live and practise with a teacher.
- Ashta Chandrasana: Crescent Lunge. A high lunge with the back knee lifted and the arms reaching up; chandra means moon.
- Ashtanga yoga: Eight-limbed yoga, the path outlined in the Yoga Sutras; also the name of a modern style practised as a fixed sequence.
- Astavakrasana (also Ashtavakrasana): Eight Angle Pose. An arm balance named after the sage Ashtavakra; ashta means eight and vakra means bent.
- Asteya: Non-stealing: the third of the five yamas.
- Atman: The self: in the Upanishads, the innermost self, which they teach is one with brahman.
- Ayurveda: The traditional medical system of India; the name joins ayus, life, and veda, knowledge.
B
- Baddha Konasana: Butterfly Pose. Seated with the soles of the feet together; the name means bound angle.
- Bakasana: Crow Pose. An arm balance with the knees on the upper arms; baka means crane.
- Balasana: Child's Pose. Kneeling and folding forward to rest; bala means child.
- Bandha: A lock: a gentle muscular hold used to steady a posture or the breath.
- Bhagavad Gita: A classical Sanskrit poem, a conversation between the warrior Arjuna and Krishna, that sets out the paths of action, devotion and knowledge.
- Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion, practised through prayer, chanting and service.
- Bharmanasana: Table Top Pose. Hands and knees with a flat back; usually translated as table posture.
- Bhramari: Bee breath: breathing out with a soft humming sound; bhramari means bee.
- Bhujangasana: Cobra Pose. Lifting the chest from the floor while lying on the belly; bhujanga means serpent.
- Bija: Seed: a one-syllable mantra, such as lam or yam, that tradition pairs with each chakra.
- Bodhisattva: In Mahayana Buddhism, one who seeks awakening and vows to help all beings reach it.
- Brahmacharya: Traditionally celibacy, often read today as the wise use of energy: the fourth of the five yamas.
- Brahman: In the Upanishads and Vedanta, the single ultimate reality that underlies everything that exists.
C
- Caterpillar Pose: A Yin name for a seated forward fold over straight legs, held with the spine allowed to round.
- Chakra: Literally a wheel: in traditional yoga texts, one of the centres pictured along the spine, most often counted as seven.
- Chaturanga Dandasana: Four-Limbed Staff Pose. A low plank held just above the floor; chatur means four, anga limb and danda staff.
- Chitta: The mind or field of awareness; in the Yoga Sutras, what yoga brings to stillness.
D
- Dandasana: Staff Pose. Sitting upright with the legs straight out in front; danda means staff.
- Dhanurasana: Bow Pose. Lying on the belly and holding the ankles so the body curves like a bow; dhanu means bow.
- Dharana: The sixth limb: holding the attention on one point.
- Dharma: What holds things together: the order of the world, right conduct and one's own duty; in Buddhism, the teaching of the Buddha.
- Dhyana: The seventh limb: meditation, when that attention flows without effort.
- Dosha: In Ayurveda, one of three principles, vata, pitta and kapha, used to describe a person's constitution.
- Dragon Pose: A Yin name for a low lunge held for several minutes with the legs soft.
- Drishti: A resting point for the eyes in a posture, which helps keep the attention steady.
- Dukkha: A Pali word for suffering or unsatisfactoriness, the subject of the first of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths.
E
- Eight limbs of yoga: The eight-part outline of yoga in the Yoga Sutras, from ethics and posture to breath, concentration and meditation.
- Eka Pada Rajakapotasana: Pigeon Pose. One leg folded in front and the other long behind; the name means one-legged king pigeon, and the full backbend with the back foot held is taught as King Pigeon Pose.
G
- Garudasana: Eagle Pose. A standing balance with one leg and one arm wrapped around the other; Garuda is the great eagle of Indian stories.
- Gayatri mantra: A verse from the Rig Veda addressed to Savitr, the sun, and one of the most widely recited mantras in Hindu practice.
- Gomukhasana: Cow Face Pose. A seated shape with the knees stacked; go means cow and mukha means face.
- Guna: Quality or strand: in Samkhya and the Bhagavad Gita, one of the three qualities, sattva, rajas and tamas, said to make up all of nature.
- Guru: A teacher, especially a spiritual teacher; the literal meaning is heavy or weighty.
H
- Halasana: Plow Pose. Lying on the back with the feet lowered behind the head; hala means plough.
- Hatha yoga: The branch of yoga built on postures, breath and bodily discipline; most studio yoga taught today grows out of it.
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika: A manual of hatha yoga written by Svatmarama in the fifteenth century, covering postures, breath control, locks and seals.
I
- Ida: In hatha and tantric texts, the channel on the left of the central channel, linked with the moon.
- Ishvara Pranidhana: Devotion or surrender to Ishvara, the Lord: the fifth of the five niyamas.
J
- Jalandhara Bandha: Throat lock: drawing the chin down toward the chest.
- Janu Sirsasana: Head to Knee Pose. A seated fold over one straight leg; janu means knee and sirsa head.
- Japa: The repetition of a mantra, aloud or silently, often counted on a mala.
- Jiva: The individual living self, bound in the cycle of birth and death, in Hindu and Jain thought.
- Jnana yoga (also Gyan yoga): The yoga of knowledge, practised through study, reflection and questioning what the self is.
K
- Kapalabhati: Skull-shining breath: short, strong exhalations through the nose, each followed by a passive inhalation.
- Kapha: In Ayurveda, the dosha associated with water and earth and with structure and stability.
- Karma: Action, and the idea that intentional actions leave consequences that shape what follows.
- Karma yoga: The yoga of action: doing your work well without clinging to what it earns you, as taught in the Bhagavad Gita.
- Kirtan: Call-and-response chanting of divine names, usually with music; a central practice of bhakti yoga.
- Klesha: Affliction: in the Yoga Sutras, one of five causes of suffering, beginning with avidya, not seeing clearly.
- Kosha: Sheath: one of five layers covering the self in the Taittiriya Upanishad, from the body of food to the body of bliss.
- Kriya: Action; in yoga, a specific practice or technique, such as the cleansing practices of hatha yoga or a set sequence in Kundalini yoga.
- Kumbhaka: Breath retention: a pause with the breath held in or out during pranayama.
- Kundalini: In tantric and hatha texts, a force pictured as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, said to rise through the chakras.
- Kundalini yoga: A style that combines breath work, chanting, movement and meditation, named for the image of a coiled energy at the base of the spine.
M
- Mala: Garland: a string of beads, traditionally 108, used to count mantra repetitions.
- Malasana: Garland Pose. A deep squat with the palms together at the chest; mala means garland.
- Mandala: Circle: an ordered, usually round design used in Hindu and Buddhist practice as a map of the cosmos and a focus for meditation.
- Mandukasana: Frog Pose. A wide-kneed hip opener on all fours; manduka means frog.
- Manipura: The solar plexus chakra, third of the seven in the modern system, placed at the navel; the name means city of jewels.
- Mantra: A word, syllable or short phrase, usually Sanskrit, chanted or repeated silently as a focus for prayer or meditation.
- Marjaryasana Bitilasana: Cat-Cow. Rounding and arching the spine on hands and knees; marjari is cat, bitila is cow.
- Matsyasana: Fish Pose. Lying on the back with the chest arched up; matsya means fish.
- Maya: Usually translated as illusion: in Advaita Vedanta, the power that makes the one reality appear as a changing world of many separate things.
- Metta: A Pali word for loving-kindness: friendly goodwill toward yourself and others, cultivated in a Buddhist meditation of the same name.
- Moksha: Liberation: release from samsara, the cycle of birth and death, and the highest aim in many Hindu traditions.
- Mudra: A seal or gesture, usually made with the hands, such as the palms pressed together in anjali mudra.
- Mula Bandha: Root lock: a gentle lift of the pelvic floor.
- Muladhara: The root chakra, first of the seven in the modern system, placed at the base of the spine; mula means root and adhara support.
N
- Nadi: A channel: in hatha and tantric texts, one of the pathways said to carry prana through the body.
- Nadi Shodhana: Alternate nostril breathing: breathing through one nostril at a time; the name means cleaning the channels.
- Namaste (also Namaskar, Namaskara): A Sanskrit greeting meaning "I bow to you", said with the palms together at the chest.
- Natarajasana: Dancer Pose. A standing balance and backbend holding the back foot; Nataraja, lord of the dance, is a name for Shiva.
- Nirvana: Literally blowing out: in Buddhism, the ending of craving and suffering, and release from the cycle of rebirth.
- Niyama: The second of the eight limbs: five observances, among them contentment and self-study.
O
- Om (also Aum): A single syllable chanted at the start or close of many practices, described in the Upanishads as the sound of everything that exists.
- Om mani padme hum: The six-syllable Buddhist mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, recited above all in Tibetan Buddhism.
- Om namah shivaya: A Hindu mantra meaning roughly "Om, I bow to Shiva", central to devotion to Shiva.
- Om shanti: Om followed by shanti, peace; often chanted as om shanti shanti shanti at the close of a practice.
P
- Padmasana: Lotus Pose. A cross-legged seat with each foot resting on the opposite thigh; padma means lotus.
- Parighasana: Gate Pose. A kneeling side bend over one straight leg; parigha is the bar used to close a gate.
- Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana: Revolved Head to Knee Pose. A seated side bend over one straight leg with the chest turning up; parivrtta means revolved.
- Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana: Compass Pose. A seated twist with one leg lifted over the shoulder; often translated as revolved sundial posture.
- Parsvottanasana: Pyramid Pose. A fold over the straight front leg; the name means intense side stretch.
- Paschimottanasana: Seated Forward Bend. Folding over straight legs; the name means an intense stretch of the back of the body.
- Patanjali: The name traditionally given to the compiler of the Yoga Sutras; almost nothing about his life is known for certain.
- Phalakasana: Plank Pose. Holding the body in one long line on the hands and toes; phalaka means plank.
- Pingala: In hatha and tantric texts, the channel on the right of the central channel, linked with the sun.
- Pitta: In Ayurveda, the dosha associated with fire and water and with digestion and heat.
- Prakriti: Nature or matter: in Samkhya philosophy, everything that changes, made of the three gunas and set against purusha.
- Prana: Breath, and by extension the life force that yoga texts say the breath carries.
- Pranayama: Breath practice: prana is breath or life force and ayama means extending or regulating it.
- Prasarita Padottanasana: Wide Legged Forward Bend. A fold with the feet set wide apart; prasarita means spread out.
- Pratyahara: The fifth limb: drawing the attention in from the senses.
- Purusha: Pure consciousness: in Samkhya and the Yoga Sutras, the unchanging witness, distinct from prakriti.
- Purvottanasana: Reverse Plank. A plank turned face up; purva, east, stands for the front of the body.
R
S
- Sadhana: Spiritual practice, especially a regular, daily one.
- Sahasrara: The crown chakra, seventh and highest in the modern system, at or just above the top of the head and pictured as a lotus of a thousand petals.
- Salabhasana (also Shalabhasana): Locust Pose. Lifting the chest, arms and legs while lying on the belly; salabha means locust.
- Salamba Balasana: Supported Child's Pose. Child's Pose resting over a bolster; salamba means supported.
- Salamba Bhujangasana: Sphinx Pose. A supported cobra, propped on the forearms.
- Salamba Sarvangasana: Shoulder Stand. The legs and hips lifted over the shoulders, supported by the hands; often given as the all-limbs posture.
- Samadhi: The eighth limb: complete absorption, where the one meditating and the object of meditation are no longer felt as separate.
- Samsara: The cycle of birth, death and rebirth, driven by karma, in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain thought.
- Samskara: An impression left in the mind by past actions and experiences, which shapes later habits and reactions.
- Sankalpa: An intention, set quietly at the start or the end of a practice.
- Santosha: Contentment: the second of the five niyamas.
- Sattva: Clarity, balance and lightness: the first of the three gunas.
- Satya: Truthfulness: the second of the five yamas.
- Saucha (also Shaucha): Cleanliness or purity: the first of the five niyamas.
- Savasana (also Shavasana): Corpse Pose. Lying still on the back at the end of a practice; sava means corpse.
- Setu Bandha Sarvangasana: Bridge Pose. Lying on the back and lifting the hips; setu means bridge.
- Seva: Selfless service, offered without expecting a reward.
- Shakti: Power or energy: in Hindu and tantric thought, the creative power of the divine, often pictured as feminine.
- Shala: A hall, house or room set aside for a purpose; a yoga shala is a place where yoga is practised.
- Shanti: Peace; often said three times at the close of a chant.
- Siddhasana: Accomplished Pose. A cross-legged seat with one heel placed in front of the other; siddha means accomplished or perfected.
- Simhasana: Lion Pose. A kneeling or seated pose with a strong out-breath through an open mouth; simha means lion.
- Sirsasana (also Shirshasana): Headstand. Upside down on the forearms and the crown of the head; sirsa means head.
- Sthira sukha: Steady and easy: from Yoga Sutra 2.46, which asks that a posture be both stable and comfortable.
- Sukhasana: Easy Pose. A simple cross-legged seat; sukha means ease or comfort.
- Supta Baddha Konasana: Reclined Butterfly. Butterfly Pose lying back, often over a bolster; supta means reclined.
- Supta Matsyendrasana: Supine Twist. A gentle twist lying on the back with the knees falling to one side; supta means reclined.
- Supta Padangusthasana: Reclined Hand to Big Toe Pose. Lying on the back holding the lifted foot, often with a strap; angustha means big toe.
- Supta Vajrasana: Saddle Pose in Yin yoga. A reclined kneeling backbend; supta means reclined and vajra thunderbolt.
- Supta Virasana: Reclined Hero Pose. Hero Pose taken back onto the forearms or the floor; supta means reclining.
- Surya Namaskar: Sun Salutation. A short sequence of postures linked to the breath; surya means sun.
- Sushumna: The central channel along the spine in hatha and tantric texts, through which kundalini is said to rise.
- Svadhisthana (also Swadhisthana): The sacral chakra, second of the seven in the modern system, placed just above Muladhara and linked with water.
- Svadhyaya (also Swadhyaya): Self-study, including the study of texts: the fourth of the five niyamas.
- Swami: A title for a Hindu monk or religious teacher; literally owner or master.
T
- Tadasana: Mountain Pose. Standing tall and still; tada means mountain.
- Tamas: Inertia, heaviness and dullness: the third of the three gunas.
- Tantra: A large body of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts and practices, composed from roughly the middle of the first millennium CE, centred on initiation, mantra, ritual and the subtle body.
- Tapas: Heat or discipline, the effort of steady practice: the third of the five niyamas.
- Tittibhasana: Firefly Pose. An arm balance with the legs stretched out over the upper arms; tittibha is usually translated as firefly.
- Trikonasana: Triangle Pose. A wide-legged standing side stretch; trikona means three angles.
U
- Uddiyana Bandha: Upward-flying lock: drawing the belly in and up, usually after an exhalation.
- Ujjayi: A slow breath through the nose with a soft sound at the back of the throat, often used in flowing practice.
- Upanishads: Philosophical texts that close the Vedas, composed over many centuries from roughly the seventh century BCE, asking what the self is and how it relates to brahman.
- Urdhva Dhanurasana: Wheel Pose. A full backbend pressed up from the floor; the name means upward bow.
- Urdhva Mukha Svanasana: Upward-Facing Dog. Lifting the chest on straight arms with the thighs off the floor; urdhva means upward.
- Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana: Standing Split. One leg stretches up behind you as you fold over the other; urdhva means upward.
- Ustrasana: Camel Pose. A kneeling backbend with the hands reaching for the heels; ustra means camel.
- Utkata Konasana: Wide Squat Pose. A deep, wide-legged squat; the name means fierce angle posture.
- Utkatasana: Chair Pose. Sitting back as if onto a chair that is not there; utkata means powerful or fierce.
- Uttana Shishosana: Puppy Pose. Hips high over the knees and the chest melting toward the floor; uttana means extended.
- Uttanasana: Standing Forward Bend. A fold from the hips with the head hanging; the name means intense stretch.
- Utthan Pristhasana: Lizard Pose. A low lunge with the front foot outside the hands and the chest lowered.
- Utthita Parsvakonasana: Extended Side Angle. A standing side stretch that grows out of Warrior II; utthita means extended, parsva side and kona angle.
- Utthita Tadasana: Star Pose. Standing with the arms and legs spread wide; the name means extended mountain.
V
- Vairagya: Non-attachment or dispassion; paired with abhyasa in Yoga Sutra 1.12.
- Vajrasana: Thunderbolt Pose. Kneeling and sitting back on the heels; vajra means thunderbolt or diamond.
- Vasisthasana (also Vasishthasana): Side Plank. Balancing on one hand and the edge of one foot; named after the sage Vasistha.
- Vata: In Ayurveda, the dosha associated with air and space and with movement.
- Vinyasa: Placing things in a particular order; in a class, moving from one posture to the next with the breath.
- Viparita Karani: Legs Up the Wall. Lying on the back with the legs resting up a wall; the name means an inverted action.
- Virabhadrasana: The Warrior Poses. Three strong standing shapes named after the warrior figure Virabhadra.
- Virasana: Hero Pose. A kneeling seat between the feet, often on a block; vira means hero.
- Vishuddha (also Vishuddhi, Visuddha): The throat chakra, fifth of the seven in the modern system, linked with space and the seed syllable ham.
- Viveka: Discernment: the ability to tell what is lasting from what is not, valued above all in jnana yoga.
- Vritti: A movement or fluctuation of the mind; Yoga Sutra 1.2 defines yoga as the stilling of these.
- Vrksasana (also Vriksasana): Tree Pose. Balancing on one leg; vrksa means tree.
- Vrschikasana: Scorpion Pose. A forearm balance with the feet curling toward the head; vrschika means scorpion.
Y
- Yama: The first of the eight limbs: five restraints, among them non-harming and truthfulness.
- Yoga Nidra: Yogic sleep: a guided practice of deep relaxation done lying down, usually in Savasana.
- Yoga Sutras: A classical text attributed to Patanjali: short, dense lines that define yoga and set out the eight limbs.
- Yogi: A person who practises yoga; yogini is the feminine form.
Z
- Zen: The Japanese name for a school of Mahayana Buddhism centred on seated meditation; the word comes through the Chinese chan from the Sanskrit dhyana.
How these words come up in a class
Many teachers use the English names first, and the Sanskrit alongside when it helps. If you would like to learn the names, build them in slowly, a few each class, until they feel familiar. The Sanskrit yoga flashcards turn this glossary into decks with a quiz and spaced repetition, so a few minutes a day is enough. If you would rather not, that is completely fine. The practice is the same either way.
If you are new to all of this, start with the English names and let the Sanskrit follow.
Put it into practice with the flashcards for Sanskrit terms, built on pages like this one.
Browse the yoga philosophy library.
Safety noteYoga is not medical care. Stop if anything feels sharp, pinching or numb, and see a doctor or physiotherapist about pain or an injury before you practise. Read the health and safety note.
Sources: Mayo Clinic, Fitness program: 5 steps to get started; NCCIH (US National Institutes of Health), Yoga: Effectiveness and Safety. Last reviewed 2 October 2026.
Sources: Mayo Clinic, Fitness program: 5 steps to get started; NCCIH (US National Institutes of Health), Yoga: Effectiveness and Safety. Last reviewed 2 October 2026.
Questions
Do you need to learn Sanskrit to practise yoga?
No. You can practise for years knowing only the English names. The Sanskrit words are useful because teachers everywhere use them, so they help you follow a class anywhere, but nobody should expect you to know them before you start.
Why do yoga poses have Sanskrit names?
The early texts that describe yoga postures and breath practice were written in Sanskrit, the classical language of India, and the names came with the practice as it spread. Most names are simple descriptions: tree, mountain, child, boat.
What does asana mean?
Asana means a seat or a posture. In the early texts it described the steady seat you take for meditation. Today it is the word for every yoga pose, and it is the ending of most pose names, as in Tadasana, the mountain posture.
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