Yoga lingo you should know

Yoga is a mind-body practice with origins deeply steeped in ancient Hindi traditions dating back to BCE. It’s likely you will hear a few words of Sanskrit, or yoga lingo, in every class. Here’s five you should get to know.

For first timers, it can often by daunting attending a yoga class.

Once you’ve drummed up the courage or motivation to attend, there are still a few hurdles to pass. There’s the breathing, the unwritten etiquette, the poses (asanas) themselves as well as the language. The good news is that it only takes a few classes to settle in and the yoga lingo will catch on quickly.

While it might seem divisive at the start, the language becomes comfortable and familiar and will draw you into the community and build a sense of belonging.

In the final instalment of this three-part Helpful Hack series (which I write as a fully-fledged yoga teacher!) I shed light on some of this lingo.

Here are five Sanskrit words you’re likely to hear in a yoga class (pronunciations in brackets).

1. Namaste (nah-mah-stay)– a greeting said at the end of class to close the practice. Your hands will be in prayer position, and rest at either your heart, or with your thumbs pressed into the space between your eyes. The literal translation is ‘I bow to you’ or ‘the divine in me bows to the divine in you’
2. Vinyasa (vin-ya-sah) – refers to ‘movement with breath’. It’s used in a wider sense to describe any style of yoga that flows from posture to posture, with deliberate focus on inhaling and exhaling.
3. Surya Namaska A (sur-ya nama-skar-A) – or ‘Sun Salutation A’. A warm-up sequence flowing through several set postures, that will be cued by the yoga teacher. Surya means sun in Sanskrit and is a flow thought to have been created to honour the sun as the source of energy and light for the world.
4. Pranayama (pran-a-yah-ma) – refers to the practice of controlling the breath. In yoga, there are several breathing techniques, and it’s normal for each class to start with several minutes of focused breathing, cued by the teacher.
5. Savasana (sha-va-sa-na) – a final resting pose, also known as corpse pose. This asana is done at the end of class, where you will gently shut down your eyes and focus on your breath. It’s a chance to clear the mind, reflect on the intention you may have set at the start of class, or meditate. It’s a favourite pose we all love!

If you’ve found this post helpful, and are thinking of going to your first yoga class, I’d love to hear about it. Let me know in the comments box below.  

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Namaste
Maryanne K

Photo credit: Lee Hughes aka Coach