30 Sanskrit Words Every Yoga Student Should Know
Every yoga class is taught in Sanskrit — the names of poses, breathing techniques, gazes, locks, and gestures all come from this ancient language. Most students repeat these words for years without understanding them. Knowing the Sanskrit unlocks a deeper practice.
Why Sanskrit Matters in Yoga
Yoga was codified in Sanskrit by the sage Patañjali around 400 CE in the Yoga Sūtras — 196 verses that define the entire system. The language is not incidental. Sanskrit's precision means that āsana (seat) carries connotations of stability, groundedness, and ease that "pose" does not. Understanding the words transforms the practice from physical exercise into philosophical inquiry.
Seat, posture — the physical poses of yoga. Literally "to sit."
Breath control. Prāṇa (life force) + āyāma (extension). Extending the life force through breath.
Focused gaze. Where your eyes go, your mind follows. Used in Ashtanga to anchor attention.
Lock, bind. Muscular contractions (mūla, uḍḍīyāna, jālandhara) that direct prāṇic energy.
Seal, gesture. Hand positions that seal energy circuits in the body.
Arrangement, to place in a special way. The conscious linking of breath with movement.
Corpse pose. Śava (corpse) + āsana. The practice of conscious death — releasing the ego.
I bow to you. Namas (bow) + te (to you). The divine in me honours the divine in you.
The primordial sound. A + U + M = creation, sustenance, dissolution. The sound of the universe.
Sun salutation. Sūrya (sun) + namaskāra (salutation). 12 poses greeting the source of all life.
Wheel. The 7 energy centres of the subtle body, from root (mūlādhāra) to crown (sahasrāra).
Teacher. Gu (darkness) + ru (remover). One who removes the darkness of ignorance.
Sacred sound formula. Man (mind) + tra (instrument). A tool for focusing the mind.
Righteous duty, purpose. Your individual path aligned with cosmic order.
Non-violence. The first of Patañjali's yamas. The foundation of all ethical practice.
The Yoga Sūtras in One Line
Patañjali defines yoga in his second sūtra: योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः — yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ — "Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind." Every āsana, every prāṇāyāma, every mudrā serves this one purpose: quieting mental chatter.
The physical poses you practice in class are just one of Patañjali's eight limbs (aṣṭāṅga — eight + limbs). Āsana is limb three. Most yoga studios only teach limb three.
Learn the Sanskrit behind your yoga practice.
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