Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on the breath. In Sanskrit, prana means “vital life force”, and Yama means to gain control. In yoga, breath…
An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose, and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as…
Dhyana yoga in Hinduism means contemplation and meditation. Dhyana is taken up in Yoga practices and is a means to Samadhi and self-knowledge. The various…
Pratyahara (Sanskrit: प्रत्याहार) or the withdrawal of the senses is the fifth element among the Eight stages of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, as…
Dharana yoga (Sanskrit: धारणा योग) is translated as “collection or concentration of the mind (joined with the retention of breath)”,…
Jnana Yoga (Sanskrit: ज्ञान योग) is the process of converting intellectual knowledge into practical wisdom. It is a discovery of…
Karma yoga (Sanskrit: कर्म योग), also called Karma Marg, is one of the four classical spiritual paths in Hinduism, one based on the…
Swara Yoga is a Sanskrit word स्वर योग. Swara स्वर means sound or note. It is also a continuous flow…
Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga. The Sanskrit word हठ haṭha literally means “force” and thus alludes to a system of physical techniques. In India,…