Yoga Head To Toe

One of the ways I have made a commitment to understanding yoga better is through learning a bit about Sanskrit. I am making the effort to learn to pronounce correctly some keys words and phrases associated with asana practice and to learn the meanings of at least a few sacred Sanskrit words that come up often in the books I read on yoga. This month I’ve pick a few of those sacred Sanskrit words to learn, understand and focus on. Here they are:

Sakti (Shakti) – This word describes the “divine cosmic energy,” “comic power,” “force/potency/capacity of the universe.” Sakti is the energy of the cosmos that maintains the universe and also makes it disintegrate. It is the name for the dynamic forces of the entire universe. This energy is believed to lie dormant in each of us at the base of the spine, waiting to be awakened. Simple definition: power.

Namaste – The literal meaning is “honor/obeisance” (namas) to you (te). Also translated as literally meaning “not mine, but Thine – Yours, the Divine.” This phrase is variously translated as “The Divine in me recognizes the Divine in you.” This is the traditional everyday greeting in India and is often used in yoga class to begin or complete the practice, offering one’s soul to the Divine.

Prana – This means “breath,” “vital air,” “breath of life,’ “life force,” “vitality.” Although it is commonly thought of as the external air we breathe through the nose and mouth, it also refers to the internal life-force energy in the individual. That the breath is so closely linked in yoga to the life-force is not to surprising. Breath is the one thing that human beings cannot live without for any length of time. Simple definition: life-force energy.

Purusa (Purusha) – “Spirit,” “individual soul,” “seer,” “indwelling form of God,” “individual soul.” Purusa has also been literally translated as “what lies in the citadel of the body.” The word means “absolute spirit” or pure consciousness, independent of everything. It is eternal, changeless and pure. Simple definition: source of consciousness, perceiver.

Next month there will be a few more Sanskrit words to focus on and who knows – in five years I might be pretty good at this!

Information from above came from:
Simple but great book explaining sacred Sanskri words is Sacred Sanskrit Words: For Yoga, Chant, and Meditation
All around excellent yoga book that can be read over and over The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice