5 Sanskrit Terms that are Relevant to the Modern Yogi
The Sanskrit language is the language of yoga. Yoga has historically been an oral tradition, passed down from teacher to student. Sanskrit is no longer a spoken language, but it lives on through the ancient teachings of yoga that we incorporate today. Here are a few Sanskrit terms that are important concepts within the teachings and still highly relevant to our practices today. **A note on pronunciation. In Sanskrit the emphasis is on the first syllable, which is different from how we pronounce English.
asana
Pronounced: ahhh - suh - nuh.
This is one you probably already know! The term literally means to “take a seat.” But for our purposes, asana translates as posture or pose. When combined with the descriptive terms of a shape, it makes a pose name. For example, triangle pose, a shape we all know and love is called trikonasana. The word for triangle is triko, followed by asana or pose. Triangle pose! Start to listen in class when your teacher says pose names. They almost all end with asana!
om
Pronounced: ohhhhh - mmm.
We often chant om at the beginning or end of class, but do you actually know why? In Sanskrit, om is the sacred sound which has always been and will always be. It is referred to as the “unstruck sound” suggesting that it was not created, it just always was. The concept of om is explored in the Yoga Sutras in sutras 1.27-1.29. Without going into too much detail, these teachings explain that om represents the sound of the divine and by chanting it, we can better understand it for ourselves and use it to connect to our own divinity.
There are lots of other ways to understand this concept and I wrote about them in a previous blog. You can read it here: https://onetreeyoga.com/blog/2019/2/4/whats-up-with-om
prana
Pronounced: pra - nuh.
The ancient yogis believed in an energetic force inherent in the body, mind and breath which is the source of life. It’s the energy of aliveness. It’s a spark, a strong sensation, a heightened sense of awareness. This energetic force is called prana and it’s the number one reason you feel like a million bucks after practice. When we move and breath with intention and awareness, our body is flooded with more prana, more beneficial energy. So when, after class, you walk out to your car and sit in a daze and aren’t quite sure who you are or what you’re doing, it’s because you’re high on prana.
vrtti(s)
Pronounced: vrit - tee
Right out of the gate in the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines yoga as the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Said fluctuations are vrtti(s). Vrttis are your thoughts, obsessions, the song stuck in your head, your emotions, your anxiety; anything that pulls you out of your current experience is a vrtti. The Buddhists refer to the mind’s inability to quiet as the “monkey mind.” The constant chatter from your brain is a fact of human existence. We all live with a continuous stream of vrttis. It is comforting to know that this the typical experience of all brains and also that yoga is the solution to quieting down.
nirodha
Pronounced: neer - rho - duh
Which brings us to nirodha or the act of stilling/quieting. If the practice is working as intended, through yoga, in all its forms, we get more quiet. We get more comfortable with stillness. We get more grounded and steady. We feel more calm. We feel better able to harness our energy. We are better able to recognize when the mind starts whirling and swirling. We can catch ourselves in the act of obsessing, or catastrophizing or raging. We feel a pull toward a less disruptive internal life. Which is a pretty great outcome, right?