Asana

Yoga posture. It is the method of purifying and strengthening the body. Continued great efforts are required to achieve its mastery and perfection. They lead from the physical to the spiritual plane. When an asana is practiced with stability and without effort, it is no longer performed by the physical body, but by the inner self. In this state the union of the body, mind and soul is achieved. He is the third of the “eight limbs of yoga”. 

 

Ashram

Place for spiritual retreat based on the Hindu ashrams of hermits. There people can receive teachings from a yoga guru, meditation or just be in retreat. 

 

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga

Yoga method interpreted and practiced by Sri Krshnamacharaya and Sri Pattabhi Jois. It consists of a series of fluid movements in which each posture is smoothly linked into the next, accompanied by breathing.  

 

Ashtanga Yoga

They are the "eight limbs of yoga" that lead the practitioner to self-realization. They have been described by the wise Patanjali in his sacred texts "Yoga Sutras". These eight members are: Yama, Nyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi.  

 

Ayurveda

“Knowledge of life”. Traditional Indian medicine system that keeps the mind and body balanced and healthy. Ayurveda is based on the five main elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether and aims to balance the three body humors: vata (air and space), pitta (fire and water) and kapha (water and earth). Use methods like massage, yoga, herbs, diet. 

 

The Bhagavad Gita

Sacred Hindu text incorporated in the Mahabharata, which consists of a dialogue in which Krishna instructs Prince Arjuna on the ethical natures of life and of God. The main message of this work is that one must do his duty (dharma) bravely, with selfless dedication and no desire for reward.  

 

bhakti

Devotion. Spiritual practice in which devotional love to some divine image is fostered. 

 

Bikram yoga

Yoga method based on the practice of thirteen postures, performed twice and for a long period of time and accompanied by breathing. The practice of the postures is done in a heated room (approximately 40,5ºC) to prevent the risk of injury, facilitate the loss of calories, expel toxins from the body and provide better relaxation. With the heat, the body becomes more flexible, which allows the practitioner to perform complex postures more easily. 

 

Brahman

The God of Hinduism. He is the origin of everything that exists in the Universe. 

 

Chakra

energy centers. According to ancient texts, the chakras are points where 216 nadis/meridians (energy channels) cross each other, creating spirals of energy. In the human body there are seven main chakras and thousands of secondary chakras. The seven chakras and their respective locations are: dunghill, located in the lower part of the spine, and corresponding to the sacral plexus; swadhisthana, in the genital organs, corresponds to the plexus of the prostate; manipura, at the level of the navel, corresponds to the solar plexus, anahata, in the heart, corresponds to the cardiac plexus; vishuddha, in the throat, corresponds to the plexus of the larynx; ajna, between the eyebrows, corresponds to the cavernous plexus; sahasrara, at the top of the head. 

 

dhana

Uninterrupted concentration on all the senses of the individual soul. It is the sixth of the "eight limbs of yoga".  

 

Dhyan

Meditation. When the practitioner is in dhana without limitation of space or time, this concentration is transformed into dhyana. He is the seventh of the “eight limbs of yoga”. 

 

Ganesh

God of success and destroyer of obstacles, who is known to have an elephant's head. He is one of the five major Hindu deities. 

 

Hatha Yoga

Yoga method that uses postures (Asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation to achieve a state of better physical, mental and spiritual health. There are many styles of yoga that use this method, such as Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Kripalu, Intengral and Jivamukti among others. 

 

Iyengar Yoga

Yoga method founded by BKSIyengar (student and brother-in-law of Sri Krishnamacharya). It is a style of hatha yoga that focuses on the structural alignment of the body through the development of postures and coordinated breathing. A wide variety of supports are used, such as belts, blocks, chairs, pillows in order to adapt the posture to each one and to evolve in the posture. 

 

Karma

Cause and effect process. All action creates reaction. 

 

Kundalini Yoga

 Yoga method. It incorporates the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of yoga into a cohesive and integrated system. Kundalini is the primordial energy that resides in the muladhara chakra and that when it awakens, it causes a sound that resembles the sound of a snake, which is why it is called the "power of the snake". According to Master Yogi Bhajan, the Kundalini energy can be awakened and illuminated through the combined practice of yoga techniques, such as the use of mantras, prana, breathing techniques, asanas, meditation and prayers.

 

Mantra

Sacred verbal form repeated in prayers, meditations, or invocations that is believed to have a positive, vibrational impact on the body's energy field. 

 

Namaste

Gesture with both hands together in front of the chest. It represents the belief that divinity exists within everyone at the level of the heart chakra. It is a common way of greeting in India and Nepal and it means "The divine in me greets the divine in you." 

 

Meat

Rules of conduct towards oneself. They consist of certain disciplines that are physical and mental. It is the second of the "eight limbs of yoga". 

 

Om

 Sacred mantra of Universal creation. According to legend, Brahma was one and not dual. At that moment, he thinks “I am one and maybe I will become several”. This has created a vibration and a sound, the Om. This mantra is pronounced as "AUM". 

 

Patanjali

Patañjali (pronounced patanshali) was a Hindu thinker and author of the "Yoga Sutras" which is an important Sanskrit manuscript on Yoga. It is estimated that he lived in the third century BC, but it has not been confirmed. Hindus consider Patanjali to be an incarnation of the divine serpent Ādi Śesha, one of the aspects of the god Sankarshana, who is the first expansion of the god Vishnu.

 

Prana

Vital, universal force that flows through the meridians in the body's electromagnetic field. 

 

Pranayama

Control of breathing, being the peace of mind and the serenity of the nervous system the final product. It is the fourth of the "eight limbs of yoga". 

 

pratyahara

Withdrawal of the senses from the external world to the internal self. He is the fifth of the “eight limbs of yoga”. 

 

Samadhi

Realization of the self. Last stage of the "eight limbs of yoga" in which the individual soul merges with God and does not reincarnate again. 

 

Shiva 

God destroyer of the world. Shiva dissolves the world so that a new cycle can be created. He is also worshiped as the god of mercy and compassion. He is one of the five main deities of Hinduism. 

 

sivananda yoga

Yoga method. It is a classic, holistic approach to hatha yoga that stretches and tones the entire body with the goal of controlling and calming the mind. His teachings have not been altered and are originally practiced. They have been introduced by Swami Sivananda and brought to the West by Swami Vishnudevananda.  

 

Tantra yoga

Yoga method. Holistic approach to the study of the universe through the individual point of view. The objective of tantric yoga is to harmonize and awaken the masculine and feminine in each one to achieve spiritual awakening. 

 

Vishnu

Preserving God of the Universe, while Brahman and Shiva are the creator and destroyer, respectively. He is one of the five main deities of Hinduism. 

 

Yama

Rules of conduct towards others or social discipline. He is the first of the "eight limbs of yoga".