I am continually asked, "How often do you practice yoga?" To which they get an answer much longer than expected. Most people define yoga as the physical practice or asana. I practice yoga everyday; however, to me yoga is much bigger than a physical on my mat practice. I love taking advantage of a teaching opportunity, so I explain the difference between yoga and asana then circle back to their intended question which I will elaborate on more in a later entry.
Here I have defined a few words I use often in class and writing:
- Yoga - to yoke or union of mind, body, & spirit; to put to active and purposeful use; to hitch up. Essentially, yoga has come to describe a means of uniting, or a method of discipline.
- Sanskrit - an ancient Indic language
- Hatha - describes a type of yoga which encompasses meditation, pranayama and asana
- Meditation - the observance of life
- Pranayama - breath control exercises
- Asana - physical poses of yoga
- Spirit - mind, consciousness, essence, divine, or other definition you find applicable
- Savasana - deep relaxation that typically occurs at the end of class
I thought you might also like this nice resource of 200 Key Sanskrit Terms as defined by Yoga Journal.
May you find your practice of yoga more frequent than your time on the mat.
