CANCER & YOGA

Cancer has affected millions in the entire world. It is the phobia of the disease which causes more suffering than the cancer itself. In cancer, floating starved non-functional cells group together and manifest themselves as tumors, ulcers or cancer.

Yogic Cure


Yoga teaches you to give up and avoid harmful habits like smoking by giving you mental strength through Meditation. The simple cure is - Firstly, cleansing of the body of the debris and the starved dying cells and secondly, providing a live, atomically vibrant food, which will provide life force.


Recommended Asana :
Suryanamaskar (Sun Salutation ) - vitalises the entire body.

Pranayama (Breathing Exercise)- should be practised regularly.

Yoga Sleep - also helps you to deal with the pain and reduces the feeling of nausea during chemotherapy. However, a yoga specialist or a Doctor needs to supervise your yoga practice.

Yoga & Diabetes

In this Jet Age the modern man is constantly exposed to various tensions. No doubt, he has numerous conveniences at his disposal to give him physical comfort and sensual enjoyment. He works in an office, sleeps on a thick foam mattress, travels everywhere in his car, and attends cinemas, night-clubs, and watches television for recreation. However, he has to use sleeping pills and all kinds of medicines in an attempt to get rest and peace to counteract the negative influence of the modern way of life. But instead of peace, rest and happiness he gets a lot of physical, mental and emotional tensions.

Men and women today cannot find any way to unburden themselves of the frustrations and anxieties in their personal lives, so ultimately they fall victim to a variety of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease etc. Is there any way to find relief? YES ! Through the process of "Ashtanga Yoga". Asana and other effective yoga kriyas release the strength and energy through which the problems of life can be faced and life made harmonious.

Diabetes is a universally accepted psychosomatic and metabolic disease caused by the insufficient production of insulin by the Islet of Langerhans situated in the pancreas. Harmonious functioning of the body depends mainly upon the efficiency of the endocrinal system.

Bihar School of Yoga has, after years of research programmes and special Diabetic Camps, greatly substantiated the yogic claim that various yoga techniques (especially yogasanas, the Hatha yoga shatkarmas and Yoga Nidra) restore and ensure sound nerve connections to these organs, including the endocrinal glands, Pranayama practices such as nadi shodhana, bhastrika, ujjayi etc., alternately stimulate and inhibit the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. The endocrinal glands supplied by these nerves are therefore voluntarily relaxed arid activated. Since the glands are generally in a state of operation, these practices give them a needed rest, allowing them to function more efficiently.

The Hatha yoga practice of shankhaprakshalana relaxes the endocrinal system. In this process, when the entire alimentary canal has been completely washed, many of the endocrinal glands, especially those connected with digestion and metabolism, are able to rest for about an hour until food is again taken. This short rest is beneficial to the whole body and can work wonders in the case of diabetes. The endocrinal glands can start to function again even though they may have ceased to do so many years previously.

The psychic cause of diabetes can be managed with other powerful yoga practices like Ajapa Japa, Yoga Nidra and meditation. Last but not least, food restrictions must be followed.

In this modern age of scientific invention there are so many aids for comfort in life. It seems a contradiction, yet it is true that very few people are able to enjoy these luxuries. A great many people have wealth but they really live in poverty. The disease which accompanies modern civilisations deprives them of their strength and enjoyment of life. Yoga is a powerful way to rectify this situation. Yoga will enable people to start a new life with more vitality and mental stamina. Further, they will develop a broader outlook on life, understand their own and other peoples' problems and solve them more easily.

Modern drugs are limited and not without dangerous side-effects, whereas the systematic and gentle practice of yoga is both harmless and effective and leads to a happy, fruitful and fulfilling life.

thankyou.............

Thyroid diseases & yoga

When the thyroid gland loses its balance and becomes overactive, the condition is known as thyrotoxicosis. The person becomes thin, tremulous, overactive, anxious, and experiences widespread symptoms ranging from bulging of the eyes to disruption of the menstrual cycle.

The yogis have always recommended sarvangasana (shoulderstand) and have claimed that if the posture is practised correctly each day, it will balance thyroid function. This means that the overacting thyroid will decrease its activity and become normal, and an under acting thyroid will increase its activity and become normal. Strange as this sounds, there is good evidence and experience to support it.

If yoga can balance the thyroid, it is very important because the usual medical treatment, though effective, leaves a lot to be desired. Thyrotoxicosis is usually treated in one of three ways: surgery, radiation (X-rays or swallowing radioactive iodine) or drugs (which have a toxic effect on the thyroid and thus suppress its action). It is not surprising that many people including the doctors are not happy with these alternatives.

Under acting thyroid is usually treated by hormone tablets. This would seem to be a logical procedure, but actually it has an important disadvantage. The hormone suppresses any remaining ability of the thyroid gland to produce hormone for itself, and ultimately destroys any hormone secreting cells which were still functioning. Obviously, once a person starts taking thyroid hormone he must do so for the rest of his life. The yogis claim that sarvangasana will reactivate the dormant cells in the thyroid and the gland will once again function for itself.

Dr. K.N. Udupa, director of the Institute of Medical Sciences at Benares Hindu University in India, taught yoga postures (including sarvangasana), breathing techniques and relaxation to thirty people with thyrotoxicosis. At the time of reporting, eight people had recovered completely and the rest were still improving and reducing their drugs.

He estimated that the latter, because of the progress they were making, would eventually become normal also. It is possible that they may need to continue with the practices (probably only sarvangasana) for many years. However, this natural therapy seems preferable to taking drugs for life.

thankyou...

Siddhasana and the Heart

Recently, medical scientists have found an important connection between the reproductive metabolism and the heart. Excessive and uncontrolled levels of the male hormone testosterone in the blood are correlated with a preponderance of such traits as over-assertiveness, acquisitiveness and latent or overt aggression which characterize the cardiac personality, the type most prone to a sudden heart attack. Research has revealed the existence of specific receptor sites for this hormone in the Myocardial tissue of the heart, and also in the walls of the larger blood vessels, and it is now felt that Myocardial damage is induced by testosterone accumulation at these sites.

Heart attack is far more frequent in men than in women, up to the age of the menopause, but beyond that, the incidence between both sexes is similar. This strongly suggests that the female hormonal environment bestows a natural protection for the feminine heart whereas the male heart is endangered by excessive circulating levels of male hormones. In order to combat this, the masculine emotional and sexual metabolism has to be controlled. For this purpose we recommend the practice of meditation in siddhasana, where the lower heel exerts pressure in the area of the prostate gland in the region of the perineal floor, and the upper heel is against the pubic bone, above the root of the generative organ.

This posture stabilizes the two lower psychic centres- mooladhara chakra and swadhisthana chakra, redirecting prana upwards towards the higher centres. Blockage of energy within these two centres is responsible for many health problems and also poses a barrier which has to be crossed in spiritual life. Mooladhara is the root centre in which an infinite source of pranic energy lies dormant and asleep, while swadhisthana is the centre responsible for the sexual and emotional metabolism in which our psychic energy most spontaneously manifests itself. When our emotional life does not extend beyond this plane, blood pressure and cardiac function remain unstable and our role and purpose in life remains ill-defined and unclear. There is an 'ache' in the heart which never knows the experience of constancy, beyond the fickle and transitory emotional feelings. But the higher experiences of the human heart and mind remain impenetrable unless the energy can be stabilized and led up into the higher centres of consciousness. In this sense, heart diseases can be considered an evolutionary malady, where we suffer due to our bondage on the emotional plane, while our being aches to experience the constancy of human life which arises when emotional attachments and aversions have been transcended.

Siddhasana is the posture which is recommended by Dr. Christian Barnard, the heart transplant surgeon, to stabilize cardiac function in his patients. We have found that it proves most beneficial when learned during the late teens or early twenties, when the emotional and sexual drives and passions are likely to be unruly. At that time, siddhasana is found to rectify problems such as excessive nocturnal emission. If followed throughout life it bestows protection from emotional ravages and stabilizes the passions, preventing later cardiac demise. The heart is protected when there is neither suppression of, nor anarchical expression of the emotional complexes. The key to preservation of the heart lies in controlled expression of our desires, instincts and drives and this is learned by following the precepts and practices of yoga throughout the different stages of life. By incorporating some asanas, pranayama and meditation into the daily program from an early age, the penalty of an overtaxed heart is avoided in middle age, and the emotions are channelled and expressed in a more creative way throughout life.

The central role of cholesterol should be understood. This fatty substance is the precursor from which the sex hormones are synthesized by the gonads and the adrenal glands. It is also required in the production of the spermatozoa by the testes, along with other fatty protein complexes known as lipoproteins. These are needed to provide the structural requirements of the sperms, and also to provide the machinery which gives every sperm such an enormous energetic and motile capacity.

If the emotional and reproductive metabolism is unruly and uncontrolled then the turnover of new sperms must occur at a rapid rate and an enormous amount of energy must be constantly provided to synthesize these replacement sperms. As a result a high level of cholesterol and protein is necessary, and this usually comes from dietary sources. This necessitates a high protein and fat diet, and demands that the physiological systems of digestion and cell synthesis operate at a very high rate, pushing up the metabolic rate and basal temperature in the process. Strain on the heart, the digestive organs such as the liver, and the eliminatory organs such as kidneys, bowels and sweat glands, is inevitable. Excessive wear and tear on the physiological systems is the end result and cardiac strain is one foremost effect.

Clearly the emotional metabolism must be stabilized if the body is to be preserved. This can be attained by the twin approach of dietary regulation, where a decreased protein and fat intake is recommended, coupled with the growth of self-knowledge, self-expression and self-control, which develops by following the royal path of yoga in the midst of the various worldly confrontations and difficulties. These measures are the best insulators against heart disease in the community as a whole.

In this regard, it is not enough to simply follow the precepts of a traditional religion. While this may provide a degree of mental and emotional security, it is actually suppressive and anti-evolutionary, for it does not allow us to come to terms with the emotional and instinctual factors of our nature directly. Traditional religions offer only precepts and concepts, but yoga offers psycho-physiological practices which channel emotional energy correctly. The key to an enlightened emotional and sexual life, free of mental conflicts and physiological exhaustion lies in the practice of yoga techniques in conjunction with our normal daily life experiences. Yoga does not require renunciation, but leads its practitioner to a fuller enjoyment of every aspect of life. The experiences of life should be enjoyed and understood if we are to progress and evolve. Blind adherence to dogmas only blocks this evolutionary process, leading to mental illness and physical disease, but yoga offers the sublime way to fully appreciate life and complete our evolutionary journey.

thankyou...............

Cerebral dysrythmia (epilepsy) &yoga

In this illness, the person is subject to paroxysmal attacks of explosive action in the brain. In its severest form (grande mal) he loses consciousness, falls to the ground, and the body undergoes spasmodic convulsions. During the attack he may injure himself, and in extreme cases (status epilepticus) he may die.

The usual medical treatment for cerebral dysrhythmia is by drugs, and these generally stop the attacks if the person takes them for the rest of his life. However, their side effects can cause real problems. Many of the drugs have toxic effects on the blood, the gums, and other organs, especially if taken for a long time. Others make the person tired and stupid. Those who have treated cerebral dysrhythmia over the years have seen bright intelligent people functioning as 'zombies' not because of the epilepsy, but because of the drugs, and they would like to find a better treatment. This is a serious problem and if we can find a way to control cerebral dysrhythmia without drugs, or even to reduce the drugs for people who are suffering their side effects, we will be making an important contribution to healing sciences.

For centuries, yoga practices have been used for the treatment of cerebral dysrhythmia and in many cases, it has been found that not only do the attacks stop, but the person's perceptions and abilities expand as well. The patient practises a small group of classical major postures (bhujangasana, shashankasana, shalabhasana, sarvangasana), some breathing exercises (nadi shodhana, ujjayi, bhastrika) and mantra meditation (in this case ajapa japa). If the person has a lot of mental tension, bhramari pranayama, kunjal and neti are practised. On the other hand, if he is of phlegmatic temperament, the practices of kriya yoga are of greater benefit.

With the treatment of cerebral dysrhythmia, much discretion is needed on the part of the yoga therapist, who must be expert in the field. The practices must be designed to suit the individual person, and the anticonvulsant drugs reduced very slowly over months. However, when this is done correctly, the results are most gratifying.

thankyou...........

Bronchitis and emphysema & yoga

There is another group of conditions in which the bronchial tubes are obstructed and the patient cannot breathe properly. The two main forms are chronic bronchitis (long term inflammation of the bronchial tubes), and emphysema (excessive dilation of the air sacs due to damage to their walls). These two conditions are a real problem, because such patients usually continue to deteriorate despite the best treatment medical science can offer. In 1978, Dr. M. K. Tandon published in the journal Thorax an account of his work with twenty two elderly patients with severe cases of these conditions. Half of these people were given routine physiotherapy treatment, and the other half received yoga training. Tandon found that, "At the end of the nine months the yoga trained subjects reported to have:

1. Improved exercise tolerance.
2. Quicker recovery after exertion.
3. Control over an attack of shortness of breath without the need of medical help.
4. Definite improvement in their overall chest condition.

The breathing pattern of the yoga trained group was changed to a more efficient one. It was deeper and slower as compared with their original condition before the experiment and as compared with the shallow fast breathing of the physiotherapy group which showed no improvement in the breathing pattern."

We must remember too that these are severe diseases in elderly people who, under ordinary conditions, would have deteriorated during the nine months of the investigation, rather than improving as well as they did with yoga.

thankyou........

Headache & yoga

A common form of headache, which causes widespread distress throughout the world, is migraine. This is caused by swelling of the arteries of the scalp and inside the skull, probably because of instability of the autonomic nervous system in that area.

Migraine is usually treated by drugs containing a derivative of ergot fungus. However, these drugs are toxic; they frequently don't relieve the attack once it has started, and they have no effect on reducing the tendency for the attacks to recur.

Yoga can be incredibly effective in treating migraine. It has been discovered in many yoga centres, including Satyananda Ashrams, that the combination of shatkarmas (kunjal daily, neti twice daily, shankhaprakshalana every three months), with the daily practice of simple yoga postures (pawanmuktasana part 1), brahmari pranayama, and finishing with yoga nidra, completely eliminates migraine in the majority of sufferers.

Tension headaches are related to migraine but manifest through the somatic nervous system instead of through the autonomic nervous system. In fact, the two types of headache often occur in the same person. These also respond very well to the other practices mentioned above.

As in the case of asthma, a person who begins to feel an attack of migraine coming on need only practise kunjal kriya, and there is an excellent chance that the attack will be averted. Needless to say, recurrent headaches in a person who has not had them before, or headache which becomes continuous, must be investigated medically. But when we are sure that the cause of the headache is migraine or tension, then the yoga techniques are far superior to drugs and should be practised in every case.

Yoga the Opportunity for Health

Yoga is a science of consciousness. It is an integrated system of techniques by which we develop our hidden potentials to the fullest. Our qualities of love, joy, security, confidence, discrimination, intelligence, intuition, higher abilities and awareness, expand as we practise yoga. This is the fundamental aim and use of this ancient system.

However, there is another important aspect to the practices. Along the way to higher consciousness, the basic causes of illness are interrupted and eliminated, almost as a side effect - a bonus. This is because the samskaras which are dulling our awareness, are the same ones which cause our mental and physical illnesses. By uprooting the samskaras, and thus changing the pattern of the mind, the mental conflict that exacerbates illness is removed allowing the body's self-healing functions to operate. Hence, yoga, although never meant as a therapy, is so effective in helping us to attain and maintain abundant good health and well being. People who practise yoga don't need to worry about how to treat illnesses, they remain healthy and energetic, tranquil and balanced. That's the secret of yoga and that's the opportunity for all of us.

Yoga therapy has proved effective in a variety of disorders and is being used today not only by yoga practitioners but by wider circles of medical and paramedical practitioners. In the following disorders we show how yoga therapy along with medical consultation when necessary provides greater healing benefits with less chance of recurring symptoms.

thankyou...........

Yoga at Office

Working in an office or at a computer for prolonged periods of time can put strain on the neck, shoulder and back muscles which in turn can lead to tension and stiffness. This tension can cause headaches, as well as back, neck and shoulder pain. If left unattended, it could also impact your ability to function effectively at work and your overall quality of life. Simple techniques such as Office Yoga may help alleviate the pain and other symptoms by releasing tension and increasing muscle strength and flexibility.

Work is a necessity in our lives. It is better to make the best of the responsibility imposed upon us. Most of us are locked up for hours inside the office or are hooked to computers in our cubicles. Hence, physical ailments, stiffness of various muscles in the body and mental fatigue gradually make their existence, transforming our lives into a complete hell.

Doctors and psychologists have opined together that working out simple yoga postures in the office is not only effective in terms of physical exercises but also enlivens the spirit and mind of the tired employee.. Simple techniques may help alleviate the pain and other symptoms by releasing tension and increasing muscle strength and flexibility. They can be performed right on the office chair, any time, any day. Take a few minutes for yourself and incorporate some Yoga into your daily routine. Here are some simple Yoga techniques for:

• Right Posture
• Stress
• Neck
• Shoulder
• Eyes
  

• Right Posture:

  Neutral sitting or standing should most essentially be practiced. Often we fail to place ourselves in the correct posture whether standing or sitting and soon the problem begins. However, this simple exercise will help you to keep the position of your spine in order.

• Place your feet hip-distance apart and bend forward.
• Then look down at your feet. Your feet should be parallel (||).
• If you are sitting, keep check that your hips and your knees are in right angles.
• Sit straight and tall at the edge of your chair.

The Warrior Pose is recommended for relaxation of the upper body. Here are the steps:

1. Raise your arms to the sides with fingers pointed out.
2. Take a big step with the left foot turned out and knees bent.
3. Your right leg should be straight and planted on the ground.
4. Keep breathing.
5. Keep your upper body in rest.
6. After few minutes, switch sides. Now, extend your right leg.

Breathing Techniques To De-stress:

Are you yawning heavily at the start of the day or in the post lunch session?
Your stress has increased so profusely that you are falling asleep in office?
Try this breathing technique, it will surely help you to release your stress and you will be fresh to start your work again.

1. Put your right thumb on your right nostril.
2. Deeply breathe in and out the air using your left nostril.
3. Similarly press your left nostril with your right index finger.
4. Inhale and exhale as much as air you can.
5. Practice this for 1 minute, if you have time, for it to be effective.

Neck Training:

While sitting on a chair or in front of the pc, your neck gets affected the most with terrible aching and severe cases, at times leading to spondylitis. Here is a simple way which can relieve you from the stress caused and prevent you from any kind of aching.

1. Keep your hands on your waist and slowly lower your chin so that your neck is relaxed.
2. Your entire body should be straight while you are doing this exercise.
3. Hold 2/3 breath with you neck lowered.
4. Gradually lift up your neck to its neutral position.
5. Then lower you right ear to your right shoulder and repeat the same for the left side.
6. Finally rotate your entire neck from its right to the central neutral position. Keep 2-3 breaths for areas where you need a relaxation.
7. Repeat the same for the left side.

For Your Shoulders:

Shoulder problems often crop up when you sit in the same position for a long period of time. Here is an easy method to keep away your shoulder pains.

1. Stretch your hands on both sides up to your ears, while you inhale.
2. Drop them down to your sides in their normal position, while you exhale.
3. The process should be gradual and raising/dropping of hands should follow your breathing.

Eye Exercise

Your eyes are mirrors to your soul and the most divine gift. Therefore it becomes your duty to take utmost care of them. Overusing your eyes, improper light during work and stress can harm your eyes. Here are some simple ways to prevent any kind of damage to this precious gift.

1. Look forward and straight.
2. Gradually look up towards the ceiling keeping your head & neck in the neutral position and by sucking in the air.
3. Slowly drop your sight down on the floor while taking out the air and maintaining the position of the neck and head.
4. Practice this at least 5 times.
5. Then blink your eyes several times and close them to relax.
6. Do the same side wise.
7. Then gradually rotate your eyes in a clockwise manner. thankyou...........

Facial Yoga

It is less painful than plastic surgery and definitely cheaper than non-surgical injections that temporarily reduce or eliminate wrinkles -- but it can make you look young.

Yes, facial yoga -- which gives you the benefits of a face-lift without the danger and expense of surgery -- is the latest craze in India as a number of people, regardless of age, are enrolling themselves for training classes.

Your face works hard. All day long it helps you see, breathe, chew, speak, laugh, cry, kiss, grin, grimace, smile, frown, sneeze and whole lot more. It gets hit by sun, rain, wind, snow, rubs, scratches, scrapes, make-up, grit and grime, as well as smiles, stares, glares and other looks from friends, family and strangers.

There are about 16 muscles, a dozen bones and assorted arteries, veins and blood vessels that help your face do the things it does. Like muscles in other parts of your body, your face muscles absorb and store a lot of stress and tension. Unless you relax those muscles, they get stiff and hard and look strained. Tense muscles also constrict blood vessels, limiting the flow of blood and nutrients to your face. What's more, the tension in your face muscles can cause headaches and spread down into our neck and shoulders. A few simple exercise can help relieve facial tension and help you look and feel more relaxed.

Your face deserves a break. Below are a few simple face exercise that help relax tense muscles, release stress and improve circulation.

1. Palming. - Find a comfortable seated position, either on floor on a cushion or in a chair. Sit with your back straight. Begin with your eyes closed. Focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your nostrils. Cool air in, warm air out. - Rub your palms together very fast until they feel warm. Then cup them over your closed eyes. - Repeat. Benefits: Soothes the optic nerve, eyes and area around the eyes.

2. The Great Rub - Place the index and middle fingers of both hands in the middle of your forehead. Rub your forehead by making small circles with your fingers. - Move your fingers across your brow and to your temples, pausing there to give them a gentle massage. This is an area where we hold stress and tension that can often lead to headaches. - Then move down from your temples to the hinge of your jaw, pausing to massage your jaw muscles. - From there, move across your cheeks and up along the side of your nose to your forehead. - Repeat.

Benefits: Releases stress and tension, particularly in the temples and jaw.

3. Eye socket massage. - Take your index and middle fingers of each hand and place them on either side of your nose just below the bridge. Rub your fingers up to the bridge of your nose and along your eyebrows. - You'll feel a notch in your eye socket where the bone begins to turn downward. Rub the notch gently for a moment. Then follow the line of the socket rim down beneath the eye and back up along the side of your nose. - Repeat 3-5 times.

Benefits: Relaxes the eyes and surrounding areas, and relieves stress and tension.

4. Clenched smile. - Grit your teeth and open your lips as wide as they will go. - Feel your lips, cheeks, chin and neck stretch to their limit. Hold…and release. - Repeat. Benefits: Increases circulation, relaxes faces muscles, relieving stress and tension.

5. Scrunches - Scrunch your face real tight. Purse your lips, draw your cheeks in toward your nose, pull your eye brows down and bring the flesh of your chin up toward your mouth. - Hold…and release. - Repeat.

Benefits: Provides a counter stretch to the "Clench" exercise. Increases circulation, relaxes faces muscles, relieving stress and tension.

6. The Lion. - Take a deep breath. - All at once, exhale forcefully, open your mouth wide, stick your tongue out as far as it will go, say "Aghhhhhhh," and open your eyes wide and look up. - Repeat 3 times.

Benefits: Relieves tension in the throat and face, stimulates the eyes and improves circulation.

7. Cheek Pinch. Pinch your cheeks, by grabbing bits of flesh and giving them a squeeze.

Benefit : Improves circulation.

thankyou......

Yoga Glossary

TERMS	DESCRIPTION
Abhyasa	practice - the act of practicing
Acharya	teacher
Adwaita	a philosophy according to which there is no duality - only a singular state of consciousness
Agni	fire
Agnisar kriya	one of the shatkarmas (cleansing practices) -intestinal cleansing
Aham	ego
Ahimsa	non-violence, non-injury - one of the yamas of ashtanga yoga
Ajapa japa	spontaneous repetition of 'soham' mantra
Ajna chakra	energy center located behind the forehead, also called psychic centre - one of the seven energy centers
Akasha	ether, space
Anahata chakra	energy center located in the heart region; also called pranic centre - fourth of the seven energy centers.
Ananda	bliss, ecstasy
Antar	inner, internal
Antar dhauti	internal yoga cleansing (shatkarma) techniques
Antar kumbhaka	internal breath retention. The stage of pranayama where breath is retained after inhalation.
Antar mouna	internal silence - a meditation practice.
Anubhava	experience, realization
Ardha	half
Ardha dhanurasana	half bow yoga pose
Ardha matsyendrasana	half spinal twist yoga position
Ardha padmasana	half lotus pose
Asana	yoga position or yoga pose, also called yogasana. A balanced position for smooth energy flow in specific areas of the body and mind.
Ashrama	residential place of people living together in yogic tradition.
Ashtanga yoga	the eight fold path of yoga as outlined by Patanjali: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi
Ashwini mudra	practice of contracting the anal sphincter.
Atman	soul.
Aum	see Om
Avidya	ignorance
Bahir	outside, external
Bahir kumbhaka	external breath retention. The stage of pranayama where breath is retained after exhalation.
Bahiranga trataka	concentrating the attention (gaze) upon an external object such as a candle flame.
Bandha	a posture in which organs and muscles are contracted to create energy lock in a specific area.
Basti	a colon cleansing technique (shakarma), yogic enema
Bhagvad Gita	a part of the famous Hindu epic 'Mahabharata'. Teachings of Lord Krishna to his disciple Arjuna at the commencement of the battle of Kurukshetra, with explanations on sannyasa yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and jnana yoga.
Bhakti	devotion
Bhakti yoga	the yoga of devotion.
Bhastrika pranayama	'bellows' breathing technique in which the breath is forcibly drawn in and out through the nose in equal proportions, like the pumping action of the bellows.
Bhramari pranayama	breathing practice in which a soft "humming-bee" sound is produced during exhalation to stimulate the Ajna Chakra
Bhujangasana	cobra' pose.
Brahman	supreme consciousness, absolute reality.
Chakra	literally meaning circle or wheel, in yoga this refers to the energy centers lying along the confluence of the nadis (energy channels)
Chandra	moon
Chandra nadi	ida nadi
Chidakasha	psychic space in front of the closed eyes, just behind the forehead.
Chin mudra	hand gesture in which the first finger is kept at the root of the thumb, the last three fingers are unfolded.
Danda	stick
Danda dhauti	one of the cleansing techniques (shatkarmas), used to clean the oesophagus with a stick.
Danta dhauti	teeth cleansing technique
Dhanurasana	bow' pose; backward bending yoga pose
Dharana	practice of concentration; sixth of the eight fold path in ashtanga yoga
Dharma	duty, righteous path
Dhauti	second of the shatkarmas; cleansing technique of the eyes, ears, tongue, forehead, oesophagus, stomach, rectum and anus
Dhyana	meditation; single-pointed focus of mind on either a form, thought or sound.
Diksha	initiation given by the guru.
Dosha	three humours of the body; see kapha, pitta, vata
Dugdha neti	nasal irrigation or cleansing technique using milk
Ghrita neti	neti (nasal cleansing technique) performed with ghee
Gomukhasana	cow's face' posture
Gorakshasana	Yogi Gorakhnath's' pose
Guna	quality of nature viz. tamas, rajas, sattwa
Guptasana	the 'secret' pose
Guru	spiritually enlightened soul, who can dispel darkness, ignorance and illusion from the mind and enlighten the consciousness of a devotee/disciple
Hatha yoga	science of yoga which purifies the whole physical body by means of shatkarma, asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha and concentration
Hridaya akasha	psychic space of the heart centre
Ida nadi	one of the main energy channels running on the left side of the spine from the mooladhara (base) chakra to the ajna chakra in the head.
Jala	water
Jala basti	theyoga technique of enema using water - one of the yoga shatkarma
Jala neti	a shatkarma technique - cleansing of the nasal passages with water by alternating the flow of water in the nostrils, preferably using a neti pot.
Jalandhara bandha	throat lock' to restrict the flow of bereath through the throat - done by resting the chin on the upper sternum (chest).
Japa	continuous chanting i.e repetition of a mantra
Jihva dhauti	one of the shatkarma techniques for cleansing the tongue.
Jnana	knowledge, understanding, wisdom
Jnana mudra	the gesture of knowledge - in this the index finger is bent so that its tip is joined with the tip of the thumb, the other three fingers are spread out.
Jnana yoga	the yoga of knowledge - attained through spontaneous self-analysis and investigation of abstract and speculative ideas.
Kapal	skull or cerebrum
Kapalbhati pranayama	a breathing technique aimed at cleaning the frontal part of the brain; also called skull polishing - done through rapid breaths with more force on exhalation.
Karma	action; the act of doing
Karma yoga	the yoga of action - aims at supreme consciousness through action; discussed in Bhagavad Gita
Karna dhauti	one of the shatkarma which involves cleansing the ears.
Kati chakrasana	waist rotating' pose.
Kevala kumbhaka	spontaneous cessation of breath without any conscious effort.
Klesha	afflictions or tensions - according to yoga there are 5 such afflictions present in humans from birth
Koormasana	tortoise' pose - an advanced posture.
Kosha	sheath or body; realm of experience and existence.
Kriya	activity, dynamic yogic practice
Kriya yoga	the practice of kundalini yoga
Kukkutasana	cockerel' pose
Kumbhaka	breath retention
Kundalini	man's retained energy or potential energy and consciousness
Kundalini shakti	refers to the human's potential energy lying dormant in mooladhara (base) chakra like a coiled serpent. When awakened it rises up through the sushumna nadi.
Kundalini yoga	philosophy expounding the awakening of potential energy and inherent consciousness within the human body and mind.
Kunjal kriya	a shatkarma (cleansing) technique that involves the cleansing of the stomach by drinking in water and then expelling it by inducing vomiting.
Laghoo shankhaprakshalana	a shatkarma technique - also referred as the short intestinal wash. Involves the drinking of several glasses of water and the expelling it through stool after a series of exercises (asanas); in the process a thorough cleansing of the colon takes place.
Laya yoga	union with the supreme consciousness through pranayama or devotion. Literally, union by absorption
Maha	great
Maha bandha	the great lock - combines the three locks in yoga - the moola bandha, jalandhara bandha and uddiyana bandha - together with breath retention.
Maha mudra	the great gesture - combines the practice of moola bandha, shambhavi and khechari mudras simultaneously.
Maha nadi	literally means 'great nadi', which is the 'sushumna' in yoga
Makara	crocodile
Makarasana	crocodile' pose
Manas chakra	the energy center above the ajna chakra - is depicted with six petals
Manipura chakra	the energy centre in the spinal column located behind the navel - corresponding to the solar plexus.
Mantra	subtle sound vibration, which through repetition aims at expanding one's awareness or consciousness.
Mantra shakti	the power of mantra
Matsyendrasana	a spine twisting pose
Mayur	peacock
Mayurasana	peacock' pose - advanced pose aims at strengthening the arms and stimulating the manipura chakra.
Moksha	liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Moola	root
Moola bandha	energy lock created by the contraction of the perineum in the male and the cervix in the female.
Mooladhara chakra	lowest energy centre in the human body where the kundalini shakti (serpent power) resides - situated in the perineal floor in men and the cervix in women.
Moorchha pranayama	fainting or swooning breath' in which the breath is inhaled slowly and retained for an extended period.
Mouna	silence - the practice of silence
Mudra	literally means 'gesture' - mudra expresses and channelizes cosmic energy within the mind and body.
Nadi	energy channels in the body, similar to the meridians in acupuncture
Nadi shodhana pranayama	breathing technique - is the 'alternate nostril breathing' or 'balanced breathing' - balances the energy flow in the channels and purifies the energy channels (nadi) by balancing the flow of breath through the right and left nostrils.
Nasagra/nasikagra mudra	hand gesture adopted during pranayama to alternate the flow of breath through the nostrils.
Nauli	abdominal massage' - a cleansing technique (shatkarma) involving the contraction of the rectus abdominal muscles.
Neti kriya	another shatkarma (cleansing technique) - involves cleaning of the nasal passages or sinus irrigation; jala neti forms a part of the various neti kriyas.
Nidra	sleep
Niyama	rule; there are 5 rules described in the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali.
Om	the universal mantra; cosmic vibration of the universe; represents the four states of consciousness
Pada	foot; section of a literary work
Padmasana	lotus pose - a seated meditative posture
Pancha makara	the five tantric practices : mansa(meat), madhya(wine), matsya(fish), mudra(grain), and maithuna(sexual intercourse)
Pancha tattwa	the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and ether
Param	highest, supreme, God
Paramatma	the supreme atma; God
Parichaya avastha	stage of perception of nada
Paschimottanasana	back stretching pose
Patanjali	author of the Yoga Sutras and preacher of the eight-fold (ashtanga) yoga
Payaswini nadi	energy channel terminating at the right big toe, between poosha and pingala channels
Pingala nadi	one of the main energy channels running on the right side of the spine from the mooladhara (base) chakra to the ajna chakra in the head by intersecting various chakras on the way.
Plavini pranayama	breathing technique which involves gulping air and swallowing it into the stomach and retaining it
Poornima	full moon night
Prakamya	fulfillment of desire
Prakasha	inner light
Prakriti	nature
Pramana	proof
Prana	vital energy force sustaining life and creation
Pranayama	technique of breathing and breath control which regulates energy flow and aims at maintaining energy balance
Prasad	an offering usually food to and from the guru or higher power
Pratyahara	sense withdrawal; first stage of concentrating on the mind during meditation
Pravritti	nature of the mind
Prithvi tattwa	the earth element
Purana	eighteen ancient books consisting of legends and mythological narrations dealing with creation, recreation and the genealogies of sages and rulers
Purusha	man; pure consciousness
Purushartha	purpose of the consciousness, of man's existence- the four basic needs or desires, arth, kaama, dharma, moksha
Raja yoga	yoga in which union is achieved through concentration of mind
Rakta bindu	red bindu, same as beeja(seed) bindu, shakti bindu; the potentially creative bindu from which creation springs; often refers to the ovum.
Rechaka	exhalation
Rudra	Lord Shiva ; Rudra is said to have sprung from Brahma's forehead and is one of the holy trinity
Sahasrara chakra	highest energy centre located at the crown of the head
Sakshi	witness
Samadhi	the final stage of ashtanga yoga in which concentration becomes one with the object of concentration; supreme union.
Samskara	impressions stored in the mind that form the basis of our beliefs, attitudes and personality.
Sankalpa	spiritual resolve.
Sannyasi	one who has renounced the world in seek of self-realization.
Santosha	contentment
Saraswati	Goddess who bestows knowledge of fine arts and power of speech
Sarvangasana	shoulderstand - an inverted posture
Sat	truth
Satguru	guru who has attained self-realization
Sattwa guna	quality unwavering purity
Satya	truth-one of the yamas
Seetkari pranayama	Breathing technique which involves hissing leading to a cooling effect upon the whole body.
Shabda Brahman	cosmic causal state.
Shakti	vital force; energy
Shambhavi mudra	a yoga gesture in which one focusses at the mid-eyebrow centre
Shashankasana	moon pose
Shatkarma	the six yogic techniques of purification of the body, viz. neti, dhauti, nauli, basti, trataka, kapalbhati
Sheetali pranayama	cooling breath' - a pranayama technique that lowers the body temperature by inhaling through the mouth while letting the breath flow in over the tongue.
Shishya	disciple; student
Siddha yoni asana	the female counterpart of the siddhasana meditative posture, in which the left heel presses the entrance to the vagina
Siddhasana	a meditative seating posture in which the left heel presses the perineum (stimulating the mooladhara chakra); also called as the adept's pose or the 'pose of perfection'.
Sirshasana	inverted pose - the 'headstand' in which the body is inverted and balanced on the crown of the head
Soham	represents a mantra in meditation; literally means, 'I am That'. Represents the Psychic sound with the sound 'so' during inhalation and 'ham' during exhalation.
Soma chakra	sixteen petalled chakra situated above ajna and manas chakras
Sukhasana	a comfortable meditative pose; also called the 'easy pose' or simply the cross-legged pose.
Surya bheda pranayama	breathing technique in which inhalation is done through the right nostril ; increases vitality
Surya nadi	see 'pingala nadi'
Sushumna nadi	main energy channel in yoga, in the centre of the spinal cord through which kundalini shakti flows.
Sutra neti	yogic technique to cleanse the nasal passage using a special thread
Swadhisthana chakra	second chakra in the spinal column, above the mooladhara.
Swastikasana	auspicious pose -meditative posture similar to siddhasana
Tadasana	palm tree pose- standing posture
Tamas	the quality of inertia, laziness, procrastination.
Tiryaka bhujangasana	twisting cobra pose
Tiryaka tadasana	swaying palm tree pose
Trataka	one of the cleansing techniques (shatkarma) in which the gaze is focussed upon an object such as a candle flame.
Uddiyana bandha	abdominal retraction lock'; drawing in of the abdomen towards the backbone after exhaling
Ujjayi pranayama	a kind of breathing technique which produces a light sonorous sound.
Utkatasana	squatting position
Uttankoormasana	Tortoise pose
Vajrasana	the 'thunderbolt' pose; a kneeling posture with buttocks resting upon the heels.
Vama swara	flow of breath in the left nostril
Vaman dhauti	yogic technique to cleanse the stomach by voluntary vomiting. There are two types: kunjal kriya (regurgitating of water) and vyaghra (regurgitating of food)
Varisara dhauti	yogic cleansing technique in which a large quantity of water is drunk in conjunction with asanas to cleanse the entire digestive tract; also known as shankhaprakshalana.
Vashitva	ability to control all objects, living and non-living
Vastra dhauti	yogic detoxification technique in which a specially prepared cloth is swallowed and removed after ten minutes, in order to remove mucus from the stomach
Vatsara dhauti	a cleansing technique in which the air swallowed into the stomach is belched out.
Vayu tattwa	air element
Vedas	four ancient texts- Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva, which are further divided into Samhita, Brahmana, Aranayaka and Upanishads. They were revealed to the sages and saints of India which explain and regulate every aspect of life from supreme reality to worldly affairs. The oldest books in the library of mankind.
Veerasana	hero,s pose - for concentration and discrminative thinking.
Vishuddhi chakra	one of the energy centres located in the spine behind the throat and connected with the cervical plexus, tonsils and thyroid gland.
Yamuna river	emanating from Yamnotri in the Himalayas and joining Ganga near Allahabd, North India;refers to pingala nadi in the pranic body.
Yoga	state of union between two opposites - body and mind; individual and universal consciousness; a process of uniting the opposing forces in the body and mind in order to achieve supreme awareness and enlightenment.
Yoga abhyasa	practice of yoga.
Yoga nidra	a deep relaxation technique also called 'yogic sleep' in which mind and body is at complete rest but with complete awareness. thank you...