A few helpful definitions

Starting yoga is a really exciting experience. There are mounds of information to take in about postures, breathing techniques and ways of life, but you come across plenty of yoga jargon which can all sound similar, and ultimately, pretty confusing! Here's a quick breakdown of some words all beginners will hear.

Yoga

• Yoga means union. It is the connection of the consciousness, physical body and all the energy in the universe to everything. Yes, everything. All beings, whether they been an animal, plant, inanimate object or ameoba. Connected through the energy surrounding us and within us. Joining  even the tiniest of molecules into the gigantic cosmos. 

Asana

• Asana literally means seat. At the end of nearly all sanskrit posture names will been 'asana', to sit in the posture. However not every posture is a seated posture, it means to remain or to be present in the pose. Absorb it in all it's glory! For example, Garudasana is Eagle pose. Garud= Eagle and asana= seat, but Eagle is a standing balance pose. So, feel like a soaring eagle while enjoying the benefits and challenges of the pose in your seat. 

Pranayama

• Pranayama means to extend prana. Prana is the life force, the energy which everything is made up of. Pranayama is a series of breathing techniques to control and deepen the breath to make it more efficient in the moving of prana around the body. For example, Ujjayi is called 'Warming breath' or 'Ocean breath'. You gently close the epiglottis (little flap that covers the wind pipe when you swallow) as you exhale to give the breath a slightly rough texture and produce a 'hhsssshhh' sound. It warms up the throat as you move the back of the throat backwards and forwards and allows for an easier passage for the breath to flow through during the rest of the yoga practice. 

Have you been put back by yoga sanskrit before and not been sure whats going on? Feel free to ask any questions and post any words you'd like explaining! A little blog feedback would be much appreciated :)