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Sanskrit 101: Top 10 Sanskrit Words for Yogis to Know

New to Sanskrit? Great—start here! We’ve handpicked the essential vocabulary words for beginners.

JESSICA LEVINE

AUG 15, 2018

Want to dive deeper into yoga philosophy and asana with the study of Sanskrit? Join Richard Rosen—author, YJ contributing editor, and co-founder of the former Oakland- and San Francisco Bay-based Piedmont Yoga Studio—for Sanskrit 101: A Beginner’s Guide. Through this 6-week introductory online course, you will learn Sanskrit translations, refine your pronunciations, explore its historic highlights, and more. But, even more significantly, you will transform your practice as you begin to understand the beauty and meaning behind the original language of yoga. Sign up today!

Curious about the Sanskrit words that get thrown around your yoga studio? Ready to dive into this 3,000-year-old language? Richard Rosen, leader of our Sanskrit 101 course, has handpicked the following 10 words as the best place to start. Namaste!

Yoga (yo-ga)

It’s obvious why this one takes first place on this list. Usually translated as “to yoke,” yoga comes from two different senses of the word yuj: one in the sense of samādhi, or concentration, and one in the sense of to yoke or to join. There’s a widespread misconception that the word yoga only means “union,” but it also means “method or technique.” “The goal of the practice is the realization that of the eternal oneness of ātman and brahman that we mistakenly believed are separate,” Rosen says. “Yoga doesn’t create a union, it reveals that it’s been there all along.”

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 JESSICA LEVINE