GLOSSARY

ājñā: Chakra located slightly above and between the eyes.

ākāsha: The ether or space element. It is light, subtle and expansive.

ālochaka: A subtype of Pitta dosha. It is situated in the sense organ of hearing and is responsible for vision and color perception.

ānanda: Bliss. The unadulterated Joy of Being.

āsana: Yoga posture. Third limb of ashtanga yoga

apāna: One of the five vāyus and subtypes of Vāta dosha. It is responsible for the elimination of feces, urine, blood and other wastes and has a downward movement.

ārtava: Female reproductive tissue.

ātman: The soul. What one truly is.

āvila: Cloudy attribute.

āyuh: Life; as in Ayurveda.

abhyanga: A full body oil massage mostly given before panchakarma and also done as part of one's daily routine upon rising.

agni: The digestive fire. It is responsible for digestion, absorption and assimilation of food and transforms food into energy.

ahamkāra: The 'I former'. Sometimes called the ego. It is a tool through which ātman functions in creation. It also is the illusion of existence independent and separate from God.

anāhata: The heart chakra.

avalambaka: A subtype of Kapha dosha. Located in the chest.

bhūta: Any of the five basic elements: Ether, Air, Fire, Water, Earth.

basti: A medicated or herbal enema. Primarily used to eliminate excess vāta from the colon.

Bhagavad Gītā: Sacred text composed of the dialogue between Arjuna and Lord Krishna.

bhakti yoga: The path of devotion.

bhrājaka: One of the five subtypes of Pitta dosha; located in the skin, the largest organ of the body. It is responsible for tactile sensation, color, and complexion.

bodhaka: A subtype of Kapha dosha located in the tongue.

buddhi: Individualized intellect.

chakra: Literally 'wheel'. The energy centers located in the body, closely related to the nerve plexus centers that determine and govern bodily functions.

chala: The mobile attribute.

chitta: The field of individualized awareness. The heart – feeling.

dhāranā: The sixth limb of ashtanga yoga. Concentration or the act of one pointed attention and awareness.

dhātu: Any of the structural tissues that compose and constitute the human body. These are plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, nerve and bone marrow, along with reproductive tissue.

dharma: That which upholds and maintains, supports creation and contributes to evolutionary processes.

dhyāna: The seventh limb in Patanjali's Ashtanga yoga. Meditation or a continuous flow of attention.

dinacharyā: Daily behavior or routine. This is vital to a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

dosha: The three psycho-physiological principles of the body. These are Vāta, Pitta, and Kapha..

gandha: The tanmātrā relating to the earth element. Odor.

guṇa: Attribute or quality. One of the universal 20 qualities or attributes in Ayurveda. It can also represent or be defined as one of the three universal qualities present in creation: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

guru: Teacher, or one who removes darkness and ignorance.

jīva: Individual consciousness.

jñana: Wisdom or knowledge.

jñana yoga: The path of knowledge that leads to Self-realization.

jñanendriya: The five sensory faculties. These are hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell.

kāla: Time.

kapha: One of the three doshas, composed of the water and earth elements.

karma: Action; or the law of cause and effect. Karma is also the inherent nature of any substance.

karma yoga: The path of service. One of the main paths to Self-realization and liberation; the path of surrender.

karmendriya: The five motor faculties or the faculties of action. These are speech, giving and receiving, walking, procreation, and excretion. This includes the motor organs.

kashāya: Astringent taste. Also, a decrease or weakening of a dosha or substance.

kathina: Hard quality or attribute.

khara: The rough quality or attribute.

khāvaigunya: 'Defective space' or weak space in the body. This can be hereditary, caused by trauma, or by severe or chronic disease. It is in this space that aggravated doshas can accumulate and create or worsen a disorder.

kledaka: One of the subtypes of Kapha dosha. It liquefies ingested food and also protects the stomach wall from digestive enzymes and acids.

kriya: An, action, activity, or process. This can be self-chosen or spontaneous.

kundalinī: Spiritual energy which lies dormant at the base of the spine until it is enlivened.

laghu: The light quality or attribute. This can either be radiance or lightness.

māmsa: One of the seven dhātus or tissues that compose the body. It consists of muscle.

māyā: Primal field of nature that is illusory when identified with by the soul.

mūlādhāra: The root chakra.

madhura: The sweet taste.

majjā: One of the seven dhātus or bodily tissues. It consists of bone marrow nerve tissue and connective tissue.

manas: Mind. It can be individual or universal.

manipūra: Chakra located in the navel area.

mantra: A vocal or silent recitation. It is usually repetitive and can be a syllable, word, or a group of words. It is used to bring about clarity, prolonged concentration, and a state of meditation.

meda: One of the dhātus or bodily tissues. It is primarily composed of fat and lipids.

meditation: The undisturbed flowing of attention to one's object of concentration.

moksha: Freedom or liberation.

nādi: Passageway or pathway in the body. There are countless nādis in the human body and they carry very subtle substances on through very gross substances throughout the body.

niyamas: The second limb of Ashtanga yoga. Personal ethics or internal restraints.

ojas: Subtle essence or energy of Kapha dosha. It maintains immunity and vitality in the body.

pāchaka: One of the subtypes of Pitta dosha. It is located in the stomach and small intestine.

Pātañjali: The sage who created and wrote the Yoga Sutras.

pañchakarma: Five actions that are used for eliminating excess dosha and āma from the body.

pitta: One of the three doshas or psycho-physiological principles of the body. It is made up of fire and water elements.

prāna: A subtype of Vāta dosha. The 'lead breath'. Prāna is also sometimes defined as 'life-force'.

prānāyāma: The fourth limb of Ashtanga yoga. Technique of controlling life energy by the regulation and restraint of breath.

prakruti: The combination of the three doshas that compose a person's constitution at the time of conception. Also primordial matter or Divine Mother.

pratyāhāra: The fifth limb of Ashtanga yoga. It is withdrawal of the senses.

purusha: Pure, infinite consciousness.

rūksha: The dry quality.

rajas: One of the 3 māha-gunas or attributes of creation. They are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.It is the principle of transformation and kinetic energy.

rakta: One of the seven dhātus or body tissues. It consists primarily of red blood cells.

rānjaka: One of the subtypes of Pitta dosha. It is located primarily in the liver and spleen and gives color to the blood It is responsible for the formation of red blood cells.

rasa: Taste.

rasa dhātu: One of the seven bodily tissues or dhātus that is comprised primarily of plasma.

sādhaka: A subtype of Pitta dosha. It is seated in the gray matter of the brain, heart, and the mind.

sānkhya: Literally, to enumerate or number. Sānkhya philosophy describes the categories, stages, and processes of universal manifestation.

sāra: The pure essence of a tissue. A healthy tissue.

sūkshma: Subtle quality or attribute.

sūrya: Sun.

sūtra: A phrase or aphorism that contains knowledge that can awaken intuition. Sūtra also can mean thread.

sahasrāra: The crown chakra, located at the top most part of the skull. It is called the 'thousand petaled lotus'.

samādhi: The state of Cosmic Consciousness. Balanced state of body, mind, and consciousness.

samāna: A subtype of Vāta dosha. It is present in the small intestine and naval area.

samskāra: Imprint, mental impression or a memory.

sāndra: Quality or attribute of denseness.

sattva: One of the 3 Māha-gunas. It is the principle of lightness, clarity, and wisdom.

shīta: The cold quality or attribute.

Shad Darshan: The six primary schools of Indian philosophical thought.

shleshaka: A subtype of Kapha dosha, seated in the joints of the body.

shukra: Male reproductive tissue.

slakshna: Smooth quality or attribute.

snigdha: The oily quality or attribute.

srota: A pathway, river, or a channel that is made up of tissues that carries substances or energies from place to place in the body.

sthūla: The gross quality or attribute.

sthira: The static or stable quality or attribute.

svādhishtāna: The second chakra. It is located in the pelvic cavity.

tamas: One of the three Māha-gunas. It is the principle of inertia, darkness, or ignorance.

tanmātrās: The tanmatras, sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, are the subtle elements. These are the objects of the five senses; those things which are perceived through those senses. These, externalized, produce the ideas of gross matter, the Maha Bhutas or great elements: Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.

tarpaka: One of the subtypes of Kapha dosha. It is located in the white matter of the brain and in the cerebral spinal fluid.

tejas: The subtle essence of Pitta dosha.

tridoshic: Something that affects or involves all three doshas.

udāna: A subtype of Vāta dosha. Located in the diaphragm and throat.

ushna: The hot quality or attribute.

vāta: One of the three doshas. it is composed of the ether and air elements.

vāyu: Wind. Also, another name for Vāta dosha.

vīrya: The energy of any substance. It is also the secondary action of any ingested substance. It can be either hot or cold.

vikruti: The current state of the individual as opposed to prakriti,  which is the original state of one's constitution at conception.

vipāka: The final post-digestive affect of food. This occurs in the colon.

vishada: The clear quality or attribute.

vishuddha: The fifth chakra which is located at the throat.

vriddhi: Increase of a dosha or substance.

vyādhi: Disease. A principal definition in Āyurveda is as follows: When an increased or disturbed dosha enters a dhātu, attacks the qualities of that dhātu, affects the consciousness, intelligence and mind of the dhātu at the cellular level and, as a result, changes the function and possibly the structure of the dhātu; this is called vyādhi.

vyāna: A subtype of Vāta dosha. It is primarily located in the heart and has circulation all over the body.

yamas: The first limb of Ashtanga yoga. These are personal ethics and restraints.

yoga: To yoke; to bring together all aspects of the body, mind, and personality. It can also be any of the systems used for this purpose. Another meaning is that which is the culmination of yoga practice. This is liberation of soul consciousness.

Yoga Sūtras of Pātanjali: The exposition and explanation of yoga as written by the sage Pātanjali.