Sanskrit, Simply: A Few Words Worth Knowing

Old words, still useful

Sanskrit can feel like a barrier when you are new. A teacher says a word you do not know, and for a moment you feel outside the practice looking in. It does not have to be that way. A handful of words show up again and again, and once they are familiar, class feels less like a foreign country and more like home.

You do not need to pronounce anything perfectly. These words are here to serve the practice, not to test you.

The ones you will hear most

• Asana means seat or pose. Every posture name ends in it, which is why so many words trail off with asana.
• Prana is life force, or simply breath and energy. It is the current the whole practice works with.
• Pranayama is breath work, the practice of guiding that current on purpose.
• Namaste is a respectful greeting often offered at the end, a small bow of one person to another.
• Om is a sound many classes chant, a way of gathering attention and settling the room.

A few worth carrying off the mat

Some Sanskrit words are less about class and more about how you live. These are the ones worth keeping in a pocket.

• Santosha means contentment, being at peace with what is, right now.
• Ahimsa means non-harming, toward others and toward yourself.
• Drishti is a soft, steady gaze, a point to rest your eyes and your focus.

Drishti is a good one to try today. The next time your mind scatters, let your eyes settle on one still point and stay there for a few breaths. That small act of focus is an old practice with a plain name.

Why we keep the words at all

We could translate everything and drop the Sanskrit entirely. We keep it because it connects the practice to a long line of teachers and students who came before, and because some of these words simply hold more than their English equivalents. Prana is more than breath. Santosha is more than being okay.

Learned slowly, the way everything here is

You will pick these up the same way you learn the poses, by hearing them in a calm room over time. Nobody expects fluency. Stefani trained at Laughing Lotus in New York, and even years in, the words keep opening up. That is part of what keeps the practice interesting.

If you would like to learn them in a small, slow, breath-led room, we would be glad to have you. Reach out and request an invitation, and we will hold a mat for you.