P

 Pada

part of a book, the foot

 Padahastasana

the balancing forward bend posture

 Padangushtha

the big toe

 Padasana

the foot above posture

 Padma

a lotus

 Padmanabha

a name of Vishnu

 Padmasana

the lotus posture

 Palmyrasana

the palm tree posture

 Para

beyond, higher

 Paramatma

the supreme spirit

 Parangmukhi

facing inwards

 Parashurama

sixth incarnation of Vishnu

 Parigha

a bolt for shutting a gate

 Parighasana

the locked gate posture

 Parigraha

hoarding

 Paripurna

complete, whole

 Parivartana

revolving

 Parivrajaka

wanderer

 Parivritta Parshvakonasana

the revolved lateral angle posture

 Parivritta Paschimottanasana

the twisting back-stretching posture

 Parivritta Sirsasana

the twisting head-knee posture

 Parivritta Trikonasana

the revolved triangle posture

 Parshva

the side

 Parshva Dhanurasana

the sideways bow posture

 Parshva Halasana

the lateral plough posture

 Parshva Sarvangasana

the sideways shoulderstand posture

 Parshva Sirsasana

the headstand posture

 Parshvakakasana

the sideways crow posture

 Parvatasana

the mountain posture

 Paryanka

a bed

 Pasasana

the noose posture

 Pasha

a trap, noose

 Pashchima

west, the back of the body

 Pashchimottoanasana

the back-stretching posture

 Patanjali

author of the Yoga Sutras

 Pavanmuktasana

the knee squeeze posture

 Pida

pain

 Pincha

the chin, feather

 Pinda

an embryo

 Pingala

the channel on the right of the spine

 Pliha

the spleen

 Prahlada

a devotee of Vishnu

 Prajapati

Lord of created beings

 Prajna

wisdom

 Prakasha

shining, clear

 Prakriti

eternal nature

 Pramada

indifference

 Pramana

authority, an ideal

 Prana

breath, energy, life

 Pranava

another name for aum

 Prana-vayu

a vital air that moves in the chest

 Pranayama

control of the breath

 Pranidhana

dedication

 Prasarita

stretched out

 Prasarita Padottanasana

the spread legs posture

 Prashvasa

expiration

 Pratiloma

going against the grain

 Pratyahara

control of the senses

 Pratyaksha

direct evidence

 Punarjanman

rebirth

 Punya

virtue, merit, good

 Purakha

inhalation

 Purnata

perfection

 Purusha

the spirit or soul

 Purvottana

the front of the body

 Purvottanasana

the front-stretching posture

 Raga

anger, passion

 Raja

a ruler, king

 Raja-yoga

the yoga of mastery over the mind

 Rajas

mobility

 Rakini

the goddess in svadhishthana

 Rama

the seventh incarnation of Vishnu

 Rambha

plantain

 Ravana

a demon king from Lanka who abducted the wife of Rama

 Rechaka

outbreathing

 Retus

semen

 Ru

light

 Rudra

a form of Shiva

 Rupa

a form or body

 Sadashiva

a form of Shiva

 Sadhaka

an aspirant, seeker

 Sadhana

practice, a quest

 Sah

he, that

 Sahaja

the karma to which one is born

 Sahasrara

the thousand-petalled lotus within the cerebral cavity

 Sakshatkara

the spirit

 Sakthi Chalini

the nerve-power posture

 Salabhasana

the locust posture

 Salamba

supported

 Salamba Sarvangasana

the supported shoulderstand posture

 Sama

equal, upright

 Samakonasana

the sideways leg-splits posture

 Sama-sthiti

standing still

 Sama-vritti

pranayama where inhalation, exhalation and suspension of breath are of same length

 Samadhi

state where the aspirant is one with the object of his meditation

 Samana

one of the vital airs, which aids digestion

 Samasthiti

the upright-sitting posture

 Sambhava

birth

 Samkatasana

the dangerous posture

 Samkhya

one of the schools of Indian philosophy

 Samkhya Yoga

the yoga of science

 Samshaya

doubt

 Samskaras

memories

 Samyama

dharana, dhyana and samadhi taken together

 Sannyasi

one who has renounced the world

 Sanjivani

a life-restoring elixir or herb

 Sansara

the wheel of reincarnation

 Santosha

contentment

 Sara

essence

 Sarasvati

goddess of speech and learning

 Sarva

whole

 Sarvanga

the whole body

 Sarvangasana

the shoulderstand posture

 Sat

reality

 Sat Chit Ananda

bliss consciousness

 Sati

mother of Kartikeya and Ganapati

 Sattva

orderliness, the quality of goodness in everything natural

 Satya

honesty

 Savasana

the corpse posture

 Savichara

investigational meditation

 Savitarka

inspectional meditation

 Sayanasana

the repose posture

 Setu

a bridge

 Setu Bandhasana

the bridge posture

 Shabda

sound, the creative principle

 Shakini

the goddess in vishuddha

 Shakti

female creative power, goddess

 Shaktichalani

one of the mudras, involves contracting the rectum

 Shalabha

a locust

 Shalabhasana

the locust posture

 Shama

calming the mind

 Shambhavi

related to Shiva

 Shambhavi Mudra

gazing between ones eyes

 Shambhu

a name of Shiva

 Shan

six

 Shanmukha

with six mouths, a name of Kartikeya

 Shantih

peace

 Sharira

a body

 Shaucha

mental and bodily cleanliness

 Shava

a corpse

 Shavasana

the corpse posture

 Shayana

a bed

 Shesha

the serpent of eternity, having one thousand heads

 Shirsha

the head

 Shirshasana

the head-stand posture

 Shishya

the pupil of a guru

 Shita

cold

 Shiva

the destroyer

 Shmrti

memory

 Shodana

purification

 Shoka

anguish

 Shraddha

faith and trust

 Shravana

the act of listening to the doctrines

 Shrivatsa

the curl on Vishnu's breast

 Shuddha

clean, pure

 Shvana

a dog

 Shvasa

inspiration

 Svasa-prashvasa

heaving and sighing

 Siddha

a prophet or adept

 Siddhasana

the adept's posture

 Siddhi

a psychic (or occult) power

 Simha

a lion

 Simhasana

the lion posture

 Sirsangusthasana

the deep lunge posture

 Sirsasana

the headstand posture

 Sita

the wife of Rama

 Skanda

a name of Kartikeya, god of war

 Sodhana

purification

 Steya

robbery

 Sthirata

steadiness

 Sthiti

stability

 Sthula-sharira

the dense body

 Styana

sloth

 Sudras

the caste of servants and labourers

 Sukha

happiness

 Sukhasana

the easy posture

 Sukshma-sharira

the astral body

 Sumanasya

benevolence

 Supta

sleeping

 Supta Baddha Padmasana

the supine bound lotus posture

 Supta Janu Sirsasana

the supine head-knee posture

 Supta Padangusthasana

the supine big toe posture

 Supta Paschimottanasana

the supine back-stretching posture

 Supta Vajrasana

the supine thunderbolt posture

 Surya

the sun

 Surya Namaskar

the homage to the sun posture

 Sushumna

the spinal cord

 Sushupti-avastha

the state of the mind in dreamless sleep

 Sutra

a thread

 Sva

vital force, soul

 Svadhyaya

education through the study of the divine texts

 Svapnavastha

the state of the mind in a dream

 Svarga

heaven

 Svarupa

one's true nature

 Svasamvedana

the understanding of oneself

 Svastikasana

the prosperous posture