| Term | Meaning or definition as related to yoga in Sanskrit or another language. |
| Sadhak | spiritual aspirant or student.
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| Sadhana | Quest, spiritual practice.
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| Sadhu | a Hindu holy man, or ascetic.
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| Sadhuganga | retreat where Lakshmanjoo went as a young man to meditate.
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| Sahasrara chakra | highest energy centre located at the crown of the head, just above the top of the head.
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| Sakala pramatribhava | state of meditation in where we are also aware of outside world.
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| Sakshi | witness
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| Salamba Sarvangasana | Shoulderstand, Supported Shoulderstand.
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| Salamba Sirsasana | Headstand Yoga Pose, Supported Headstand.
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| Salambhasana, Shalabasana | Locust Yoga Pose.
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| Samadhi | final stage of yoga in which concentration becomes one with the object of concentration; supreme union, absorption, state of God consciousness, realization of one's own nature, the eighth of the eight stages of classic Yoga.
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| Samhara | power of destruction.
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| Samsara | the process of a worldly life, the cycle of life caused by birth, death and rebirth.
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| Samskara | strong impressions in the mind that create our beliefs, attitudes and persona.
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| Sankalpa | spiritual resolve.
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| Sannyasi | one who has renounced the world in seek of self-realization.
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| Sanskrit | a language used in of Yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism, and an official languages of India, considered "historical".
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| Santosha or Santosh | contentment, one of the five niyamas, second of the eight stages of classic Yoga.
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| Sanyasi, sanyasin | a renunciate.
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| Saraswati | Goddess who bestows knowledge of fine arts and power of speech.
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| Sarvangasana | Yoga pose shoulderstand sarva all, whole, entire, complete - anga "limb", "body" asana "pose" Sat "truth"
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| Sat | truth, existence, being, reality.
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| Sat chit ananda | existence-knowledge-bliss.
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| Satchakraniroopana | a Tantric text.
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| Satguru | guru who has attained self-realization.
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| Satsang | a session of devotional singing, chanting or meditation.
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| Sattva | one of the three qualities of nature, it manifests as balance, purity, calmness.
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| Sattwa guna | quality unwavering purity.
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| Sattwic tide | a force of sattva that is most likely to occur between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and sunrise.
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| Satya | truth-one of the yamas.
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| Saucha | purity of body and mind, one of the five niyamas or observances that together are the second of the eight stages of classic Yoga.
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| Savasana | Yoga Corpse Pose, sava "corpse" asana "pose".
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| Seetkari pranayama | Breathing technique which involves hissing leading to a cooling effect upon the whole body.
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| Setu Bandhasana | Yoga bridge pose, setu "bridge" bandha "bondage" asana "pose". Also known as Dwi Pada Pitham.
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| Shabda | sound
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| Shabda Brahman | cosmic causal state.
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| Shakta vedha | an experience of the rise of kundalini in which kundalini takes the form of energy.
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| Shakti | vital force, energy, power, mediator between individual and universal, the force of manifestation in the universe, often depicted as female.
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| Shaktichakra | multitude of energies of Lord Shiva.
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| Shaktopaya | the means for entering universal consciousness that involves concentrating on the center between any two things.
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| Shambhavi mudra | a yoga gesture in which one focusses at the mid-eyebrow centre.
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| Shambhavopaya | the means for entering universal consciousness that involves the preservation of thoughtlessness.
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| Shankaracharya | great sage of about the 8th century, who lived for a time in Kashmir.
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| Shashankasana | Yoga "moon pose".
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| Shastra | scripture
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| Shatkarma | the six yogic techniques of purifying the body.
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| Shauch | purity, one of the five niyamas, or observances, which are the second of the eight stages of classic Yoga.
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| Sheetali pranayama | cooling breath, a pranayama technique that lowers the body temperature by inhaling through the mouth while letting the breath flow in over the tongue.
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| Shikara | a long, thin, shallow, often partially canopied, gondolalike wooden boat used for transportation on the lakes in Kashmir.
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| Shikhandi | a major figure in the Mahabharata, a woman who became a man.
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| Shishapunkti | worlds or universes where students reside.
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| Shishya | disciple, student.
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| Shishya | student, disciple.
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| Shiva pramatribhava | state of meditation in which one experiences God-consciousness only.
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| Shiva Sutras | one of the seminal texts of Kashmir Shaivism said to be revealed to the sage Vasugupta by Shiva.
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| Siddha yoni asana | the female counterpart of the siddhasana meditative posture, in which the left heel presses the entrance to the vagina.
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| Siddhasana | a meditative seating posture "yoga pose" in which the left heel presses the perineum (stimulating the mooladhara chakra); also called as the adept's pose or the 'pose of perfection'.
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| Simhasana | Lion Pose.
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| Sirsasana | sirsa "head" asana "pose".
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| Sirshasana | inverted pose - the 'headstand' in which the body is inverted and balanced on the crown of the head.
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| Soham | represents a mantra in meditation; literally means, 'I am That'. Represents the Psychic sound with the sound 'so' during inhalation and 'ham' during exhalation.
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| Soma chakra | sixteen petalled chakra situated above ajna and manas chakras.
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| Sphinx Pose | Sphinx Pose is similar to Cobra pose or Bhujangasana but resting on the forearms.
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| Strap | a prop used as an extension of the arm to assist in yoga.
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| Sucirandhrasana | Threading the Needle Pose.
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| Sukhasana | a comfortable meditative yoga pose; also called the 'yoga easy pose' or simply the cross-legged pose.
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| Supta Baddha Konasana | Reclining Bound Angle Yoga Pose, Goddess Yoga Pose.
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| Supta Konasana | supta "sleeping", "lying down" kona "angle" asana "pose".
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| Supta Kurmasana | supta "sleeping, lying down" kurma "tortoise" asana "pose".
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| Supta Padagusthasana | supta "sleeping", "lying down" padangusta "big toe" asana "pose".
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| Supta Virasana | Reclining Hero Pose.
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| Surya bheda pranayama | breathing technique in which inhalation is done through the right nostril ; increases vitality.
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| Sushumna nadi | main energy channel in yoga, in the centre of the spinal cord through which kundalini shakti flows.
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| Sutra neti | yogic technique to cleanse the nasal passage using a special thread.
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| Surya Namaskara | surya "sun" namaskara "salutation" Surya "The sun".
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| Swadhisthana chakra | second chakra in the spinal column, above the mooladhara.
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| Swastikasana | auspicious pose -meditative posture similar to siddhasana. |
