2100-Asanas_-The-Complete-Yoga-Poses-Daniel-Lacerda

avatara = divine manifestation, descent, advent or incarnation of God. There are ten avataras of
Vishnu: Matsya (the Fish), Kurma (the Tortoise), Varaha (the Boar), Narasimha (the Man-Lion),
Vamana (the Dwarf), Parasurama, Rama (hero of the epic Ramayana), Krishna (hero of the epic
Mahabharata, who related the Bhagavad Gita), Balarama, and Kalki
B
baddha = bound
baka = crane, heron, a wading bird
bala = young, childish, not fully grown
bandha = a bond, tying, energetic lock, contraction, bondage, or fetter; a posture in which certain
organs or body parts are contracted and controlled
Benu = the mythological bird of ancient Egypt symbolic of rebirth and creation, also associated with
the Sun
bhaga = strength
Bhagavad Gita = one of India’s most beloved and sacred texts, the divine song of the Lord, the most
influential of all shastras; the epic story of Arjuna, a warrior prince who confronts moral
dilemmas through sacred dialogues with Krishna (one of Lord Vishnu’s Avatars) and is led to a
better understanding of reality by learning the teachings of Samkhya, Yoga, and Vedanta
Bhagavata Purana = also called Shrimad Bhagavatam, a purana that deals with devotion to the
Supreme Being in the form of Lord Vishnu and describes some of the avatars of Vishnu, including
Krishna
bhairava = terrible, gruesome, formidable; one of the fierce manifestations of Shiva
bhakti = devotion, worship or love; from bhaj, (to divide), the belief that there is an eternal divide
between the Supreme Being and the world that cannot be overcome through knowledge, hence the
Supreme Being must be met with an attitude of devotion
bhangi = position
Bharadvaja (Bharadwaja) = a Vedic rishi, great warrior described in the Mahabharata, Pindola
Bharadvaja was one of four arhats asked by Buddha to stay on earth to propagate Buddhist law, or
dharma
bharman = load, nourishment, care, burden, maintenance load
bheka = a frog
bherunda = terrible, frightful; it also means a species of a bird or a name of a yogi
bhuja = arm or shoulder
bhujanga (bhujagga) = serpent, snake
bhuja-pida = pressure on the arm or shoulder
bidala = cat
bija-mantra = a mystical syllable with a sacred prayer repeated mentally during pranayama, and the
seed thus planted in the mind germinates into one-pointedness
bindu (bindhu) = seed, point, dot, the creative potency of anything where all energies are focused, the
third eye
bitila = cow
Brahma = a five-headed first deity of the Hindu Trinity; the Supreme Being, the creator; responsible