Glossary of Spiritual & Wellness Practices

Yoga is a comprehensive system including physical postures (asana), breathwork (pranayama), and meditation (dhyana). Meditation specifically refers to practices of focused attention or awareness. You can meditate without doing physical yoga, and many yoga classes include meditation as one component.

Key Differences

• Yoga — Broader system with 8 limbs including ethics, postures, breath, meditation
• Meditation — Mental practice that can be done independently or as part of yoga
• Modern usage — "Yoga class" usually means physical practice; "meditation" means seated practice

Attention-Based

• Mindfulness (Vipassana) — Present-moment awareness
• Concentration (Samatha) — Single-pointed focus
• Mantra meditation — Repetition of sacred sounds

Heart-Based

• Loving-kindness (Metta) — Cultivating compassion
• Tonglen — Tibetan "taking and giving"

Movement-Based

• Walking meditation — Mindful, slow walking
• Qigong/Tai Chi — Chinese moving meditation
• Kirtan — Call-and-response chanting

Most Beginner-Friendly

• Gentle/Restorative Yoga — Slow-paced, accessible postures
• Guided meditation apps — Structure for beginners
• Sound baths — Completely passive; just lie down
• Kirtan — No experience needed; call-and-response is intuitive

How to Start

1. Pick one practice — don't try everything at once
2. Find a beginner-friendly event
3. Go with curiosity, not expectations
4. Try a few times before judging