Sanskrit N

Question 1

Nada (“sound”)

Answer 1

the inner sound, as it can be heard through the practice of nada yoga or kundalini yoga

Question 2

Nada-Yoga (“Yoga of the [inner] sound”)

Answer 2

the yoga or process of producing and intently listening to the inner sound as a means of concentration and ecstatic self-transcendence

Question 3

Nadi (“conduit”)

Answer 3

one of 72,000 or more subtle channels along or through which the life force (prana) circulates, of which the three most important ones are the ida-nadi, pingala-nadi, and sushumna-nadi

Question 4

Nadi-shodhana (“channel cleansing”)

Answer 4

the practice of purifying the conduits, especially by means of breath control (pranayama)

Question 5

Narada

Answer 5

a great sage associated with music, who taught bhakti yoga and is attributed with the authorship of one of two Bhakti-Sutras

Question 6

Natha (“lord”)

Answer 6

appellation of many North Indian masters of yoga, in particular adepts of the Kanphata (“Split-ear”) school allegedly founded by Goraksha

Question 7

Neti-neti (“not thus, not thus”)

Answer 7

an Upanishadic expression meant to convey that the ultimate Reality is neither this nor that, that is, is beyond all description

Question 8

Nirodha (“restriction”)

Answer 8

in Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga, the very basis of the process of concentration, meditation, and ecstasy; in the first instance, the restriction of the “whirls of the mind” (citta-vritti)

Question 9

Niyama (“[self-]restraint”)

Answer 9

the second limb of Patanjali’s eightfold path, which consists of purity (saucha), contentment (samtosha), austerity (tapas), study (svadhyaya), and dedication to the Lord (ishvara-pranidhana)

Question 10

Nyasa (“placing”)

Answer 10

the Tantric practice of infusing various body parts with life force (prana) by touching or thinking of the respective physical area