Yogi and Yogini: Who the Word Actually Describes
योगीyogin / yoginī
Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 27 September 2026
A yogi is someone who practises yoga — feminine yogini — with the older sense implying a committed ascetic rather than anyone who attends a class.
In short
- Yogin is the formal masculine, yoginī the feminine; English borrowed the form 'yogi'.
- The root yuj means to yoke or join.
- In the texts the word implies renunciation and long practice, not a weekly class.
- Yoginī also names a class of powerful female figures in tantric texts and temples.
- Modern loose usage for any regular practitioner is now standard and not worth resisting.
Derivation
Yogin is the Sanskrit masculine, yoginī the feminine; yogi is the nominative form English took up. The root yuj means to yoke or join, so a yogi is one who is yoked — to a discipline, and in the texts' terms, to the goal of that discipline.
The older sense
In classical sources a yogi is not a hobbyist. The word implies renunciation, sustained practice, often withdrawal from ordinary life. The Bhagavad Gita's sixth chapter, sometimes called the yoga of meditation, describes the yogi seated alone in a clean place, moderate in food and sleep, mind gathered and senses restrained. Medieval accounts of wandering yogis describe an identifiable social class with its own orders and reputations, not always a flattering one in the eyes of contemporaries.
Yogini
Yoginī carries a second, more specific meaning in tantric texts: a class of powerful female figures, worshipped in open circular temples such as those at Hirapur in Odisha and Bhedaghat in Madhya Pradesh, where sixty-four or eighty-one figures line the enclosure. So the word means both "woman who practises" and this particular tantric category, depending on context.
Modern usage
Today "yogi" is used loosely for anyone with a regular practice, and there is nothing wrong with that; languages move. It is worth keeping the older weight in view, though, because when the texts describe what a yogi can do they assume the older commitment, not a weekly class.
Where this is practised here
Questions people ask
+ Is yogi male and yogini female?
+ When can someone call themselves a yogi?
+ What is a yogini temple?
References
- Bhagavad Gita, chapter 6.
- Vidya Dehejia, "Yogini Cult and Temples: A Tantric Tradition" (National Museum, New Delhi, 1986).
- Mallinson & Singleton, "Roots of Yoga" (Penguin Classics, 2017).
Educational content, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting new practices if you have a health condition or are pregnant.