Viniyoga is a Sanskrit word that has multiple meanings. In non-Hindu or Western context, viniyoga typically refers to the therapeutic style of hatha yoga as taught by T. K. V. Desikachar. Literal meanings include “separation”, “detachment”, and “leaving”, but the common meanings include “employment”, “use”, and “application”.
The root viniyuj means “to use”, “to employ”, “to do”, among other senses.
When used as a technical term in Hindu religious literature it refers to a short introductory section that gives standard details about the work, such as the sage (ṛṣi) who is said to have originated the work, the meter in which it is to be chanted, the deity (devatā) considered to preside over it, and other technical details of its use.
The word appears in the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, where sutra 3.6 says that the application of the practice of saṁyama takes place in stages