Jiva

The individual soul or living being. It is pure consciousness (atman) when identified with a particular body-mind.

In yoga philosophy, jīva represents the individual aspect of universal consciousness, temporarily limited by the sheaths (koshas) and karmic impressions (samskaras). The goal of practice is to recognize that jīva and Brahman are, in essence, one.

Haṭha Yoga purifies the vehicles of jīva to facilitate this recognition.