Viniyoga is a Sanskrit word that has multiple meanings. Literal meanings include "separation", "detachment", and "leaving", but the common meanings include "employment", "use", and "application". The root 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 who is said to have originated the work, the meter in which it is to be chanted, the deity 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 takes place in stages.

The term viniyoga has been used by T. K. V. Desikachar to describe his approach to utilizing the tools of yoga, in particular his conviction that yoga practice should be adapted to fit the individuality and particular situation of each practitioner. Desikachar later distanced himself from the term.

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