Yoga Alphabet and the Sandwich Analogy

So the concept is this: the biggest teachers of Yoga are the postures themselves, soooo, why not an ABC of yoga postures? Each posture will be posted in alphabetical order in Sanskrit for ease of reference. For those now raising their eyebrows in horror thinking they’ve never been to India on holiday, let alone tried speaking its ancient language, I’ll explain right about now that postures are sometimes called different things in English whereas in Sanskrit it’s always the same. If you’re totally new to the Sanskrit names, then I’ll draw the sandwich analogy. If not, skip that part.

The Sandwich Analogy
Imagine you’re about to make a sandwich. Before you even start, you know that one of your ingredients is going to be bread. What you’re going to have as the filling will depend on what you’ve got in the cupboard, your preferences and of course your sandwich making abilities. This is like the posture names for yoga. What you’re actually doing in the posture changes from pose to pose, but the fact that it’s a yoga posture (aka asana) is always the same. So asana means posture and I added on the end of each pose. For example Gomukhasana, cow posture or Trikonasana, triangle posture.


So, I’ll post under the Sanskrit names a little about the posture itself and the way I practice it. Then I’ll add in what that particular posture has taught me. At any time you’re more than welcome to comment, advise, add your thoughts, or even post your own version of the posture. This whole thing is meant to be interactive (see my post #1) so really, anything goes.