Hello BPY Yogis!  Next up on our journey through yoga lingo, I would like to introduce some of the Sanskrit basics when learning yoga posture names.   To facilitate understanding the names of poses in yoga, you may find it to be most helpful to gain an understanding of what the root words are that forms the construct of each Sanskrit word or phrase. The names can be broken down into similar categories and then observed how they can be combined. When we see the separate names that combine to create a pose, the logic of how they are formed easily leads to the understanding of other combinations/pose names, for many roots are shared.   So for instance, any time you hear “hasta”, you can be assured your hand is going to be involved in the posture.  Hear your teacher say “dwi pada”, look to recruit both your feet/legs into a posture.

Ardha – Half

Eka – One, single, only.

Pada – The foot or leg

Supta – Supine, on your back

Baddha – Bound

Dwi – Two

Hasta – Hand

Janu – Knee

For a more complete listing, there are many resource online.

When I was in yoga teacher training, I remember learning all these new concepts and words. It can be overwhelming, especially at first.  Be patient.  Through repetition, these terms will become more familiar.