Yoga Poses

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Yoga poses are named positions that have a standing in the yoga community. The names are in Sanskrit, which is a rough equivalent to Latin in the Indian language hierarchy. Unlike Latin, Sanskrit is still used in many formal settings in modern India, and it is also one of the official languages of India. A Sanskrit name for a yoga pose would look something like this: Tadasana. Tadasana roughly translates into the mountain pose in English, and most of the pose names sport similarly simplistic naming.

There are a few prevalent themes in yoga pose naming. Many animals show up, such as fish, kingfisher, dog, and locust. There are also plants and land features, such as the lotus, mountain, tree, and river poses. Still others are more descriptive of what the pose entails, such as the head stand or the raised hand to big toe poses.

The different yoga poses scale in difficulty from the simple mountain pose to the elaborate crane pose. What makes one simple and the other complex? Well the mountain pose is literally standing straight up with your arms at your sides. The keys to the pose are keeping your head, neck, shoulders, and pelvis aligned vertically. Essentially, you need to stand without slouching and with your head up, and you’ve mastered the mountain pose.

That’s quite a contrast with the crane pose, where you have to contort your body and you end up balancing on your palms. The pose looks strange, so picture this if you will. Your arms are locked, palms flat against the ground. They rise at an inverted angle to your shoulders, where your knees are firmly lodged. Your calves nestle against the back of your upper arms, and your thighs are flat against your torso, which is parallel to the ground. The entire affair balances on your palms and wrists, and if you fall forward there is nothing to cushion your fall, since your hands are already occupied. This is the type of yoga pose that outsiders can only look at with wonder. It requires great balance, flexibility, and patience, and it’s not something your instructor would have you doing on the first day.

While the crane pose is an advanced position that you can’t move forward from, the mountain pose is a basic one that serves as the foundation for several more complex poses. Almost every standing position begins from the mountain pose and then adjusts the feet and hands to stretch different muscle groups. The base yoga pose to begin the crane from is actually the mountain pose, as you squat down and prepare to balance on your wrists. There are other base poses, such as the lotus pose, which is the classical picture of meditation, your back is straight, your legs are crossed, and the backs of your hands are placed on your knees, palm up.

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