Go Deeper into your Practice by understanding the Sanskrit

The language of yoga is Sanskrit, an ancient language still mainly only spoken by the Brahman priests of the Hindu temples. Exploring the root words of the names of common yoga poses provides a deepen experience and more significance to every practice of the pose.

With the 'NEW' launch of my On Demand videos the How To.. channel looks at each yoga pose to help you to understand the Sanskrit word and meaning and the alignment of the pose.

So here I share the light on 2 common poses. These can be found in the How To... Channel.

Dandasana - Staff Pose

Daṇḍa,means stick, staff, or scepter. The ‘staff’ refers specifically to the spine,.The walking stick’s significance dates back to yogi ascetics’ treks across India from one pilgrimage site to the next. The scepter represents the sovereign power of the self-realised yogi. With this in mind, the next time you practice this common seated pose, you may feel more supported and empowered

Paschimottanasana - Intense West Stretch Pose

Paścima, meaning west, and uttānā, meaning intense stretch. To understand how the pose got this name, you’d have to know that orientation was an important consideration in traditional yoga.

When practising, ancient yogis genera

lly faced east, the direction of the rising sun and a symbol of the dawn of spiritual knowledge. Thus in yoga, the back of the body became known as the “western side” and the front as the “eastern.”

So this seated posture got its name for its stretch on the entire back line of the body. And according to the Shiva Samhita, daily practice of this pose induces breath to flow west to the sushumna nadi that runs through the spine. Next time you practice this forward bend, consider facing your mat toward the east to honour the tradition of the the long line of yogis before you.

If this has whet your appetite to discover more go visit the On Demand and visit the How To.. Channel. Feel free to message me if you would like a certain pose shown here.