Learning The Language of Yoga

It’s one thing to watch someone do yoga or even do it oneself; but learning the whys and wherefores of yoga is another thing. It’s like learning another language. In fact, it is learning another language. Most of the terms in yoga come from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language.

What would you do if someone asked you to do the Urdva Dandasana pose? Easy. Everyone knows it is the plank, right? Not that it is easy for me to do, but I do it as best I can. How about the Balasana pose? This is my favorite. It’s child pose. I couldn’t survive the more strenuous poses if I didn’t know I could soon rest in child pose. Then there is Savanasana or corpse pose. At the end of each practice we get to rest in corpse pose, relax in our blended nature of body, mind and spirit and feel alive in every cell of our body. It is the cherry on top of our beautiful yoga practice at Bodhi Yoga in Provo. www.gobodhiyoga.com

As we sit up one more time in Sidhasana-Sukasana or easy pose with our legs crossed and hands together at our hearts we chant OM three times. We feel the resonance of all the positive energy we have drawn on together and end with a bow of the head and say “Namaste.” Namaste means “The divine in me salutes the divine in you.” What a sweet salutation to end our session together. There are many more poses; sitting, standing and kneeling. You have just given your body, mind and spirit the recognition they deserve in your life. Working together you can experience the peace and joy of yoga without even knowing another language.