Every year at our party some or one of the awesome OM yoga teachers does a Pose of the Month dance which gives us a fun review of all the poses we’ve worked on during the months that year.  But this year we did something a little bit different.   I combined some of the elements of our practice:  the fact that everybody at any level can work on any pose, because you can always work on one element at a time or make the seed actions of a larger position, such as internal rotation instead of a full bind.  And…the other element that I love is a Pop Quiz in yoga class.  So I asked everyone to get up and walk around and look at each other while we did that.  That already was fun.  Then I began to call out the poses — only in Sanskrit (that’s the pop quiz part, but it is important to know the Sanskrit names, right?) and this is what happened!

Eka Pada Prasarita Padotanasana

Jeremy helps Jonathan do Nadi Shodanam Pranayama.

Titibhasana -- not so easy in party clothes and tight jeans.

Dhanurasana with Patty in the middle.

Ardha Uttanasana aka Uttanasana 2 aka The Pose Formerly Known As Flat Back

Do you think it is important for yoga teachers (and yoga students) to know the Sanskrit names of yoga asanas?  Yes?  No?  Why?  Why not?

posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 6:45 am.