a pose by any other name...

on a recent hollywood bowl shuttle ride, i was chatting with my friend BDB about a yoga class i had taken earlier that week at a new studio. and about how our instructor couldn't have been too well-versed in her sanskrit because she had referred to plank pose as dandasana. and dandasana, as far as i know, is staff pose, which is when you're seated upright with your arms at your side and your legs together and extended in front of you.

so what's the sanskrit for plank?, he asked.

after thinking about it for a while, i admitted that i didn't know. after the hundreds of classes i'd taken, i couldn't remember anyone calling it anything other than "plank" or a "high push-up".

he laughed and pointed out that since i didn't know my sanskrit any better than the teacher did, i should be one to talk. hmph! so i turned things around and started ribbing him about his taste in yoga classes, since after all his years of practice, he still didn't know his uttanasana from his utkatasana. and he calls himself a yoga devotee? :)

(it later dawned on us that if the woman seated in front of us were eavesdropping on our conversation, she'd probably be shaking her head, thinking: "only in LA...")

still bothered by the fact that i still couldn't figure out the answer to his plank question, i checked yogajournal.com when i got home. and to my relief, even the authoritative reference website didn't have a sanskrit equivalent. so there!

so for the sake of mr. b and the others (including myself) who need a refresher course on the sanskrit names for the basic yoga postures, here's a quick list. by the way, i later found out that baptiste yoga teachers do refer to plank as dandasana. to each his own...

tadasana: mountain pose
urdvha hastasana: upward hand pose
utkatasana: chair pose
uttanasana: standing forward bend
urdhva mukha uttanasana: halfway lift *
kumbhakasana: plank *
chaturanga dandasana: four-limbed staff pose, or low push-up
bhujangasana: cobra pose
urdvha mukha svanasana: upward-facing dog
adho mukha svanasana: downward-facing dog
vasisthasana: side plank pose
virabhadrasana i: warrior i pose
virabhadrasana ii: warrior ii pose
virabhadrasana iii: warrior iii pose
anjaneyasana: crescent *
utthita parsvakonasana: extended side angle pose
parivrtta parsvakonasana: revolved side angle pose
utthita trikonasana: extended triangle pose
parivrtta trikonasana: revolved triangle pose
ardha chandrasana: half moon pose
parivrtta ardha chandrasana: revolved half moon pose
urdhva prasarita eka padasana: standing split *
padagusthasana: big toe pose
prasarita padottanasana: wide-legged forward bend
parsvottanasana: intense side stretch pose
garudasana: eagle pose
vrksasana: tree pose
malasana: garland pose, or squat
sukhasana: easy pose
balasana: child's pose
dandasana: staff pose
paschimottanasana: seated forward bend
janu sirsasaana: head-to-knee forward bend
upavistha konasana: wide-angle seated forward bend
baddha konasana: bound angle pose, or cobbler's pose
supta baddha konasana: reclining bound angle pose
virasana: hero pose
supta virasana: reclining hero pose
paripurna navasana: full boat pose
hanumanasana: monkey pose, or split
kapotasana: pigeon pose
gomukhasana: cow face pose
ardha matsyendrasana: half lord of the fishes pose, or seated twist
salambhasana: locust pose
dhanurasana: bow pose
setu bandha sarvangasana: bridge pose
urdvha dhanurasana: upward bow pose, or wheel
ustrasana: camel pose
halasana: plow pose
salamba sarvangasana: supported shoulderstand
matsyasana: fish pose
savasana: corpse pose

* these poses don't seem to have a widely-used sanskrit translation, although the terms i've listed have appeared on at least one website

finally, to help put in all into perspective, here's a cool yoga site that matches the sanskrit with photos of the actual poses: yoga postures library.

it's time to get out that yoga mat... enjoy!