Learning the names of yoga poses in Sanskrit is an important part of a yoga practioner’s path. While it can be intimidating to stare at a list of 200+ yoga asanas all named in foreign Sanskrit, there are lots of tips and tricks you can employ to learn Sanskrit yoga pose names easier.
Mastering just 11 key Sanskrit terms, can give you a big clue into how to perform a certain asana. I’ve written them down in these Sanskrit terms on a handy-dandy card to reference from time to time when a word or two gets rusty. I recommend creating a little card or post-it note for yourself to help learn these key Sanskrit words easier.
Key Sanskrit Terms in Yoga
- Chakra = Rotate
- Namana = Bending
- Gooran = Crank
- Bundah = Lock
- Sunchallan = Movement
- Supta = Laying Down
- Gutuckmuck = Dynamic
- Arkarsan = Stretching
- Mukta = Releasing
- Utana = Stretching
- Parsara = Spreading
Sanskrit Terms for Yoga Teachers
Here is a list of the names of the body parts in Sanskrit that are relevant to a yoga asana practice. It’s actually more difficult than I initially thought to locate all the body parts in a video or a list, so I’m excited to provide it here for you. Yoga anatomy in Sanskrit! Here we go!Yoga Anatomy in Sanskrit
Let’s go head to toe: Please note that the “H” is always silent in Sanskrit- Head = Sirsha (Pronounced Seer-Saw)
- Face = Mukha (Pronounced Moo-Kah)
- Neck = Griva or Greeva (Pronounced Gree-Vah)
- Shoulder = Skandha (Pronounced Skan-Duh)
- Elbow = Kehuni (Pronounced Key-Who-Knee)
- Wrist = Manibundha (Pronounced Money-Bun-Duh)
- Hand = Hasta (Pronounced Ah-Stah)
- Fist = Mushtika (Pronounced Moo-Stee-Kah)
- Finger = Anguli (Pronounced Un-Goo-Lee)
- Abdominal = Udar (Pronounced Oo-Dar)
- Waist = Kati (Pronounced Cut-ee)
- Hips = Shroni (Pronounced Shrow-Knee)
- Back/Spine = Meru (Pronounced May-Roo)
- Leg/Foot = Pada (Pronounced Pah-Duh)
- Knee = January (Pronounced January)
- Ankle = Goolf (Pronounced Ghoul-Faw)
- Toes = Padanguli (Pronounced Paw-done-goo-lee)
- Big Toe = Angustha (Pronounced On-Goo-Stah)
- Whole Body = Sarvanga (Pronounced Sar-vawn-guh)
