An asana (Sanskrit: आसन, IAST: āsana) is a body posture, used in both medieval hatha yoga and modern yoga.Template:Sfn The term is derived from the Sanskrit word for 'seat'. While many of the oldest mentioned asanas are indeed seated postures for meditation, asanas may be standing, seated, arm-balances, twists, inversions, forward bends, backbends, or reclining in prone or supine positions. The asanas have been given a variety of English names by competing schools of yoga.Template:Sfn
The traditional number of asanas is the symbolic 84, but different texts identify different selections, sometimes listing their names without describing them.[1]Template:Efn Some names have been given to different asanas over the centuries, and some asanas have been known by a variety of names, making tracing and the assignment of dates difficult.Template:Sfn For example, the name Muktasana is now given to a variant of Siddhasana with one foot in front of the other, but has also been used for Siddhasana and other cross-legged meditation poses.[2] As another example, the headstand is now known by the 20th century name Shirshasana, but an older name for the pose is Kapalasana.[1]Template:Sfn Sometimes, the names have the same meaning, as with Bidalasana and Marjariasana, both meaning Cat Pose.Template:Sfn[3]
Affixes
Variations on the basic asanas are indicated by Sanskrit affixes including the following:
| English | Sanskrit | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adho | अधो | downward | Adho Mukha Shvanasana (downward [facing] dog) |
| Ardha | अर्ध | half | Ardha Padmasana (half lotus) |
| Baddha | बद्ध | bound | Baddha Konasana (bound angle) |
| Dvi | द्वि | two | Dvi Pada Kaundinyasana (two-legged Kaundinya) |
| Eka | एक | one | Eka Pada Shirshasana (one-legged headstand) |
| Kon | कोण | angle | Parshvakonasana (side angle) |
| Parshva | पार्श्व | side | Parshva Bakasana (side crane) |
| Parivritta | परिवृत्त | revolved | Parivritta Trikonasana (reverse triangle) |
| Prasarita | प्रसारित | spread out | Prasarita Padottanasana (wide stance forward bend) |
| Salamba | सालम्ब | supported | Salamba Shirshasana (supported headstand) |
| Supta | सुप्त | supine, reclining | Supta Virasana (reclining hero) |
| Upavishta | उपविष्ठ | seated | Upavishta Konasana (wide-angle seated forward bend) |
| Urdhva | ऊर्ध्व | upwards | Urdhva Dhanurasana (upwards bow) |
| Utthita | उत्थित | extended | Utthita Trikonasana (extended triangle) |
| Viparita | विपरीत | inverted | Viparita Dandasana (inverted staff) |
Asanas
A single asana is listed for each main pose, whether or not there are variations. Thus for Sirsasana (Yoga headstand), only one pose is illustrated, although the pose can be varied by moving the legs apart sideways or front-and-back, by lowering one leg to the floor, by folding the legs into lotus posture, by turning the hips to one side, by placing the hands differently on the ground, and so on. Iyengar's 1966 Light on Yoga lists 15 variations on the basic headstand, including for instance the combined variation Parivrttaikapada Sirsasana in which not only are the hips revolved but the legs are apart front-and-back.Template:Sfn Since then, variations of many other poses have been created; their names are not listed here.[4] Yin Yoga names are for the equivalent Yin variants; these are usually somewhat different from the conventional (Yang) poses.
Indian texts are "notoriously difficult to date".Template:Sfn The table shows the approximate date and abbreviated title of the earliest document or authority to describe that asana (not only naming it), as follows:
- AS = Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitā, c. 7th century
- BaH = Bahr al-Hayāt, 17th century
- DU = Darśana Upaniṣad, c. 4th century
- GhS = Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā, 17th century
- GS = Gorakṣaśataka, 10th century
- HAP = Hațhābhyāsapaddhati, 18th century
- HR = Haṭha Ratnāvali, 17th century
- HY = Hemacandra's Yogaśāstra, 11th century
- HYP = Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, 15th century
- JP = Joga Pradīpikā, 18th century
- LoY = Light on Yoga, 1966
- PL = Post-Light on YogaTemplate:Efn
- PSV = Pātañjalayogaśāstravivaraṇa, 8th century
- ShS = Śiva Saṃhitā, 14th century
- ST = Śrītattvanidhi, 19th century
- TB = Theos Bernard, 1950
- TK = Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, c. 1940
- V = Vimānārcanākalpa, 10th century
- VM = Vivekamārtaṇḍa, 13th century
- VS = Vāsiṣṭha Saṁhitā, 13th century
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See also
- Mudra – yoga gestures
- Pranayama – yoga breathing techniques
- Surya Namaskar – a foundational sequence of asanas
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Eighty-Four Asanas in Yoga: A Survey of Traditions{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. D. K. Printworld(2007). ISBN 978-8124604175
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Muktasana. Yogapedia. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cat Pose – Marjariasana. Akasha Yoga. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ↑ #YJ40: 10 Poses Younger Than Yoga Journal. Yoga Journal(15 July 2015).
- ↑ Anjaneyāsana - Learning devotion from Hanuman. Yoga Aktuell({Template:Date).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 How to do Bhadrasana?. The Yoga Institute(3 August 2018). Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ↑ Balasana - Child Pose. Akasha Yoga. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 A Response to Mark Singleton's Yoga Body by JamesMallinson(9 December 2011). Retrieved 4 January 2019. revised from American Academy of Religions conference, San Francisco, 19 November 2011.
- ↑ Gomukhasana (Cow Face Posture). The Divine Life Society(2011). Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ↑ Head to Knee Pose – Janushirshasana. Akasha Yoga. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ↑ Noose Pose. Yoga Journal(28 August 2007). Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ↑ Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi: The man who promoted Surya Namaskar. The Economic Times (India)(15 June 2018).
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Bharatanatyam and Yoga(2001).
- ↑ Asana. Yoga Journal({Template:Date).
- ↑ Utkatasana | Chair Pose. Akasha Yoga Academy. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ↑ Sitting Postures for Pranayama and Meditation. Yoga in Daily Life. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ↑ The Viveka-mārtaṇḍa on pratyāhāra in viparītakaraṇī with James Mallinson, Westoby, Ruth. SOAS, University of London(October 2019). Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 #YJ40: 10 Poses Younger Than Yoga Journal. Yoga Journal(15 July 2015).
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Virabhadrasana or Warrior Pose. Bahiranga.com(2 August 2016). Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ↑ You Don't Have to Play Martyr in Hero Pose. Yoga Journal(28 August 2007). Retrieved 16 November 2018.
Sources
- The Yoga Upanishads{{#if:Ayyangar|, Ayyangar}. The Adyar Library(1938)
- Hatha yoga : the report of a personal experience{{#if:Bernard|, Bernard}. Harmony(2007). ISBN 978-0-9552412-2-2
- The Path of Modern Yoga : the history of an embodied spiritual practice{{#if:Goldberg|, Goldberg}. Inner Traditions(2016). ISBN 978-1-62055-567-5
- Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika{{#if:Iyengar|, Iyengar}. Thorsons(1979). ISBN 978-1855381667
- Yoga Makaranda{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(2006)
- Yoga : India's Philosophy of Meditation{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Motilal Banarsidass(2008). ISBN 978-81-208-3349-4
- The book of yoga{{#if:Lidell|, Lidell}. Ebury(1983). ISBN 978-0-85223-297-2
- The Gheranda Samhita: the original Sanskrit and an English translation{{#if:Mallinson|, Mallinson}. YogaVidya(2004). ISBN 978-0-9716466-3-6
- Roots of Yoga{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Penguin Books(2017). ISBN 978-0-241-25304-5
- Yoga: The Iyengar Way{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Dorling Kindersley(1990). ISBN 978-0863184208
- Yoga Asanas for Health and Fitness, Murugan, Chillayah. Silambam(20 October 2012). Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- Insight Yoga{{#if:Powers|, Powers}. Shambhala(2008). ISBN 978-1-59030-598-0
- Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha{{#if:Saraswati|, Saraswati}. Yoga Publications Trust(1996). ISBN 978-8186336144
- A review of asanas referenced in ancient texts and a brief comparative study of selected asanas. International Journal of Sanskrit Research({Template:Date).
- Hatha Ratnavali Srinivasayogi | A Treatise On Hathayoga{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. The Lonavla Yoga Institute(2002). ISBN 81-901176-96
- Yoga Body : the origins of modern posture practice{{#if:Singleton|, Singleton}. Oxford University Press(2010). ISBN 978-0-19-539534-1
- The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace{{#if:Sjoman|, Sjoman}. Abhinav Publications(1999). ISBN 81-7017-389-2