Words by Elle Daniel

As a language geek, I always was keen to know the meaning of the Sanskrit names of poses my teachers would cue. Many of them are practically descriptive, such as Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (literally, ‘standing hand to big toe pose’), many esoteric (those named after various sages and gods) and then there are a bunch that are named after the feeling they produce. Finding something to relate to in the names of yoga poses can be a profound gateway into the practice yoga for a newcomer to whom yoga, as an ancient system, may seem in many ways inscrutable,

I first started getting curious about the evocative nature of pose names in an Ashtanga class I went to when I myself was new to yoga. Utkatāsana is often translated to be ‘chair pose’ and this is what I was told it meant back then. My confusion and curiosity came about when I found this particular pose to be in no way like sitting into a chair. Yes, the action is that of sitting down, but with none of the comfort and relief that a chair brings, so when I researched further and discovered that a more direct translation was ‘fierce pose’, that made a lot more sense. No matter how strong your practice, this pose certainly feels fierce at any level. Fierce pose can initially be understood as fierce on the body, often instigating muscular tremors and the onset of physical fatigue. However, once the practitioner commits to the challenge that this pose presents, your chair becomes more and more like a powerful throne.

Another pose I love is humble warrior. In the context of the warrior pose family, it is essentially warrior 1 in a bowing position. It’s often considered an easier pose, with the goal being to get the head as close, if not all the way, to the floor, enhancing a ‘humble’ gesture. However, humility is required in order to accept one’s limitations within this pose; getting the head all the way to the floor is actually food for the ego and therefore a fight with, rather than surrender to, the higher self. I see people take a number of physical short cuts to deepen the appearance of this pose, a common one being to throw the pelvis way out of alignment, which increases the risk of injury to the lower back. The beauty of this pose is that you can be both a fierce and powerful warrior whilst still being humble, using your natural gifts as unique superpowers. 

At the beginning of many dynamic yoga asana classes comes the sun salutations, or Surya Namāskar (Surya – sun, Namaskar – to salute/greet). If you were to take this series of poses literally, we would probably rarely practice them in the northern hemisphere, because of how little sun there is to actually greet. The sun, in this case, is actually linking to the sun within, the solar plexus, which is our 3rd chakra, corresponding to the area between the navel and the lower ribs. Think of this space as your central heating. It contains what is known in the yoga tradition as ‘Agni’ or digestive fire. In more familiar terms it’s the site of the body’s digestion, converting food into energy. We need heat for digestion: enter the ritual of Surya Namaskar. There is also something affirming about igniting an internal flame. It reminds us that we don’t need to look to external things for completion. This pretty much sums up what yoga is about, understanding our inner world to better relate to the one outside. I practice Surya Namaskar daily, not just for the physical vigour, but also to remind myself of why yoga is so important in my life.

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