Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

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What’s on the Sanskrit board this week you ask? Body parts!

When we think of yoga posture, it is of course made up of actions of our physical body. In translating many Sanskrit pose names, you will find the pieces explain what those body parts are doing.

Learning the names of the most common body parts begins your journey to understanding Sanskrit names of poses. There aren’t too many, but as we know, yoga makes some fun combinations!

  • Sirsa – head
  • Anga – limbs or body
  • Janu – knee
  • Angustha – big toe
  • Hasta – hands
  • Pada – feet
  • Jathara – belly
  • Anguli – fingers
  • Bhuja – arms
  • Mukha – face

Can you come up with one pose name that includes one or more of the above body parts? Or, listen more closely in class this week and see if you can pick them out! Or, even more fun, can you come up with a song like the title of this blog to share?

Come visit Bona Lisa, our skeletal friend, who is always here at The Yoga Place to help us better understand our bodies! And sing with me….Sirsa anga janu pada janu pada….

Jennie Williford CIYT

Jennie Williford (CIYT Level 3) is a transplant to LaCrosse via Montana, Illinois, and originally Texas. Throughout her life moves and 5 trips to India, Jennie has acquired a well-rounded and multi-faceted approach to Iyengar Yoga since her start in 1998. Jennie loves the experimental and explorative nature of yoga in accessing deeper knowledge of the Self on every level. The practice of yoga can be intense and introspective, however as practitioners we can be light-hearted and open-minded in our discipline. Jennie is intrigued by the philosophy of yoga and hopes to share this depth of subject while teaching the physical and mental benefits that come from the practice of posture.