Whether you do yoga in a studio in New Jersey or on the beach in California, or anywhere in between, you are practicing positions tied heavily to Hindu culture and mythology. Hindu mystics wandering in the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago created yoga positions based on their observations of animals, people and natural and man-made structures. Epic tales such as the Ramayana love epic and the Bhagavad Gita, a conversation between Lord Krishna and the warrior Arjuna, inspired other names for poses.
Birds
An eagle in Hindi is a garuda, the name of Indonesia's national airline, illustrating the profound cultural influence of India and its legends on Indonesia. This standing balancing posture recalls the garuda as a vehicle of Vishnu, the preserver of the universe and the supreme god in Hinduism; Lord Krishna is his avatar. The peacock, thought to be the son of Garuda, acts as the vehicle of the Devi Sarasvati, a goddess who furthers learning. The peacock pose requires balancing on the hands, body horizontal to the floor. Heron posture, a seated stretch for the hamstrings, arises from the Sanskit word krouncha. In the opening of the Ramayana, as Valmiki the sage marches through the forest, he comes upon a pair of herons. The similar crow and crane positions, with the knees supported by the biceps and the hands supporting the folded body, resemble a bird balanced on thin legs as its beak hovers above the ground, while the pigeon pose folds the legs under the body in such a way as to puff out your chest.
Animals and Reptiles
The monkey posture, which resembles a split, honors Hanuman, the magic monkey of the Ramayana, and his epic leap from southern India to the island of Sri Lanka. Additional positions resemble the creatures that the earliest mystics observed. The cobra is a lying position with the shoulders and head elevated. The cow and cat sequence are on all fours, with back sagging and arched respectively. Downward-facing dog resembles a dog bowing to greet its owner, while the gorilla pose involves placing your full hands under your feet. Less commonly performed poses in typical yoga classes are named after the scorpion, locust, fish and turtle.
Human Figures
The striking warrior pose, actually a series of three standing poses that you repeat in the sun salutation, recalls a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. The Sanskrit name for the warrior pose, virabhadrasana, suggests Shiva the destroyer, or the sweat falling from Shiva's brow when he flies into a rage at not being invited to a sacrifice held by another god, Daksa. The sweat becomes the demon Virabhadra. With his army, Virabhadra beheads Daksa and replaces his head with that of a goat. Carol Cavanaugh, writing in "Yoga Journal," says this pose can remind us that the life cycle invariably includes destruction, and we must avoid being either cowards or bullies in handling Shiva's destroying energy, attempting to handle it with dispassionate wisdom. The kneeling child's pose, 180 degrees from warrior in innocence, allows the body to recover and rest, while the happy baby involves lying on your back playfully grabbing your big toes. Corpse pose or savasana occurs as you lie still and quiet on your back.
Nature and Inanimate Objects
The lotus posture of folded stillness and the tree of rooted fixity resemble objects in nature. The bow pose, which stretches the quadriceps, recalls the chosen weapon of India's aristocracy. The chair pose suggests sitting in an invisible chair, and the bridge and more challenging wheel elevate the hips and whole body, respectively, off the floor. Various triangle poses looks like their name, and the boat pose, a seated V-shape, looks like a hull with a deep keel.
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