10 Yoga Terms to Know Before Your First Class

March 18, 2022

Whether it’s your first class, or you consider yourself a “yogi,” you might hear some unfamiliar words or phrases in yoga class. Read below for a breakdown of the most common yoga terms and postures, to help you feel more comfortable and confident in class. (When in doubt, copying the person next to you is always an acceptable backup method - everyone had their first yoga practice at some point!)

Yoga should not be intimidating. Once you get to the studio, stay non-competitive, each pose and sequence can be adapted to your body and your needs.

Poses You Might Hear During a Yoga Class

Asana

You’ll notice that each yoga pose is followed by asana when it is spoken in Sanskrit as it is the suffix for every posture. The literal translation of asana is “seat,” this term refers more specifically to the yoga positions that you “take a seat in and watch how the breath reacts”.

Mountain Pose / Tadasana

Mountain Pose is the human body’s ideal standing alignment. It can help undo the patterns formed in the body from sitting or other repetitive movements or asymmetrical habits. It is grounding, calming, and energizing.

Explore Mountain Pose:

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart or place your big toes together and have a bit of room in between your heels. The outside of your feet should be parallel to your mat.
2. Place a micro bend in your knees, engaging your quads to draw your kneecaps upward. This will also help your connectivity to the Earth.
3. Draw your low belly in and up toward your spine and lengthen your tailbone to the floor to engage your core and stabilize your pelvis.
4. Lift the center of your chest straight up and broaden across your collarbones.
5. Draw the nape of your neck back and lengthen the top of your head upward.
6. Relax your arms alongside your body, fingers pointing to the ground.
7. Your ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles should all line up if you are taking a side glance of the body.

Benefits:

• Improves posture.
• Deepens breath.
• Strengthens feet, ankles, legs, hips, core, back, shoulders, and neck.

KEY POINT, you should be able to find your Mountain Pose in each and every pose you practice.

Forward Fold / Uttanasana

We “forward fold” a lot in our day: sitting, hunching over our computers, using our phones, and bending down to pick things up. When done incorrectly, a Forward Fold can cause back, hip and neck strain, and even injury. When done properly, forward folding is beneficial to the mind, body, and breath.

Explore Forward Fold:

1. From Mountain Pose, place your hands on your hips, put a generous bend in your knees, and hinge from the hips to fold forward. The key is to fold from hips not the waist (i.e., don’t round your back to fold forward).
2. Allow the pelvis to rotate around the femur bones. This may mean you don’t go as far, and that is great as you are finding the posture with anatomical integrity.
3. Your hands can stay on your hips as you fold, or lower to the floor. There are many variations for the arms that you can explore as you take classes.
4. To elongate the hamstrings, engage the quadriceps.
5. To decompress the spine, bend the knees until your upper body can hang down toward the floor, allowing the head to release downward too.

Benefits:

• Decompresses the spine and keeps it flexible.
• Moves blood to heart and brain.
• Lengthens your back body including hamstrings and back muscles.
• Calms the nervous system.

Downward Facing Dog / Adho Mukha Svanasana

Downward Facing Dog Pose is an inversion that tones the arms and legs, opens and strengthens the shoulders in flexion, lengthens the hamstrings, stretches the calves and prepares the body to open.

Explore Downward Facing Dog Pose:

1. 1. Start in a table top position with your feet hip-width apart and toes tucked under, if you look back at your feet though your legs you should not be able to see your heels. Now shift your gaze to your hands, have your index fingers pointing to the front of your mat, thumbs going in to the center, pinky ring and middle finger should be trying to face the sides of your mat. Imagine your hand is on a basketball, the center of the palm should be off the earth.
2. Place a micro bend in your knees as you lift them off the floor. If you are tight the knees should remain soft.
3. Draw your low belly in and up toward your spine and lengthen your tailbone to the floor to engage your core and stabilize your pelvis.
4. Push your hips up to the ceiling and the tops of the thighs back and see if you can stretch your heels toward the floor.
5. Broaden the center of your chest and broaden across your collarbones.
6. Draw the nape of your neck back and lengthen the top of your head downward.
7. It is always a good idea to take your dog for a walk so peddle out the legs to get the to warmup.

Benefits:

• Improves spine health
• Opens the back muscles of the legs
• Strengthens feet, ankles, legs, hips, core, back, shoulders, and neck.

KEY POINT: You should not feel a lot of weight in the hands and wrists. If this is the case walk the feet in and shorten your dog.

Plank / Phalakasana

Plank is an arm balance and great for increasing strength. It’s also part of the Sun Salutation, so you will see it and its relatives, Forearm and Side Plank, in many flow yoga classes.

Explore Plank:

1. From your Lunge, step your front foot back so you are at the top of a push up, knees up or down.
2. Your shoulders should be slightly behind your wrists, with a small bend in your elbows. Press your hands into the floor.
3. Look about a foot in front of you so your head isn’t hanging down.
4. The body is in one straight line, so if your hips are lifted (like in Downdog) or sagging, engage your core to bring them to center.
5. Find your Mountain Pose alignment: feet hip-width, and if knees are lifted, press through your heels like you are standing on your feet; quads engaged; low belly drawing in and up; broaden the collarbones and reach the crown of your head away from your shoulders.

Benefits:

• Strengthens arms, shoulders, core, legs, ankles, and feet.

Child's Pose / Balasana

Yoga is about finding the balance between engagement and ease, both on and off the mat. Child's Pose is a respite for many, a posture that brings deep relaxation. It is a great posture to take if you need a pause in your day or in a yoga class.

Explore Child’s Pose:

1. From hands and knees, bring your knees wide apart and big toes to touch.
2. Sink your hips back toward your heels, they may not touch. If you are tighter in the hips and legs, this posture may be more challenging for you. Try using a blanket between your thighs and lower legs.
3. Release your head down toward the floor or your forehead onto a bolster or block.
4. Keep your arms outstretched but walk your hands back until your shoulders are relaxed.

Benefits:

• Stretches your hips, thighs, ankles, and back.
• Relaxes the brain.

Corpse Pose / Shavasana

Some yogis think Corpse Pose is the most difficult of all the yoga postures. At the end of most yoga classes, you are led into a supine position and asked to hold it for 2-10 minutes of relaxation. Being still like this can create a great mental and emotional challenge, especially if you aren’t used to the stillness.

It is in this stillness, however, that we cultivate one-pointed concentration that allows us to drop into a meditative state where we are neither asleep nor awake.

This posture gives your body, mind, and soul time to integrate and absorb all of the benefits of your yoga practice. And to find deep relaxation and restoration.

Explore Corpse Pose:

1. On your back, straighten your legs onto the floor, feet about hip-width apart but relaxed.
2. Bring your arms 6-12 inches away from your body on the floor, palms face up.
3. Make any adjustments needed to be comfortable. If having your legs straight brings discomfort into your low back, place a support under your knees. You can also place a short blanket under your head or over your body to calm the nerves and keep the body warm as you rest.

Benefits:

• Calms your mind and relaxes your body.

Other Terms You Might Hear in Class

Pranayama

This Sanskrit word refers to breath work. Prana translates roughly to “life force,” and yama means “to control.” Pranayama helps us watch our breathing through various exercises.

My teacher Richard Rosen states that the original intent of pranayama was to steady the breath in preparation for meditation. When you hear the term pranayama in class, the teacher is reminding everyone to focus on their breath. When everyone is holding a position that takes concentration, it’s easy to forget to breathe!

Drishti

Drishti is a focused gaze meant to draw awareness, concentration, and intent to your practice.

A drishti serves multiple functions in a yoga practice. The primary purpose is to create self-awareness while allowing you to withdraw. When you’re in a meditative state, exercising the right drishti helps you focus. Drishti also will help with balance while ensuring your body is in the proper alignment.

Namaste

The literal translation is “I bow to the light in you” .

Spiritually, the term namaste is meant to acknowledge each other’s spirit and holiness. It conveys that we are all divine and connected. If you hear “Namaste” - congrats! You’ve made it to the end of class.