Yoga Pose Glossary

The different styles of yoga are world renowned and are taught and practiced all over the world. The postures, which are mainly, referred to as asanas in the yogic code of language forms an integral part of all these different styles of yoga. Although on the surface, all of the styles of yoga seem to share these postures in common but in reality, each style of yoga has a different emphasis, a different focus around which the entire exercise revolves. The most important styles of yoga, which are practiced and taught in today’s world are hatha yoga, vinyasa yoga (both of these are general terms, which are also used to describe other important styles of yoga), ashtanga yoga, power yoga (which is a direct inspiration of ashtanga yoga and is based on the flowing style of ashtanga yoga; the power yoga poses require a great level of energy and stamina), iyengar yoga, kundalini yoga, bikram yoga (which is also referred to as hot yoga because of the increased temperature requirement in this particular form of yoga), anusara yoga, jivamukti, forest, integral and sivananda (the last three styles have a greater level of intensity in terms of physical activity and usually include some chants). Some of these poses are common in some types of yoga while others are exclusive for only one type of yoga. Having quite interesting names, the yoga pose glossary is a colorful account, the basic essentials of which are discussed further.

There are particular categories in which these poses (or asanas as they are called) are divided. In the light of their structure and function, the main groups of yoga postures are inclusive of standing category of poses, seated category of poses, reclining (prone & supine) asanas (yogic positions), forward bends postures, back bends postures, side bends postures, twists category of poses, inverted and balancing postures. Some of the most interesting sounding yoga poses are the yoga cat pose, yoga crescent pose and the yoga tree pose. While the ‘yoga tree pose’ is the basic form of the yoga balancing pose, it employs three lines of energy, all of which are emitting from the center outwards. The first line carries down the straight leg; the second line goes up the length of the spine and to the ends of the fingertips whiles the third line of energy moves in an outward direction through the bent knee. As for the yoga cat pose, it aims to teach the way to start movement from the very center and reach a compatible level of coordination between the movement and the breathing pattern, both of which are two of the most significant themes in terms of asana practice. The yoga crescent pose brings together the powers of mental concentration while at the same time it allows the practitioner to reach a soothing and calm mental state. Besides it also helps in developing a certain level of balance and stability while strengthening the legs and feel along with contributing towards increasing the degree of flexibility in the hips and knees. Then there are some other important yoga poses such as the yoga warrior pose and the yoga chair pose.

Also there is a series of poses prescribed for people who have diabetes. These yoga poses for diabetes include the sun salutation pose, the peacock pose, the locust pose, the leg lift pose and the chest-knee pose. As for the advanced yoga poses, they are tougher than the beginners yoga poses in terms of level of flexibility requirements along with an increased demand for strength and stamina. On the World Wide Web, there are many websites that offer the pictorial as well as the literal demonstration of poses.

These online yoga poses help a great deal in clearing many doubts and answering many questions that people have about yoga postures. Some poses that help one to acquire a better posture include the corpse pose, wind relieving pose and triangle pose, which are essential yoga poses for the back.

Summarizing the passage, different poses of yoga have different purposes. However the most important thing is to realize the potential of each pose and utilize its benefits in the right manner.