A non-yogi friend of mine asked me if there is an asana named after donkey or a rat. I thought the question was funny and thought about it more. Most of the animal stretches that have been copied to yoga are animals that are inspiring. The animal that we adore the most and copy is the svana or the dog. Upward facing and downward facing dog poses, probably the only animal that inspired two asanas. It is another matter that the poor dogs have to learn yoga from humans in the US of A. I guess why we do not have a donkey or rat asana is that they don’t inspire us so much.
So, how did they go about naming the asanas? Asana names are inspired from everywhere, keeping up with the evolution. Plants, animals- aquatic, amphibians, quadrupeds, birds, insects, hindu gods, legendary heroes are helpful.
Some asanas named after plants like tree (vrksasana), palm tree (tadasana). I know tadasana in the west is usually interpreted as mountain. It actually means a palm tree.
Some are named after animals that live in water- fish (matsyasana). Some amphibians like frog (bhekasana, mandukasana) and other reptiles using both water and land like crocodile (makarasana), turtle (kurmasana), cobra (bhujangasana). A few others based on insect or something close – locust (salabhasana) and Scorpion (vrschika).
Birds that inpired yogis- peacock, rooster, pigeon, eagle, crane and swan. There are a few imaginary ones like cakravakasana, a bird that survives on moisture in the air. This is the bird dog pose.
There are other asanas named after quadrupeds – lion (simhasana), camel (ustrasana), dog (svanasana), cat (marjalasana), cow (gomukhasana), horse (vatayasana). Glaringly absent is the elephant, which breathes like a true yogi.
Hindu gods, heroes, geometry and furniture names have all made it to asanas. The criteria for making it to the yoga asana is that there must be a unique inspiring aspect about an animal or a thing that helps you in the journey of yoga. The next time you do bhujangasana, feel the spirit of the animal, get in the act and strike like a cobra. Hissss…I mean om.
I read in Light on Yoga that the yogi is not supposed to despise any creation however low they may be in the evolutionary totem pole, for it is the same universal spirit that resides in all. Ok then, I have to work really hard at liking the human species : )
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