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Yoga glossary.

Every pose in the library, plus the pranayama, bandhas, mudras, and philosophy terms teachers actually use. Search or filter by category.

Asana · 210

- 90/90 Stretch (seated, static): A static seated hip stretch, both knees bent to roughly ninety degrees, one leg in front and one behind, held still rather than switched dynamically. It's the stationary counterpart to 90/90 Hip Switch, isolating the held stretch sensation rather than the transitional movement between sides. View pose →
Adho Mukha Svanasana Downward Facing Dog: An inversion disguised as a resting pose. Downward Dog asks the shoulders to work like they would in a handstand while the legs get a genuine hamstring and calf stretch, and most of the common discomfort in it comes from skipping the shoulder work to chase straight legs. View pose →
Adho Mukha Vrksasana Handstand: A full inversion balancing on the hands alone, legs extending straight up. It's one of the more universally recognized peak poses, and it's also one where the gap between how it looks and how it's actually built, through patient, unglamorous strength and balance work, tends to be the widest. View pose →
Agnistambhasana Square (Fire Log): An intense seated hip release, one shin stacked directly over the other, flexed feet, folding forward over the stack. It asks for more outer hip range than Shoelace, and it's one of the more demanding hip openers in this family, deserving real patience and generous support. View pose →
Anahatasana Melting Heart: A passive shoulder and upper back release from hands and knees, the hips staying over the knees as the chest melts toward the floor. It shares its shape with the active Puppy Pose in Mobility Foundations, held here for a sustained yin duration with the same passive, melting quality. View pose →
Ananda Balasana Happy Baby: A supine hip and inner-thigh release, holding the outer feet with the knees drawing toward the armpits, often paired with a gentle rocking motion. It's a playful, accessible pose, and that lightness is part of what makes it effective as a counter to some of the more intense stretches elsewhere in this family. View pose →
Anjali Mudra Anjali Mudra: Palms pressed together at the heart center, the most widely used mudra in this entire practice, opening and closing countless sequences and appearing constantly within a single session. Its familiarity can make it easy to perform without much attention, which is worth naming directly rather than assuming its simplicity means nothing to teach. View pose →
Anjaneyasana Low Lunge: A kneeling lunge, the back knee down, the front knee bent, sinking the hips forward to stretch the back leg's hip flexor while the chest lifts. It's a gentler entry into hip flexor stretching than the standing lunge variations found elsewhere in this library, given the stability the back knee's contact with the floor offers. View pose →
Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana Half Bound Lotus Forward Fold: A seated forward fold combining a half lotus hip position with a bind behind the back, folding over one extended leg. It carries the same real prerequisite as any half lotus pose: the folded knee needs to rest without strain before anything else about this pose is worth attempting. View pose →
Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana Half Bound Lotus Fold: This fold combines a half lotus hip position with a bind behind the back and a balance on the other leg. It has real prerequisites in hip and knee mobility, and skipping past them to force the shape is one of the more common ways students injure a knee in a standing sequence. View pose →
Ardha Chandrasana Half Moon: A one-legged balance that opens the whole side of the body while the lifted leg reaches out behind. It's often taught as a triangle variation, but the balance demand changes the pose completely, and treating it as a triangle with a lifted leg tends to undersell how much standing-leg strength it really needs. View pose →
Ardha Chandrasana + Padahastasana Half Moon + Hands to Feet: A four-part compound pose that moves through both side bends, a backbend, and a forward fold, all from the same standing base with the feet together and hands overhead throughout. It's an efficient way to move the spine through nearly every direction in a short span, which is part of why it opens the Bikram standing sequence. View pose →
Ardha Hanumanasana Half Splits: A kneeling hamstring stretch, the front leg extending straight while the back knee stays grounded and the hips stay stacked over it, the torso folding forward over the extended front leg. It's a natural progression from Low Lunge, isolating the hamstring stretch more directly. View pose →
Ardha Kurmasana (Bikram) Half Tortoise: A kneeling forward fold from this room's fixed sequence, sitting on the heels with the arms reaching overhead before folding forward, forehead toward the floor and arms extending long ahead. Despite sharing a name with Kurmasana, this is a considerably gentler, more accessible shape. View pose →
Ardha Matsyendrasana Half Lord of the Fishes: A seated spinal twist with one leg crossed over the other, widely taught as a foundational twisting shape. The sequence of the rotation, starting low in the spine and working upward, matters as much as the final position. View pose →
Ardha Matsyendrasana (deep) Half Lord of the Fishes (deep): A deeper progression of Half Lord of the Fishes, sitting on the bent-under heel with the top foot crossed outside the opposite knee, adding a bind. It asks for considerably more hip and ankle range than the basic version, and it's worth treating as a genuine progression rather than an interchangeable variation. View pose →
Ardha Navasana Half Boat: A lower, more sustained variation of Boat Pose, holding the torso and legs at a lower angle, closer to the floor. The reduced height doesn't make it easier, if anything, the longer lever arm this position creates asks for more sustained core control. View pose →
Ardha Padmasana Half Lotus: A cross-legged seat with one foot resting on top of the opposite thigh and the other tucked underneath, roughly halfway between Easy Seat and full Lotus. It's truly underused as a standalone pose in most teaching, usually appearing only as a stepping stone inside other, more complex shapes. View pose →
Ardha Surya Namaskar Half Sun Salutation: A short, gentle warming sequence, moving between a standing reach, a forward fold, and a half-lift, without stepping back into a plank or chaturanga. It's often the very first movement pattern in a practice, meant to introduce the breath-movement connection before anything more demanding is asked of the body. View pose →
Ardha Uttanasana Half Lift: A brief flat-back position usually placed between a fold and standing, but worth teaching as a pose in its own right. Half Lift trains the spine to lengthen actively, which is a skill most forward folds are quietly asking for without saying so. View pose →
Astavakrasana Eight-Angle Pose: An advanced arm balance combining a twist with both legs wrapped around one arm, extending out to the side. It builds on the twisting and arm-balance foundations of Side Crow, adding a significant hip and core demand on top. View pose →
Baddha Hasta Sirsasana A/B/C/D Bound-Hands Headstands (A/B/C/D): A four-stage headstand progression, moving through four different forearm and hand configurations: interlaced fingers, closed fists, elbows drawn in without a hand connection, and hands gripping the opposite elbows. It closes out this family's headstand work with the widest range of technical variation offered anywhere in this library. View pose →
Baddha Konasana Bound Angle (A/B/C): The primary series progression of Bound Angle, moving through three distinct stages: a flat-spine fold, a rounded fold bringing the crown toward the feet, and a final stage with the knees pressing down and the feet opening flat like a book. Each stage asks something different of the hips and spine. View pose →
Baddha Konasana (yin) Butterfly: A seated hip and low back stretch, the soles of the feet together a comfortable distance in front of the pelvis, the spine rounding forward and releasing under gravity. It shares its starting shape with the active Bound Angle found in Seated Foundations, but the intention and the muscular quality here are entirely different. View pose →
Baddha Padmasana Bound Lotus: A full lotus position with the arms crossing behind the back to bind the opposite big toes, often paired with a chin lock and a forward fold. It carries the same non-negotiable prerequisite as every lotus-based pose in this family: full lotus needs to be really comfortable first. View pose →
Bakasana Crane / Crow: One of the most commonly taught arm balances, knees resting high on the backs of the upper arms, weight shifting forward into the hands until the feet lift. It's often approached with a fear of falling forward, and that fear itself is usually what keeps students from finding the balance. View pose →
Balasana Child's Pose: A resting pose, hips settling toward the heels and the torso folding forward, one of the most universally recognized poses in this whole library. In a restorative context, it's held for real, sustained time and fully supported, rather than the briefer counterpose role it often plays elsewhere. View pose →
Balasana (yin) Child (yin): A wide-kneed resting pose, the hips settling fully onto the heels, arms extended forward or resting alongside the body. It shares its shape with Child's Pose used as a brief counterpose elsewhere in this library, but held here for a truly sustained yin duration as its own complete pose. View pose →
Bananasana Banana Pose: A reclined side-bend, the whole body shifting into a gentle crescent shape on the back. It shares its basic shape with the yin Banana, but here the curve stays gentle and fully supported, without the sustained, moderate sensation the yin version asks for. View pose →
Bharadvajasana Bharadvaja's Twist: A seated twist combining a half hero leg position with a half lotus on the other side, binding the lotus foot before rotating, the gaze eventually traveling over the back shoulder. It layers a twist on top of two distinct leg positions, each with its own prerequisite. View pose →
Bhastrika Bellows Breath: A vigorous, energizing technique built on equally forceful inhales and exhales, driven by the diaphragm like a bellows. It's more intense than Skull-Shining Breath, since both halves of the breath are active here rather than just the exhale, and it carries the same category of contraindications, taken just as seriously. View pose →
Bhekasana Frog Pose: An intense prone quadriceps and ankle stretch, bending both knees and rotating the hands to press the feet toward the hips. This pose carries real, specific risk to the knee if the hand rotation and pressing direction aren't set up correctly, and it deserves the same category of caution as the more extreme seated hip poses. View pose →
Bhramari Bee Breath: A humming breath practiced on the exhale, named for its resemblance to a bee's buzz. It's one of the more immediately calming techniques in this family, largely because the vibration it creates is felt directly in the skull and face. View pose →
Bhujangasana Cobra Pose: A gentle, low backbend lying on the belly, lifting the chest while the lower body stays grounded. It's often the first backbend a student learns, and it's frequently done with far more effort than it actually needs. View pose →
Bhujapidasana Shoulder-Pressing Pose: An arm balance wrapping both legs around the upper arms, thighs high on the shoulders, ankles crossing in front, chin working toward the floor. It asks for a specific combination of arm strength, hip flexibility, and balance that's worth building through its individual pieces first. View pose →
Camatkarasana Wild Thing: A flowing backbend opening from Downward Dog or Side Plank, rolling the body open so the top foot plants on the floor behind, chest lifting toward the ceiling. It's a dynamic, expressive pose often threaded into vinyasa flows, combining backbend, side stretch, and balance all at once. View pose →
Chandra Bhedana Left Nostril Breath: The counterpart to Right Nostril Breath, inhaling only through the left nostril and exhaling only through the right, associated with a cooling, calming effect. It shares the same one-directional structure and the same teaching considerations, aimed in the opposite direction. View pose →
Chandra Namaskar Moon Salutation: A long, fully mirrored sequence moving through side bends, Goddess Pose, Triangle, Pyramid, and a low lunge on both sides before returning through the same shapes in reverse. Unlike the sun salutations, it's meant to carry a cooler, more grounding quality rather than building intense heat. View pose →
Chin Mudra Chin Mudra: The same thumb-and-index-finger touch as Jnana Mudra, but with the palms turned down toward the earth rather than up. The single change in palm direction is traditionally understood to shift the mudra's quality from receptive and upward to grounded and inward. View pose →
Controlled Articular Rotations Ankle CARs: A slow, controlled circular movement of the ankle through its maximum available range, sharing the same isolation principle as the Shoulder and Hip CARs already in this family. Given how much this whole practice asks of the ankle, from Downward Dog to deep squats to standing balances, this joint benefits from the same deliberate attention as the larger joints around it. View pose →
Dandasana Staff Pose: An upright seated position with the legs extended straight ahead, often described as the seated equivalent of Mountain Pose. It looks plain, but it's doing real diagnostic work: it reveals hamstring tightness and postural habits that other seated poses can more easily disguise. View pose →
Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Janushirasana Standing Separate Leg Head-to-Knee: A wide-stance fold that turns to square the torso over one leg at a time, rolling the spine forward with the chin tucked toward the extended knee. It shares its wide base with the Standing Separate Leg Stretching pose above but asks for rotation toward one side rather than a symmetrical fold over both legs at once. View pose →
Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Paschimottanasana Standing Separate Leg Stretching: A wide-stance forward fold similar in structure to the general Wide-Legged Fold above, but taken further here, with the hands gripping the outer heels and the elbows bending to draw the crown of the head down between the feet. This deeper version asks for meaningfully more hamstring and hip length than the general variation. View pose →
Dandayamana Dhanurasana Standing Bow Pulling: This pose combines a standing backbend with a balance, the lifted leg kicking back into the holding hand to create the lift, while the torso and other arm extend forward to counterbalance. It's one of the more visually striking poses in the standing sequence, and also one of the more advanced, combining significant shoulder, hip, and spinal demands with a single-leg balance. View pose →
Dandayamana Janushirasana Standing Head to Knee: A demanding standing balance that combines a hamstring extension, a deep fold, and a locked standing leg all at once. This is one of the more advanced poses in the standing sequence, and it's worth being clear with students that the full expression, forehead to knee with the leg fully extended, is a long-term goal rather than a first-class achievement. View pose →
Dhanurasana Bow Pose: A prone backbend gripping both ankles and kicking the feet up and back, creating a bow-like curve through the whole front body. Like several other backbends in this library, the kick is the actual engine of the pose, not a passive stretch of the legs into the hands. View pose →
Dhyana Mudra Dhyana Mudra: Both hands stacked in the lap, palms facing up, one resting inside the other, thumbs lightly touching to form an oval shape. It's the classical meditation mudra most associated with seated stillness, often used for longer holds than the single-hand mudras elsewhere in this family. View pose →
Dirga Pranayama Three-Part Breath: A foundational breathing pattern that moves the inhale through three distinct regions of the torso in sequence: belly, ribs, then chest. It's usually the first pranayama technique taught, since almost every other breathing exercise in this family builds on the full, unrestricted breath this one establishes. View pose →
Dwi Pada Sirsasana Both Legs Behind the Head: An extension of One Leg Behind the Head, hooking the second leg behind the first as well, balancing on the sitting bones. This represents one of the most extreme degrees of hip flexibility asked for anywhere in this library, and it's appropriate for an exceptionally small number of practitioners. View pose →
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana Pigeon Pose: A widely taught hip opener, one shin angled across the mat in front, the back leg extending long behind, the torso eventually folding forward over the front shin. It's one of the more intense hip stretches in general practice, and hip squaring is the detail most responsible for whether it targets the hip safely or strains the knee instead. View pose →
Eka Pada Sirsasana One Leg Behind the Head: A pose that hooks one leg behind the neck, requiring an extreme degree of hip external rotation and hamstring length. It's not a pose most students will ever access, and it shouldn't be presented as an eventual milestone for a general practice. View pose →
Ganesha Mudra Ganesha Mudra: The hands hooked together in front of the chest, palms facing opposite directions, gently pulling against each other before releasing. Named for Ganesha, traditionally associated with removing obstacles, it's more dynamic than most other mudras in this family, involving brief active engagement rather than sustained stillness. View pose →
Garbha Pindasana Embryo in the Womb: A full lotus pose with the arms threaded between the calves and thighs, hands reaching to frame the face, sometimes followed by a gentle rocking motion along the spine. It asks for a stable, comfortable full lotus as an absolute prerequisite, since the arm threading adds real complexity on top of that base. View pose →
Garudasana Eagle Pose: A compressing, wringing standing pose that combines balance with a deep squeeze through the hips, shoulders, and upper back. Eagle Pose has a reputation for being difficult to balance in, but most of the instability comes from staying too high rather than sinking into the squat the pose actually needs. View pose →
Garurasana (Bikram) Eagle Pose (Bikram): The same wrapping, compressing shape as the general Eagle Pose above, held here for a fixed count on each side as part of a set sequence, with a strong emphasis on a tall spine even inside a low, sunk squat. The core mechanics are shared with the earlier Eagle Pose entry, so this one focuses on what's distinct about how the pose is held and cued in this style. View pose →
Gomukhasana Cow Face Pose: A seated pose combining a deep outer-hip stretch from stacked knees with a shoulder-opening arm bind overhead and behind the back. The two halves of this pose, hips and shoulders, are largely independent of each other, and treating them that way makes the pose far more teachable. View pose →
Gomukhasana (yin) Shoelace: A seated hip release, one knee stacked over the other along the body's centerline, folding forward to deepen the outer hip and IT band stretch. It shares its base shape with the active Cow Face Pose, but drops that pose's shoulder-opening arm bind entirely, focusing purely on the hips over a sustained hold. View pose →
Hakini Mudra Hakini Mudra: All ten fingertips touching, the two hands forming a dome or cage shape, palms staying apart rather than pressed together. It's widely associated with concentration and mental clarity, and it's distinct enough from the other mudras in this family to be worth its own clear teaching. View pose →
Halasana Plow Pose: An inversion bringing the legs up and over the head, toes reaching toward or touching the floor behind, the body folding into a plow-like shape. It shares the same shoulder-weight-bearing principle as Shoulderstand, and it's frequently used as a transition into or out of that pose. View pose →
Halasana (yin) Snail: A passive inversion, the legs folding over the head similarly to the active Plow Pose, but held for a sustained yin duration and supported by the hands rather than actively held. Given the neck's involvement, this pose carries the same real caution as Plow Pose and the broader Inversion family, made more significant by how long this pose is typically held. View pose →
Hindolasana Baby Cradle Pose: A gentle hip opener, cradling one shin in both arms like rocking a baby, with a soft rocking motion side to side. It's a warm, approachable alternative to more intense outer-hip stretches, and its playful framing is part of what makes it effective, not just decorative. View pose →
Jala Namaskar Water Salutation: A fluid, side-bending sequence moving through Goddess Pose, Triangle, and Extended Side Angle on both sides, linked by a continuous, wave-like quality rather than the more linear structure of the sun salutations. It emphasizes the exhale as the driving force behind each transition. View pose →
Jalandhara Bandha Jalandhara Bandha: The chin lock, lengthening the back of the neck and lowering the chin toward the chest, traditionally used to seal energy at the throat during breath retention. It's frequently taught as a simple head-drop, when the actual technique depends on the spine lengthening first. View pose →
Janu Sirsasana Head-to-Knee Pose: A single-leg forward fold, one leg extended and the other bent with the sole resting against the inner thigh. It offers a more accessible entry into forward folding than the two-legged version, since only one hamstring is being asked to lengthen at a time. View pose →
Janu Sirsasana (yin) Half Butterfly: A single-leg seated fold, one leg extended and the other heel drawn toward the groin, the torso releasing forward over the extended leg. It offers a more isolated hamstring and low back release than the two-legged Caterpillar, and it's often more accessible for a first sustained hold. View pose →
Janu Sirsasana A Janu Sirsasana A: The primary series version of Head-to-Knee Pose, sharing the same essential shape as the general entry but cued with a specific foot placement, the sole flat against the inner thigh, and a drishti fixed on the big toe of the extended leg. View pose →
Janu Sirsasana B Janu Sirsasana B: A deeper variation on Janu Sirsasana, sitting on the heel of the bent leg rather than resting that foot against the inner thigh. This asks considerably more of the ankle and hip than the A variation, and it's worth teaching as a genuine progression rather than an interchangeable option. View pose →
Janu Sirsasana C Janu Sirsasana C: The most demanding of the three Janu Sirsasana variations, with the bent foot balanced on its ball, toes fanned, and the heel drawn toward the navel. This asks significantly more of the ankle and foot than either A or B, and it's typically approached only once both of those feel genuinely stable. View pose →
Janushirasana + Paschimottanasana (Bikram) Head to Knee + Stretching: A two-part seated fold from this room's fixed sequence, first folding over one extended leg with the other heel drawn to the perineum, then extending both legs to fold over them together. The specific heel placement changes the stretch compared to the more common Head-to-Knee Pose taught elsewhere. View pose →
Jathara Parivartanasana Supine Twist: A gentle supine twist, both knees falling together to one side while the opposite shoulder stays grounded. It shares its basic shape with the yin Reclined Twist, but the restorative version is fully propped, aiming for zero effort anywhere rather than a sustained, moderate sensation. View pose →
Jathara Parivartanasana (yin) Twisted Roots: A supine twist with the ankle crossed over the opposite knee before both legs fall to one side, adding a hip element to the spinal rotation found in the simpler Reclined Twist. It's worth distinguishing clearly from that related pose, since the leg cross changes both the sensation and the target. View pose →
Jnana Mudra Jnana Mudra: The thumb and index finger touching lightly, palms facing up, resting on the knees during seated meditation or breathing practice. It's one of the most recognizable meditation hand positions, traditionally associated with receptivity and knowledge. View pose →
Kapalabhati Skull-Shining Breath: An energizing technique built on short, forceful exhales driven by the low belly, with the inhale left completely passive and automatic in between. It has real contraindications, and it's worth teaching with those clearly in mind rather than as an afterthought. View pose →
Kapotasana Pigeon (Kapotasana): One of the most demanding backbends in this library, kneeling and arching back until the hands reach the feet and the elbows come to the floor. It genuinely represents an advanced stage of backbending capacity, and it deserves to be presented that way rather than as an aspirational stretch goal for a general practice. View pose →
Karandavasana Duck Pose: One of the most demanding poses in this entire library, lowering a full lotus position from Forearm Stand down to rest on the upper arms, then pressing back up to the balance. It combines Forearm Stand's significant strength and balance demand with full lotus, and it's appropriate for a really small number of practitioners. View pose →
Karnapidasana Ear-Pressure Pose: A deepening of Plow Pose, bending the knees down toward the ears, arms wrapping the shins. It asks for the same neck caution as Plow Pose and Shoulderstand, now combined with a deeper fold that brings the knees into close proximity with the head. View pose →
Krounchasana Heron Pose: A demanding pose combining a folded-back leg similar to Thunderbolt with the other leg extended straight up, held with both hands, working the chin toward the shin. It asks for significant hamstring length in the lifted leg on top of the hip flexor demand of the folded leg. View pose →
Kukkutasana Rooster Pose: An arm balance lifting a full lotus position entirely off the floor, pressing through the hands threaded between the legs. It builds directly on Embryo in the Womb (Garbha Pindasana), and it carries the same non-negotiable lotus prerequisite as that pose, now combined with a genuine strength demand on top. View pose →
Kurmasana Tortoise Pose: A deep forward fold with the legs extended wide and the arms threading underneath them, working toward the chest and chin resting on the floor. It's one of the more introspective, demanding shapes in the primary series, asking for hip, hamstring, and shoulder openness together. View pose →
Laghu Vajrasana Little Thunderbolt: A demanding kneeling backbend, gripping the ankles and arching back with control until the crown of the head touches the floor, then rising back up, all while maintaining the ankle grip throughout. It asks for real quadriceps strength and control, more so than flexibility alone. View pose →
Maha Bandha Maha Bandha: The great lock, combining Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha, and Jalandhara Bandha in sequence during a single breath retention. It represents the most advanced and most demanding combination in this family, and every contraindication and safety consideration from the three individual bandhas applies here simultaneously. View pose →
Malasana Garland / Deep Squat: A deep, grounded squat that most bodies could once do easily and many adults have lost through years of chair-sitting. Malasana is less a flexibility pose to achieve and more a functional position to reclaim, which changes how it's worth teaching. View pose →
Marichyasana A Marichyasana A: A forward fold combining one bent knee hugged close to the torso with a bind wrapping around that shin, before folding forward over the extended leg. It's the first of the four Marichyasana poses in the primary series, and it establishes the bind pattern the later variations build on. View pose →
Marichyasana B Marichyasana B: A combination of the half lotus position with the knee-hug and bind pattern from Marichyasana A, layering real hip and shoulder demands on top of each other. This is one of the more anatomically demanding poses in the seated sequence, and it deserves to be approached that way. View pose →
Marichyasana C Marichyasana C: A seated twist combining one bent knee with a bind wrapping around it, rotating the spine toward the bent-leg side. It shares the same base leg position as Marichyasana A, but adds rotation rather than a forward fold. View pose →
Marichyasana D Marichyasana D: The most demanding pose in the Marichyasana series, combining a half lotus position with the bound twist from Marichyasana C. It's typically the last of the four to become available, and for good reason, given how many separately demanding elements it asks to come together at once. View pose →
Marjaryasana-Bitilasana Cat-Cow: A rhythmic, breath-linked movement between spinal flexion and extension on hands and knees. It's one of the most universally taught warm-up movements in this whole library, and also one of the most commonly rushed, with students moving through the overall shape without actually mobilizing each segment of the spine. View pose →
Matsyasana Fish Pose: A reclined backbend opening the chest and throat, with the crown of the head resting lightly on the floor and the back arching over the propped elbows or a bolster. It's frequently taught as a counterpose to shoulder-loaded poses, and it carries a real caution around how much weight the head is allowed to bear. View pose →
Matsyasana (supported) Supported Fish: A fully supported chest opener, a bolster running the length of the spine, the arms opening out to the sides. It offers the chest-opening quality of active Fish Pose without any of that pose's neck-weight consideration, since the head rests fully supported here rather than touching the floor. View pose →
Mayurasana Peacock: A demanding arm balance with the hands turned back, fingers pointing toward the feet, elbows pressed into the belly, the whole body extending forward into a floating horizontal line. It asks for a specific, unusual wrist position and considerable core and arm strength together. View pose →
Metta Loving-Kindness (Metta): A structured practice silently offering well-wishes, traditionally moving through a sequence: oneself, a loved one, a neutral person, someone difficult, and eventually all beings. It's distinct from the more attention-focused techniques elsewhere in this family, working instead with a specific emotional and relational intention. View pose →
Mukta Hasta Sirsasana A/B/C Free-Hands Headstands (A/B/C): A three-stage headstand progression, moving through three different hand positions: a tripod base, palms flat on the floor in front, and arms extended parallel in front. Each variation changes the balance point and the demand on the shoulders, and treating them as three really different techniques, not increasingly difficult versions of the same thing, matters for how they're taught. View pose →
Mula Bandha Mula Bandha: The root lock, a subtle engagement of the pelvic floor muscles, traditionally practiced during seated meditation and pranayama to support a sense of containment and steadiness. It's easy to over-teach as a hard, gripping squeeze, when the actual technique is considerably more subtle. View pose →
Nadi Shodhana Alternate Nostril Breath: A seated technique that alternates the breath between the two nostrils using the fingers to gently close one side at a time. It's typically taught as a balancing, centering practice, often used before meditation or at a natural midpoint in a class. View pose →
Nakrasana Crocodile: A demanding conditioning exercise, hopping the entire body forward through space five times while maintaining the low, bent-elbow shape of Chaturanga throughout. It's less a pose to hold and more a dynamic strength test, asking the shoulders and core to stay engaged through repeated, explosive movement. View pose →
Natarajasana Dancer Pose: This standing backbend and balance combine a quadriceps and hip flexor stretch in the lifted leg with a chest-opening reach in the torso. Dancer Pose is often chased for its dramatic visual shape, but the pose is built on a genuine kick-and-lift relationship between the back leg and the front chest, not on how far the leg travels alone. View pose →
Navasana Boat Pose (Ashtanga): The primary series version of Boat Pose, repeated across five rounds with a lifting transition between each, rather than held once as a static pose. The repetition is the actual point here, turning a single hold into a genuine endurance challenge. View pose →
Open Book Open-Book Twist: A side-lying thoracic rotation, the top knee staying anchored on the floor or a support while the top arm opens across the body, reaching toward the opposite side. The image of the hand "chasing across the sky" captures the intended quality: a slow, following movement rather than a forced reach. View pose →
Pada Hasthasana (Bikram) Sit-Up (transition): A functional transitional movement from this room's fixed sequence, rising from lying down to a seated fold in one breath-linked motion. It's not typically held as a static pose, but it's used repeatedly throughout the sequence, which makes doing it efficiently and safely worth real attention. View pose →
Padahastasana Hand-Under-Foot Pose: The second forward fold in the sequence, following directly after Big Toe Pose, with the palms tucked under the feet rather than gripping the toes. The wrist position this requires is often the limiting factor, more than the hamstrings. View pose →
Padangusthasana Big Toe Pose: The first standing forward fold in the primary series, hooking the first two fingers and thumb around the big toes rather than gripping the whole foot. The specific grip changes how the fold feels and how much control a student has over the depth. View pose →
Padangusthasana (Bikram) Toe Stand: An advanced balance that lowers the whole body down onto the ball of one foot while the other stays in half lotus, finishing with the hands released to heart center. It builds directly on Tree Pose (Bikram) and asks for considerably more ankle strength and balance control on top of the hip work already required there. View pose →
Padmasana Lotus Pose: The classical cross-legged meditation seat, each foot resting on the opposite thigh. It's one of the most recognizable yoga shapes and also one of the most commonly forced, given how much genuine hip external rotation it actually requires. View pose →
Parighasana Gate Pose: A kneeling and standing hybrid, one leg extended straight out to the side while the other knee stays grounded, with a side bend reaching over the extended leg. It offers a similar side-body stretch to Triangle Pose but from a lower, more supported base. View pose →
Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana Revolved Half Moon: This balance combines the single-leg stability of Half Moon Pose with the spinal rotation of Revolved Triangle. It sits toward the advanced end of the standing repertoire because it asks a student to hold two demanding skills, balance and twisting, at the same time. View pose →
Parivrtta Parsvakonasana Revolved Side Angle: A deep lunging twist that combines the strength demand of Warrior I with a significant spinal rotation. This is one of the more advanced standing poses in the sequence, and it's worth teaching as a genuine progression rather than something to attempt as soon as the shape looks reachable. View pose →
Parivrtta Sukhasana Easy Seated Twist: A simple seated twist from a basic cross-legged position, using one hand behind for support and the other resting on the opposite knee to guide a gentle rotation. It's the entry point this family was missing, a genuine first twist for a student who's never rotated their seated spine with any real attention before. View pose →
Parivrtta Trikonasana Revolved Triangle: This twist and forward fold combined is one of the more commonly rushed poses in the standing sequence. Revolved Triangle asks for hamstring length, hip stability, and spinal rotation all at once, and most students don't have all three available on the same day, which is worth naming honestly rather than pushing through. View pose →
Parsva Bakasana Side Crow: A twisting variation of Crow Pose, both knees hooking to one side of the upper arm rather than centered in front, the torso rotated. It builds on Crow Pose's forward weight shift with an added rotational element, asking the core to control both a twist and a balance simultaneously. View pose →
Parsva Dhanurasana Side Bow: A rolling variation of Bow Pose, moving from the center position onto one side and then the other, while maintaining the active kick into the gripping hands throughout. The rolling adds a lateral, twisting element to Bow Pose's straightforward backbend. View pose →
Parsvottanasana Pyramid Pose: This forward fold works over a front leg, with the back leg straight and the hips squared toward the front of the mat. Pyramid Pose is deceptively demanding on the hamstrings and hips at once, and it's often underestimated because it looks like a simple fold. View pose →
Pasasana Noose Pose: A deep squat combined with a spinal twist, one arm wrapping around both knees to bind behind the back. It asks for ankle mobility, hip flexibility, and spinal rotation all at once, and it's worth building each of those separately before combining them here. View pose →
Paschimottanasana Seated Forward Fold: A full forward fold over both extended legs, often treated as a hamstring stretch alone when it's really a full posterior-chain release, from the calves through the whole back. It rewards patience more than almost any other seated pose in this family. View pose →
Paschimottanasana (yin) Caterpillar: A two-legged forward fold, the spine rounding completely over extended legs, releasing the entire back body over a sustained hold. It shares its shape with the active Seated Forward Fold, but the instruction shifts from "length before depth" to full, complete rounding. View pose →
Pavanamuktasana (Bikram) Wind-Removing Pose: A gentle, three-stage supine sequence from this room's fixed practice, hugging first one knee, then the other, then both together, each held for a set count. It's a simple, accessible pose that releases the low back and gently compresses the digestive area, often used as a settling or closing sequence. View pose →
Phalakasana Plank: A foundational full-body hold, supported on the hands and toes, forming one straight line from crown to heels. It's one of the most frequently held poses across many styles of practice, and also one of the most commonly done with a sagging or piked hip position that undercuts most of its value. View pose →
Pincha Mayurasana Forearm Stand: A full inversion balancing on the forearms alone, no head contact, legs extending straight up. It asks for considerable shoulder strength and balance, and it's typically approached only once Dolphin Pose has built real comfort and strength in the forearm-supported shoulder position. View pose →
Pindasana Embryo (in shoulderstand): The final pose in this finishing sequence, folding the lotus position down toward the chest while still inverted, arms wrapping the shins. It's worth noting this is a different pose from the seated Garbha Pindasana in the Seated Foundations family, despite the similar name, sharing only the general concept of a folded, contained shape. View pose →
Poorna Salabhasana (Bikram) Full Locust: A prone backbend from this room's fixed sequence, arms extended out to a T shape, lifting the chest, arms, and legs together, held for a set count. It's a full-body strength pose, related to the general Locust Pose but with a distinct arm position that changes the balance and shoulder demand. View pose →
Pranayama Series (Bikram) Standing Deep Breathing: The opening breathing sequence of the Bikram series, standing with the fingers interlaced under the chin, elbows and head moving together through ten rounds. Unlike the seated techniques elsewhere in this family, this one is a standing, whole-body warm-up meant to open the room's practice. View pose →
Prasarita Padottanasana Wide-Legged Fold: A wide-stance forward fold that offers many students an easier route into a full fold than Uttanasana does, since the wider base changes the hamstring angle and often allows more length through the spine with less strain. View pose →
Prasarita Padottanasana A Wide-Legged Fold A: The first of four wide-stance forward folds in the primary series, hands placed on the floor between the feet, working toward the crown of the head touching down. View pose →
Prasarita Padottanasana B Wide-Legged Fold B: The second wide-stance fold, hands staying on the hips throughout rather than coming to the floor, which asks the fold to be held with a flat spine using leg and core strength rather than gravity and the arms. View pose →
Prasarita Padottanasana C Wide-Legged Fold C: The third wide-stance fold, hands interlaced behind the back and lifting overhead as the torso folds forward, combining the leg stretch of the earlier variations with a significant shoulder opening. View pose →
Prasarita Padottanasana D Wide-Legged Fold D: The fourth and final wide-stance fold, returning to the toe-hook grip from Big Toe Pose but from the wider stance, working the crown toward the floor with the elbows spread wide. View pose →
Purvottanasana Upward Plank: A backbend pressing the whole body up from a seated position, hands planted behind the hips and the soles of the feet flat on the floor, the crown of the head dropping back. It builds significant strength through the back body and shoulders while opening the front of the body at the same time. View pose →
Rajakapotasana (yin) Swan: An upright variation of Pigeon Pose, one shin angled forward and the back leg extended long, the chest staying upright rather than folding down. It offers the same deep hip external rotation as Pigeon, held in an upright position before any forward release is added. View pose →
Salabhasana Locust Pose: A prone backbend lifting the chest, arms, and legs simultaneously, with the arms reaching back like wings. It's a genuinely demanding strength pose disguised by a simple-looking shape, asking the whole posterior chain to engage at once. View pose →
Salamba Bhujangasana Sphinx: A gentle, passive backbend lying on the belly, propped up onto the forearms, releasing the low back over a sustained hold. It shares its shape with Cobra Pose's gentler cousin, but where an active backbend asks the back muscles to lift and hold the chest, this one asks for a settled, passive rest on the forearms. View pose →
Salamba Sarvangasana Shoulderstand (Ashtanga): The primary series version of Shoulderstand, sharing the same shoulder-weight-bearing principle as the general entry but held for a considerably longer, sustained duration as part of the sequence's finishing poses. The extended hold changes the pose's character, asking for genuine endurance on top of the basic technique. View pose →
Sama Vritti Box Breath (Equal Ratio): A structured breathing pattern with four equal-length parts: inhale, hold, exhale, hold. Its simplicity makes it easy to teach and easy to practice independently, and the even counting gives it a steadying, almost mechanical quality that some students find easier to hold onto than more free-form techniques. View pose →
Samasthiti Samasthiti: The equal, upright standing position at the top of the mat, hands at the heart, that opens and closes the Ashtanga sun salutations and typically returns between individual poses throughout a vinyasa practice. It's essentially Mountain Pose under a different name, but its function as a repeated reset point is worth treating as its own distinct teaching topic. View pose →
Sasangasana Rabbit Pose: A deep, rounded forward fold from kneeling, gripping the heels and rolling onto the crown of the head, spine rounding fully with the forehead working toward the knees. This pose asks for real caution around the neck, given the weight-bearing position of the head. View pose →
Savasana Corpse Pose: A final resting pose, lying flat on the back, arms and legs relaxed, doing genuinely nothing. It's often treated as an afterthought at the end of a practice, but it's arguably the most technically demanding pose in this entire library in one specific way: it asks for complete, total release, with nothing to hold onto or work toward. View pose →
Setu Bandhasana Bridge Pose: A supported backbend lying on the back, lifting the hips while the feet and shoulders stay grounded. It's one of the more accessible backbends in this library and often serves as a gateway pose toward the more demanding Wheel Pose. View pose →
Setu Bandhasana (Ashtanga) Ashtanga Bridge: The primary series version of Bridge, a considerably more intense variation with the crown of the head resting on the floor and the feet turned out onto their outer edges, lifting the pelvis into a deep backbend. Unlike the general Bridge Pose entry, this version places real, sustained weight through the neck, and it carries a correspondingly higher safety bar. View pose →
Setu Bandhasana (supported) Supported Bridge: A fully supported backbend, a block placed under the sacrum at whatever height suits, the pelvis releasing its full weight onto that support. It shares its shape with the active Bridge Pose, but removes all muscular effort entirely, offering a passive, restorative version of the same general opening. View pose →
Shalabhasana A Locust A: The primary series version of a leg-focused Locust variation, arms alongside the body with the palms pressing down near the hips, lifting the legs together while the chest stays relatively low. Unlike general Locust Pose, the emphasis here is specifically on the legs, with the arms serving as a stable anchor rather than wings. View pose →
Shalabhasana B Locust B: The second half of this Locust pair, moving the hands to beside the ribs and lifting the chest along with the legs, closer to the full-body lift of general Locust Pose. The shift in hand position from A to B changes the available leverage and adds the chest to what was primarily a leg-focused lift. View pose →
Simhasana Pranayama Lion's Breath: An expressive breathing technique combining a forceful, audible exhale with the tongue stretched out and down, the eyes wide, and the whole face engaged. It's one of the few pranayama techniques that's genuinely playful, and that quality is part of what makes it effective, not incidental to it. View pose →
Sirsasana Headstand: A full inversion balancing on the crown of the head and forearms, legs extending straight up. It's one of the more recognizable yoga poses, and also one of the more commonly mistaught, with far too much weight typically resting on the head and far too little on the forearms. View pose →
Sirsasana (Ashtanga) Headstand (Ashtanga): The primary series version of Headstand, sharing the same forearm-dominant weight-bearing principle as the general entry but held for an extended, sustained duration, similar to how Shoulderstand (Ashtanga) extends its general counterpart. View pose →
Sirsasana II Tripod Headstand: A headstand variation with the hands planted flat on the floor in front, rather than interlaced behind the head, creating a wider, tripod-like base between the two hands and the crown of the head. It offers a different balance point than the classic Headstand, and for some bodies, a more accessible one. View pose →
Sitali Pranayama Cooling Breath: A cooling breath technique that draws air in over a curled tongue, creating a noticeably cool sensation on the inhale. It's a useful, low-effort tool for settling heat, whether physical or emotional, and it's distinctive enough that most students remember it easily. View pose →
Sukhasana Easy Seat: A simple cross-legged seat, usually the first position a student learns for meditation or the start and end of a practice. Despite the name, "easy" refers to the lack of a fixed formal structure, not necessarily to how comfortable it is for every body. View pose →
Supta Baddha Konasana Reclined Bound Angle: A reclined hip-and-chest opener, the soles of the feet together and the knees falling open, the torso resting fully supported behind. It combines a gentle hip release with a passive chest opening, and both should arrive without effort, purely through support and gravity. View pose →
Supta Kapotasana Reclined Pigeon: A reclined hip opener, one ankle crossing over the opposite knee, the hands threading through to hold the standing leg's thigh and draw it gently in. It offers a related outer-hip release to the more intense active and yin Pigeon variations, held here with far less sensation and full support. View pose →
Supta Konasana Reclined Angle: A reclined restorative shape where the legs open into a comfortable angle, supported by the floor, props or wall. View pose →
Supta Kurmasana Sleeping Tortoise: A significant progression from Tortoise Pose, binding the hands behind the back and crossing the ankles behind the head. This is one of the most demanding shapes in the seated sequence, and it depends entirely on Tortoise Pose already being well established. View pose →
Supta Matsyendrasana (yin) Reclined Twist (yin): A simple supine twist, both knees falling together to one side while the opposite shoulder stays grounded, held for a sustained duration. It's the more basic counterpart to Twisted Roots, without that pose's added ankle-over-knee cross, offering a gentler, more universally accessible spinal release. View pose →
Supta Padangusthasana Reclined Hand-to-Big-Toe: A reclined hamstring and inner-thigh stretch, one leg extending up and then out to the side, typically held with a strap. It's more active than most of this family, closer in spirit to a supported active stretch than full passive rest, and it's worth teaching with that distinction in mind. View pose →
Supta Urdhva Pada Vajrasana Reclining Upward Foot Thunderbolt: A rolling movement from seated into a reclined half lotus position and back up to seated again, maintaining a bind on the lotus foot throughout. It's more of a controlled, dynamic movement than a static hold, testing whether a bind can survive a change in position. View pose →
Supta Vajrasana (Ashtanga) Reclining Thunderbolt: A deeply demanding pose combining full lotus, a bind of the toes behind the back, and a controlled recline until the crown touches the floor. This is traditionally taught with hands-on assistance from an experienced teacher, and that detail matters: it's not designed to be approached solo, especially while still developing. View pose →
Supta Vajrasana (Bikram) Fixed Firm Pose: A kneeling backbend sitting between the heels and reclining backward, first onto the elbows and then, if available, all the way to the floor with the arms overhead. It places significant, sustained flexion through the knees, a genuinely different demand than most other backbends in this library, and it deserves the same caution given to any deep knee-flexion pose. View pose →
Supta Virasana (yin) Saddle: A reclining pose sitting between the heels, releasing back onto the elbows or the floor, opening the quadriceps and hip flexors deeply. It shares the same significant knee-flexion demand as Fixed Firm Pose in the Backbend family, and it carries the same real caution around that joint. View pose →
Surya Bhedana Right Nostril Breath: A one-directional variation on Alternate Nostril Breath, inhaling only through the right nostril and exhaling only through the left, associated with a warming, energizing effect. It's typically taught after a student already has some comfort with the full alternate-nostril pattern. View pose →
Surya Namaskar A Sun Salutation A: The foundational moving sequence most students learn first, linking Mountain Pose, a forward fold, a plank and low push-up, Upward Dog, and Downward Dog into one continuous, breath-driven loop. It's often taught quickly as a warm-up, but each transition deserves the same attention as any standalone pose. View pose →
Surya Namaskar B Sun Salutation B: A longer, more demanding version of Sun Salutation A, opening and closing with Chair Pose and weaving in a Warrior I on each side. It builds real cumulative heat and strength, and the repeated chaturanga-updog-downdog pattern asks for sustained shoulder stamina across the whole sequence. View pose →
Surya Namaskara A Ashtanga Sun Salutation A: The primary series version of Sun Salutation A, sharing the same essential shape as the general entry but counted in Sanskrit numbers, each count corresponding to exactly one breath and one movement. The counted structure is more rigid here than the general version, and that precision is part of what this style is teaching. View pose →
Surya Namaskara B Ashtanga Sun Salutation B: The primary series version of Sun Salutation B, sharing the same structure as the general entry, opening and closing with the Ashtanga version of Chair Pose (Utkatasana) and weaving in Warrior I on each side, all held to the same precise counted structure as Ashtanga Sun Salutation A. View pose →
Tadasana Mountain Pose: The pose everyone thinks they already know how to do, which is exactly why it's worth teaching properly. Tadasana is where a student learns to read their own alignment without a wall, a mirror, or another shape to compare against. View pose →
Tadasana (Bikram) Tree Pose (Bikram): Despite the name overlap with the general Tree Pose above, this version uses a half lotus foot position high on the opposite thigh, rather than the sole-to-inner-leg placement of the general version, and asks for a locked standing knee in keeping with this style's conventions. It shares more in common structurally with the standing half lotus work in Half Bound Lotus Fold than with the earlier Tree Pose. View pose →
Thread the Needle Thread the Needle: A gentle thoracic rotation from hands and knees, threading one arm underneath the body until the shoulder and cheek rest on the floor. It's a widely taught, accessible upper-back mobility movement, and the quality of release matters more here than any particular depth of rotation. View pose →
Tittibhasana Firefly: An arm balance extending both legs forward from a wide-legged squat, thighs resting high on the upper arms, the sitting bones lifting as the chest opens. It builds directly on Shoulder-Pressing Pose, extending the legs out straight rather than keeping them bent and crossed. View pose →
Trataka Trataka (Candle Gazing): A concentration technique fixing the gaze on a single point, traditionally a candle flame, sustaining that visual focus before closing the eyes to observe any after-image. It's a genuinely different kind of anchor than the internal techniques found elsewhere in this family, using external, visual concentration as the method. View pose →
Triang Mukhaikapada Paschimottanasana Three-Limbs Face-One-Leg Fold: A forward fold with one leg folded back alongside the hip, similar to a kneeling position, and the other extended straight ahead. The asymmetry this creates in the hips is the main thing to manage, since it easily pulls the fold uneven if left unaddressed. View pose →
Trikonasana Triangle Pose: This side stretch is frequently mistaken for a forward fold with a twist. The real work in Triangle is length through both sides of the torso equally, with the lower hand going wherever that length allows, not as far down as possible. View pose →
Trikonasana (Bikram) Triangle (Bikram): Despite the shared name, this is a structurally different pose from the general Triangle Pose earlier in this file. Here the front knee bends to a parallel lunge, closer to Warrior II with an added twist, rather than the straight-leg side reach of the general Trikonasana. Worth teaching, and naming, as its own distinct pose rather than a variation of the other. View pose →
Tuladandasana Balancing Stick: A horizontal balance similar in shape to Warrior III but arrived at with more momentum, stepping forward before tipping into the T-shape, and typically held only briefly, around ten seconds, before switching sides. The short hold time is intentional: this pose asks for a burst of full-body engagement rather than a sustained, settled hold. View pose →
Ubhaya Padangusthasana Both Big Toes Balance: A demanding seated balance, holding both big toes while balancing on the sitting bones with the legs extending up and out. It combines the core demand of Boat Pose with a significant hamstring stretch, asking for both at once. View pose →
Uddiyana Bandha Uddiyana Bandha: The abdominal lock, drawing the belly and diaphragm up and in after a complete exhale, traditionally held only for the duration of the breath being held out. It carries real, specific contraindications, and it's one of the more physiologically significant techniques in this entire library. View pose →
Ujjayi Pranayama Ocean Breath: A breathing technique built on a slight narrowing at the back of the throat, which creates an audible, ocean-like sound on both the inhale and exhale. It's the breath most commonly layered underneath a moving practice, since it's sustainable through effort in a way that many other pranayama techniques aren't. View pose →
Upavistha Konasana Wide-Angle Seated Fold: A wide-legged seated fold, legs spread apart and the torso folding forward between them. It's a demanding combination of hamstring and inner-thigh length, and it's one of the poses in this family where sitting on a genuine lift changes the experience dramatically. View pose →
Upavistha Konasana (yin) Dragonfly (Straddle): A wide-legged seated fold, the spine rounding forward between the legs over a sustained hold. It shares its starting shape with the active Wide-Angle Seated Fold, but where that pose asks for a long spine and hip-driven hinge, this one asks for full, rounded release. View pose →
Urdhva Dhanurasana Wheel Pose: A demanding full backbend, pressing up from the floor into a complete arch supported by the hands and feet. It's one of the more physically comprehensive poses in this library, asking for strength, shoulder mobility, and spinal extension all at once. View pose →
Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana Upward-Facing Forward Fold: A seated balance folding the chest toward straight, extended legs while holding the outer feet, all while balancing on the sitting bones. It combines Both Big Toes Balance's core and balance demand with an added forward fold, asking for even more from the hamstrings and spine together. View pose →
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana Upward Facing Dog: A backbend lifting the whole body off the floor except the hands and tops of the feet, commonly threaded through sun salutations. It's frequently confused with Cobra Pose, but the thighs lifting off the floor here is a meaningfully different action, engaging the legs and low back in a way Cobra doesn't ask for. View pose →
Urdhva Padmasana Upward Lotus: A continuation of the finishing sequence, crossing the legs into full lotus while still supported in a shoulderstand-like position, the palms coming to press the knees for stability. It combines the same lotus prerequisite found throughout this library with the neck-caution principles of Shoulderstand. View pose →
Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana Standing Splits: An inverted-leaning balance where the torso folds over one straight standing leg while the other leg lifts up behind, working toward vertical. It's often reached from Standing Forward Fold or Half Moon Pose, and it asks for a combination of hamstring length and standing leg strength that few poses in the standing sequence demand together. View pose →
Ustrasana Camel Pose: A kneeling backbend that opens the front line of the body from the thighs to the throat. Camel asks the hips to extend before the spine does, which is the detail most students miss and the one that keeps the low back safe. View pose →
Utkata Konasana Goddess Pose: A wide-legged, turned-out squat that builds heat and inner-thigh strength fast, often used as a held pose or as a bridge between other standing shapes in a flow. It shares some territory with Chair Pose but the turned-out stance changes which muscles are doing the real work. View pose →
Utkatasana Chair Pose: This squat builds heat and leg strength fast, and it's one of the more honest poses in the practice: there's nowhere to hide the effort. Chair Pose asks the whole body to work together rather than isolating one muscle group. View pose →
Utkatasana (Ashtanga) Fierce Pose: The primary series version of Chair Pose, reached from Sun Salutation B rather than practiced as a standalone pose, and held with the gaze lifted to the thumbs rather than looking forward. View pose →
Utkatasana (Bikram) Awkward Pose: A three-part standing squat sequence that builds serious heat and leg endurance through small variations on the same basic bent-knee position. Each part changes one variable, the height of the heels or the width of the knees, which shifts the load slightly each time. View pose →
Utpluthih (Tolasana) Scales / Uplifting: The closing arm balance of the primary series, lifting the entire seated lotus position off the floor using only the hands pressing down, traditionally held for ten breaths as the final effort before the series moves into closing poses. It's a genuine test of accumulated strength at the end of a long practice. View pose →
Uttana Padasana Extended Leg Pose: A pose combining the chest-opening quality of Fish Pose with the legs lifted to roughly 45 degrees, arms reaching parallel to them. It asks the core and hip flexors to hold the legs up while the chest stays lifted and open, two demands that can easily compete with each other. View pose →
Uttana Shishosana Puppy Pose: A gentle shoulder and upper back stretch, hips staying stacked over the knees while the chest and arms extend forward and down, forehead resting toward the mat. It offers a shoulder-opening stretch with less intensity than Downward Facing Dog, since the hips don't lift away from the knees. View pose →
Uttanasana Standing Forward Fold: A full release of the back body that most students shorten into a hamstring stretch by locking the knees. Bent knees here protect the low back and let the fold actually reach the spine instead of stopping at the backs of the legs. View pose →
Utthan Pristhasana Lizard Pose: A deep hip-opening lunge, the front foot stepping outside the same-side hand, the back leg extending long behind. It asks for more hip external rotation than Low Lunge, and the sensation here is often intense enough that breath becomes the primary tool for staying present with it. View pose →
Utthan Pristhasana (yin) Dragon (Low Lunge): A deep kneeling lunge, the back knee down and the hips sinking forward, releasing the hip flexor and psoas over a sustained hold. It shares its shape with the active Low Lunge, but the intention shifts entirely from an active hip-flexor stretch to a passive, weight-settled release. View pose →
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose: A sequence of standing balances moving through the lifted leg in front, out to the side, and folding forward, all on one standing leg. It's really four related poses in one continuous flow, and treating it that way, rather than as a single static shape, makes it far more teachable. View pose →
Utthita Parsvakonasana Extended Side Angle: A deep standing lunge with a full side-body extension layered on top, often taught as a natural progression from Warrior II. The pose rewards a student who's already found stability in Warrior II, since Extended Side Angle asks for that same base while adding a significant reach. View pose →
Utthita Trikonasana Extended Triangle: A wide-stance standing pose that lengthens the whole side body while the legs stay long and active. Extended Triangle asks for length before depth — the shape is built by reaching, not by reaching down. View pose →
Vajrasana Thunderbolt: A simple kneeling seat, sitting back onto the heels with the spine upright. It's one of the plainest poses in this whole library, used constantly as a resting position, a transition point, and the base for several other seated poses in this family. View pose →
Vasisthasana Side Plank: A side-facing balance on one hand and the outer edge of one foot, hips lifted into a straight line. It's a genuine test of shoulder stability and lateral core strength, and the shoulder-wrist stacking is worth establishing before anything about the hips or legs. View pose →
Vatayanasana Horse Pose: An advanced balance combining a half lotus hip position, a kneeling descent onto the folded knee, and an eagle arm wrap, before rising back to a standing balance. It draws on hip mobility, knee tolerance, and balance simultaneously, and is best approached only once each of those elements is individually well established. View pose →
Viloma Pranayama Interrupted Breath: A segmented breathing technique that breaks the inhale into distinct pauses on the way up, followed by one smooth, continuous exhale. It builds real awareness of lung capacity by forcing attention onto parts of the inhale that usually pass by unnoticed. View pose →
Vinyasa Vinyasa: A linking breath-sequence used to transition between poses, most commonly Chaturanga to Upward-Facing Dog to Downward-Facing Dog. Each shape is paired with a specific breath, and the movement itself is the practice, not just a bridge to the next hold. View pose →
Viparita Karani Legs Up the Wall: A gentle, restorative inversion lying on the back with the legs resting up a wall. It offers many of the circulatory and calming benefits associated with inversion without any of the neck-loading or strength demands of Headstand, Shoulderstand, or Plow Pose. View pose →
Viparita Virabhadrasana Reverse Warrior: A side-bending variation typically taught right alongside Warrior II and Extended Side Angle, forming a natural trio. The front arm reaches up and back while the back hand slides down the back leg, opening the side body in the opposite direction from Extended Side Angle. View pose →
Virabhadrasana A (Ashtanga) Warrior I: The primary series version of Warrior I, sharing the same essential alignment as the general entry but cued here with a specific 90-degree front knee bend and a gaze fixed on the thumbs, reached through a set vinyasa transition rather than freely entered. View pose →
Virabhadrasana B (Ashtanga) Warrior II: The primary series version of Warrior II, reached directly from Warrior I within the same flow, sharing the same open-hip alignment as the general entry but held to a five-breath count with the gaze fixed specifically past the front hand. View pose →
Virabhadrasana I Warrior I: A deep standing lunge with the hips squaring toward the front of the mat, which asks more of the back hip's flexibility than most students expect. Warrior I is frequently taught as a strength pose when the limiting factor for most people is truly hip mobility. View pose →
Virabhadrasana II Warrior II: An open-hip standing pose that builds leg strength and stamina, often held longer than students expect to reveal where their effort is really going. Unlike Warrior I, the hips stay open to the side here, which removes the hip-squaring challenge and lets the focus sit fully on the legs. View pose →
Virabhadrasana III Warrior III: This balance turns the whole body into one long horizontal line. Warrior III is as much a core and hamstring pose as it is a balance pose, and treating it purely as a balance challenge tends to produce a lot of wobbling without much strength being built. View pose →
Vrksasana Tree Pose: The pose most students associate with balance practice, and a good early lesson that balance is built from the ground up, not from arm position or facial concentration. Tree Pose works when the standing foot is doing active, engaged work, not when the whole body is rigidly held still. View pose →
Vrschikasana Scorpion Pose: A demanding combination of forearm balance and deep backbend, arching the spine so the feet reach toward and eventually touch the crown of the head. It sits at the intersection of significant strength, balance, and spinal flexibility, and it's appropriate for a genuinely small number of practitioners. View pose →
Yoga Mudra Yoga Mudra: A forward fold from the bound lotus position, bringing the crown of the head toward the floor. The name translates roughly to a gesture or seal of yoga, and it's traditionally treated as a symbolic, surrendering pose as much as a physical one. View pose →
Yoga Nidra Yoga Nidra: A structured, guided relaxation practice moving through several stages, an initial settling and intention, a body scan, breath awareness, paired sensations, and often visualization, all practiced fully reclined. It's more elaborate than any other technique in this family, and it's worth treating as its own distinct practice rather than simply an extended body scan. View pose →
Yoganidrasana Yogic Sleep Pose: A reclined pose crossing both legs behind the head, with the hands binding behind the back underneath the body. The name, roughly translating to "yogic sleep," points to the surrendered, deeply internal quality this shape is meant to embody, once it's really available. View pose →

Pranayama · 6

Bhramari Bee breath: A calming breath practice made by exhaling with a soft humming sound in the throat. Used to quiet the mind before meditation or sleep.
Kapalabhati Skull-shining breath: A cleansing breath with sharp, active exhales through the nose and passive inhales, powered by the belly. Energising and heating; typically practised in short rounds, not for long durations.
Nadi Shodhana Alternate nostril breathing: A balancing breath practice done by alternating which nostril inhales and exhales, using the fingers to close each nostril in turn. Traditionally used before meditation to steady the nervous system.
Pranayama Breath extension: The practice of consciously regulating the breath — its rhythm, length, retention, and quality — to shift energy and attention. Traditionally the fourth of the eight limbs of yoga.
Sama Vritti Equal breath: A breath practice with inhale and exhale of equal length — for example, four counts in and four counts out. Used to establish rhythm and steady the nervous system.
Ujjayi Victorious breath: A slow, audible breath made by gently constricting the back of the throat so the inhale and exhale sound like ocean waves. Used throughout Vinyasa and Ashtanga to pace movement and steady attention.

Bandha · 4

Bandha Lock, bind: An internal muscular engagement used to contain and direct energy in the body. The three primary bandhas are Mula Bandha (root lock), Uddiyana Bandha (abdominal lock), and Jalandhara Bandha (throat lock).
Jalandhara Bandha Throat lock: A gentle chin-to-chest lock that lengthens the back of the neck and contains the breath in the chest. Used in seated pranayama and certain retentions.
Mula Bandha Root lock: A subtle lift of the pelvic floor, often engaged throughout a Vinyasa or Ashtanga practice. Supports the spine, contains breath energy, and adds lightness to transitions.
Uddiyana Bandha Abdominal lock: A drawing in and up of the lower belly toward the spine. In its full form it is practised on an empty stomach with the breath held out; a softer version is engaged throughout dynamic practice.

Mudra · 3

Anjali Mudra Salutation seal: Palms pressed together at the heart or above the head. Used to open and close practice and as a physical anchor for setting an intention.
Chin Mudra Consciousness seal: Index finger and thumb touching, remaining fingers extended, palms usually facing up on the thighs in seated meditation. Traditionally symbolises the union of individual and universal consciousness.
Mudra Gesture, seal: A symbolic hand, face, or body gesture used to direct energy and focus intention. The most familiar in modern yoga is Anjali Mudra — palms pressed together at the heart.

Practice · 5

Asana Seat, posture: A physical posture. Originally referred to the seated posture used for meditation; in modern yoga it refers to any physical pose.
Drishti Gaze point: A specific point of focus for the eyes in a pose — the tip of the nose, the thumbs, the horizon, a point on the ceiling. Steadies attention and improves balance.
Namaste I bow to you: A greeting made with the palms together at the heart and a slight bow. Traditionally offered at the end of class as a mark of respect between teacher and students.
Savasana Corpse pose: The final resting pose at the end of a class — lying flat on the back with arms and legs relaxed. Often described as the most important pose because it is where the practice is absorbed.
Vinyasa To place in a special way: The linking of breath and movement so that each transition is timed to an inhale or an exhale. Also refers to a short flowing sequence — often Chaturanga, Upward Dog, Downward Dog — used as a reset between poses.

Philosophy · 8

Ahimsa Non-harming: The first of the yamas — the ethical foundations of yoga. Applied on the mat, it means practising in a way that does no harm to the body, and off the mat it extends to speech and action.
Chakra Wheel: One of seven traditional energy centres along the spine, from Muladhara at the base to Sahasrara at the crown. Used as a map for locating physical, emotional, and energetic patterns.
Niyamas Personal observances: The second of the eight limbs — five practices for relating to yourself: Saucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (discipline), Svadhyaya (self-study), Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender).
Om The primordial sound: A sacred syllable chanted at the beginning or end of practice, said to represent the sound of the universe. Made up of the sounds A–U–M dissolving into silence.
Prana Life force, vital energy: The subtle life energy that moves through the body, often equated with the breath. Pranayama practices are designed to expand and refine its flow.
Sankalpa Intention, resolve: A short, positive intention set at the beginning of practice, often during a moment of stillness or Yoga Nidra. Held in the present tense, as if already true.
Yamas Ethical restraints: The first of the eight limbs of yoga — five ethical guidelines for relating to the world: Ahimsa (non-harming), Satya (truth), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (moderation), Aparigraha (non-grasping).
Yoga Nidra Yogic sleep: A guided meditation practised lying down, moving the attention systematically through the body to reach a state between waking and sleep. Deeply restorative even in short sessions.

Style · 5

Ashtanga Eight-limbed: A structured, physically demanding style following a set sequence of poses (Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced Series). Practised at the same tempo with Ujjayi breath and drishti.
Hatha Sun-moon, forceful: A slower-paced style focused on holding individual poses with attention to alignment and breath. In the broadest sense, all physical yoga is Hatha yoga.
Restorative: A deeply passive style using bolsters, blankets, and blocks to fully support the body in each pose. Held for long durations to encourage the nervous system to settle.
Vinyasa (style): A dynamic style of yoga where poses are linked with breath in a continuous flow. Teachers sequence classes creatively rather than following a set series.
Yin: A slow, quiet style in which mostly seated and lying poses are held for three to five minutes to work into the connective tissues — fascia, ligaments, and joint capsules.

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