How to Read Sanskrit Yoga Pose Names: Common Word Parts Explained

Four word parts to recognise

These are selected dictionary senses, not every meaning each word can have. Context matters.

• Mukha: face or mouth. A compound may use the face sense.
• Hasta: hand.
• Koṇa: corner or angle. Plain app spellings may appear as kona.
• Bāla: child or young. The long ā matters; simplified English spellings often omit it.

A word meaning does not specify a pose

Knowing that hasta means hand does not tell you where to put your hands, how much weight to bear or whether the movement is suitable. Use the teacher’s demonstration or the pose’s complete instructions for that.

An English class label can be conventional rather than a word-for-word dictionary rendering. Keep both names in your notes without assuming every word maps neatly onto the other language.

A reliable lookup workflow

Start with the name exactly as it appears in the class notes or app. A search result alone can conflate similar spellings.

1. Copy the whole name before trying to split it into parts.
2. Look for a dictionary entry that identifies its dictionary, such as Monier-Williams, rather than an unattributed summary.
3. Check the headword and vowel marks against the form you copied.
4. Read the relevant sense in context; a word can have several meanings.
5. Return to the pose description to confirm which movement the teacher means.

Keep a searchable spelling record

A useful note can contain the displayed spelling, a dictionary form where verified, the English class name and a link to the exact pose reference. Do not silently change the app’s label just because a search engine suggests another word.

For example, the verified dictionary headword bāla includes child. Keeping the marked form beside the simplified bala helps you remember that the spelling has lost information. This is a lookup aid, not a claim that all words written bala are interchangeable.

Which dictionary source to use

Cologne University hosts digitised historical Sanskrit dictionaries. Its Monier-Williams scan gives the bāla entry on page 728. The sources below also link to named historical dictionary entries reproduced by Kosha for mukha, hasta and koṇa.

Check the named dictionary text itself. An automatically generated summary or an uncredited yoga glossary is not the same evidence. If a page gives several senses, do not select the one that merely sounds most like the pose you expected.

Use names to ask clearer questions

Before class, mark an unfamiliar name and ask which pose or variation the teacher means. During practice, pausing is more useful than trying to reconstruct a movement from the name.

A short personal list of names you actually encounter is easier to maintain than a large copied glossary. Add a word only after checking it, and separate “dictionary meaning” from “what my teacher calls this pose”.