admin My yoga teacher training was in Costa Rica, but instead of cleverly learning the basics of Spanish as any smart traveler would have, we made flashcards to study Sanskrit.
It was a great help when ordering food or getting a taxi to the training center! We got lost in Costa Rica’s farmland and arrived late on the first day…but it prepared us for the month of intensive Sanskrit usage!
We are proud of our ability to decipher the language neatly! The Sanskrit Tree produced a number of fruits.
Sanskrit Pronunciation Notes
To learn how to pronounce this, you need to know that the names of all postures end in “asana.” Asana literally means “pose.”
Sanskrit has a lot of H’s to soften up the surrounding letters.
Two of the same letters (i.e., the letters TT are repeated, making it appear as though the word is a new one (i.e., UT-TAN-ASANA).
Beyond these basic rules, Sanskrit is primarily a phonetic or visual language. This is not helpful for practicing yoga, but it’s very useful for keeping up on your DYY articles and general yoga conversations, as well as for reading those Yoga Books that you purchased last week.
Common Sanskrit Words and Yoga Terms
You may find it difficult to distinguish or pronounce some of the Sanskrit terms and words you hear often in yoga.
Parsva Bakasana (Side Crow)
It can be difficult for those who are not familiar with Sanskrit to combine the “S” sound and the “VA,” but repetition will help.
It is easier to say “Bakasana”. It is called “Crow Pose,” and it’s pronounced as if there were a “CK.”
Samadhi (Enlightenment)
It is the eighth of the eight limbs in yoga, and it is about finding your enlightenment. Maybe it’s hard to pronounce “Samadhi” because it’s hard to achieve. It doesn’t matter how you repeat this phrase; it can be a powerful mantra for concentration!
The “H” softly melts the last three letters together. The middle sound is like a Bostonian calling their mother “MA.” Pronounce “MA” by saying, “Oh, look at this cute sleeping kitten,” with an M in front …. SAM-ARRRRHHH-DEE.
Sukhasana (Easy Pose)
“Sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce” is a mouthful to say, but so is the Sanskrit name. You can soften this Sanskrit word by adding an “R” at the end. Say “SUE CAR SANA” with me.
Uttanasana vs. Utkatasana (Forward Fold vs. Chair Pose)
You don’t want to make a mistake in the middle of an intense practice by going into a Chair pose instead of relaxing into a delicious forward fold.
It is obvious that the key to distinguishing the two is by listening for the “K.” It’s not so obvious that when saying “UT” in Sanskrit, you say “not” instead of “utt.” There are two pronunciations: OOOT TAN-ASANA (boot) and OOOT KAT-ASANA (butt).
Pair those two rules of thumb with the double T sound mentioned earlier in Uttanasana (forward fold), which makes this one word sound like two words…OOOT–TANASANA.
You should have enough material to get you started! Keep practicing, yogis!
