Holy Sanskrit sounds - yoga

If you have practiced yoga for a while, you have probably heard of Sanskritwords before, perhaps in class, teacher training or when exploring yoga texts such as the yoga-sutras of Patanjali or the bhagavad-gita .

But do you know beyond the words what they mean or where they come from? While some yoga classes opt for the use of English words for postures and poses, other names can contain such as vrikshasana (tree pose), suryanamaska ​​ (sun salutation) or the mantra um, are the thousands of years old. Regardless of whether you are familiar with sanskrit sounds or have always been surprised about the strange words of your teacher, there is a lot to learn about this rich and fascinating language.

Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages ​​in the world and was created in India over 5000 years ago when it still existed as a purely oral tradition. Like many old languages, Sanskrit has been passed on as a spoken language for years, with stories and teachings that were learned by repeating and memorizing instead of reading and writing. About 5000 years ago, Sanskrit devoted himself to Scripture, and texts such as antiquity veden and the Mahabharata were born. The word veda means 'knowledge' or 'warehouse of knowledge', and the four Vedic texts of the rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and atharva-Veda were all between 1500 and 900 BC. Written in Sanskrit. These texts are important because they are the oldest writings of Hinduism and influenced the yoga and meditation practices that we know today. In order to remember the words, most of the Vedes were spoken in a rhythmic, poem-like form, while the Sama-Veda was sung with sophisticated harmonies.

ancient origins & modern migrations

If you start exploring Sanskrit, you may notice some similarities between the old words and modern English. This is because Sanskrit has influenced languages ​​all over the world and that the roots of many words used today is. Dr. Matthew Clark lives in Brighton, Great Britain, and has been a research assistant at the London School of Oriental and African Studies since 2004, has taught Hinduism and has held countless yoga teacher training courses around the world. Maybe he even spoke in a course that you took!

"Almost all languages ​​from western and southern Europe and India belong to the same language family, the so-called Indo-European family. A more complex version of the Sanskrit was brought to India from 1600 BC and hiked from there to Europe." Despite the assumption that Sanskrit was used exclusively for mystical rituals and rites, it was actually a common spoken language and was used for all types of texts, from poetry to astrology, mathematics and medicine.

is Sanskrit easy to learn? The answer seems to be no ... "Sanskrit is a very complicated language" says Dr. Clark, "You can say a lot in two or three words, so the change can only change the meaning of the whole sentence". If you imagine how people talk about cave -like noises thousands of years ago, think about it again; "Sanskrit is complicated because it is very old. The older languages ​​are historical, the more complex they are. Over time, languages ​​are getting easier. When we speak English, we use a smaller vocabulary than years ago and a simpler grammar." If you are looking for a quick reference for Sanskrit words, books like the illustrated yoga dictionary are a valuable resource.

Although Sanskrit is indeed a practical and widespread language, there are many who appreciate its more spiritual and subtle aspects. Vick Storrm is a yoga teacher and teacher of Vedic astrology based in Sussex who was born into Hindu culture. He speaks Gujarati at home and immersed them in the yoga practices at a young age. "Yoga is such a far-composed term and a Sanskrit term. It is really" yog "what" combine "or" unite "means, but now it means something completely different. If you look at the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, there are many types of 'yoga', which really means 'many ways to have a spiritual connection'. "

sanskrit today

Today, Sanskrit is rarely spoken, except in some villages in India who have received it orally after it has traditionally been passed on from generation to generation. However, since traditions seem to decompose around the world, the transfer of languages ​​and knowledge is lost, which means that the traditions with which they are connected, such as yoga and meditation, also change.

Vick says that if you want to deepen a yoga practice at a philosophical level, Sanskrit is an important part of it. "If you want to contribute to the survival of the yoga tradition, it is important to use the Sanskrit words. Sanskrit helps us to understand asanas (the yoga stops) in a historical way." attitudes such as "warrior pose", "children's pose" and "stool pose" are often used in class, while their Sanskrit translations virabhadrasana, balasana and utkatasana have meanings that could help us understand and practice the attitudes in a completely different way. "Virabhadrasana comes from the martial arts of India and also from the old archery" says Vick. If every yoga practitioner knew this, it could deepen his experience in practicing?

convert into practice

If you want to learn Sanskrit to deepen your yoga and meditation practice or want to familiarize yourself with eastern traditions, it is useful to first learn the sounds of the alphabet. There are countless videos online from which you can learn, but sing mantras with a mala can help you practice and absorb the feeling of Sanskrit sounds. Try to sing the mantra 'om' or 'aum', of which you say it is the original sound from which the whole universe was created. The singing of 'aum' also revives the chakra system (subtle energetic points and channels in us) and represents a divine connection to the past, present and future as well as mind, body and soul.

In your next yoga class, pay attention to these Sanskrit words:

yoga: from the root 'yuj' means 'Joch' or 'connect'. "Yoga" does not only refer to physical practice. There are many types of yoga like Karma Yoga (yoga of selfless serving), Bhakti Yoga (yoga of devotion) and Raja Yoga (meditation). If the word "yoga" is used, it can refer to one or all aspects of meditation, movement or mantra.

asana: originally referred to as "seat", which is taken for meditation, it is used today as "attitude".

pranayama: This is the word used to describe the different breathing techniques used during a yoga practice. The word prana refers to "life energy", similar to the word Qi, while the word yama means to steer or control. With this in mind, we can understand a pranayama practice so that they contain the steering and control of energy away from distractions on body, breath and mind.

Suryanamascar: This practice, which is generally known as the "sun salutation", is often used at the beginning of a yoga class to warm up the body. The word surya means sun (both the physical sun and the Hindu sun god) and Namaskar means "greeting" or "worship". There are many different forms of the sun salutation; Classic, A and B. Ashtanga-Yoga sequences often include.