Asanas, the yoga postures

Updated October 16, 2026 · sources checked October 16, 2026

A man practising the tree pose (vrikshasana) outdoors on a cotton mat — Photo: Thamizhpparithi Maari, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

In short

An asana is a posture held steadily and comfortably, as Patañjali puts it in Yoga Sutra 2.46. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes fifteen of them and says Śiva taught eighty-four. Each card on Yogide gives the Sanskrit name, its meaning, the steps, the precautions and the source text.

The word āsana first means a seat. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, posture comes first among the limbs of hatha yoga, practised "for gaining steady posture, health and lightness of body" (1.19 in Pancham Sinh's 1914 translation). Read each card slowly, start with the beginner postures, and never force a joint.

Start here

The sun salutation: the twelve steps, the twelve names of the sun and the true history of the sequence.
Twelve basic poses for beginners, in practice order, with a first twenty-minute session.
The meaning of pose names: animals, sages, heroes and gods behind the Sanskrit.
A yoga poses chart to print, free, with Sanskrit and Devanāgarī.

Families of postures

Standing: mountain, triangle, Warrior I.
Seated and meditation seats: vajrāsana, the lotus.
Forward bends: the seated forward bend.
Backbends: the cobra, the bridge, the bow, the wheel.
Twists: Ardha Matsyendrāsana.
Hip openers: the pigeon, Hanumānāsana.
Strength and arm balances: plank and caturaṅga, the crow.
Inversions: downward-facing dog, the shoulder stand, the headstand.
Rest: śavāsana.

By level

The levels on the cards describe what a posture asks of the body and how it should be learned, not a performance to reach. The texts measure posture by its quality, steady and at ease (sthira-sukham, Yoga Sutra 2.46), and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika says of an inversion, viparīta karaṇī, that it is learned "from the teaching of a guru, not from millions of treatises" (3.78 in the Sanskrit text, 3.77 in Pancham Sinh).

Beginner: safe for most people from the first day, in the gentle version. Mountain, vajrāsana, bridge, cobra, downward dog, triangle, Warrior I, seated forward bend, seated twist, śavāsana.
Intermediate: after some months of regular practice, with care for knees, wrists and neck. Lotus, plank and caturaṅga, bow, pigeon, crow, shoulder stand.
Advanced: learn with a teacher. Wheel, Hanumānāsana, headstand.

What levels mean across the whole of practice, breath and meditation included, is explained in yoga levels.

How to read a card

Every card gives the name in Devanāgarī and in scholarly transliteration, its meaning word by word, the level and the family, then numbered steps, the alignment points, variations (always a gentle one with props), the contraindications, and what the texts say: the verse of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika or the Gheranda Samhita in our own translation when the posture is classical, or an honest note when it is modern.

The posture cards

सूर्यनमस्कारSūrya namaskāra, the salutation to the sunsūrya-namaskāra · salutation to the sunThe 12 steps, the 12 names of the sun, and the true story of the sequence, from Aundh in 1908 to Rishikesh today.आसनTwelve basic yoga poses for beginnersāsana · seat, postureThe twelve postures to learn first, in practice order, with their Sanskrit names and a first 20-minute session.नामार्थThe meaning of yoga pose names, and the myths behind themnāmārtha · the meaning of namesAnimals, sages, heroes, gods and objects: how Sanskrit pose names are built, and the stories they carry.आसनYoga poses chart with Sanskrit names, free to printāsana · postureA free chart of the postures on Yogide to print today, and what the 84-card Asana Atlas adds.ताडासनTāḍāsana, the mountain poseTāḍāsanaThe standing pose every other standing pose starts from: steps, alignment and the meaning of the name.वज्रासनVajrāsana, the thunderbolt poseVajrāsanaThe kneeling seat of the Gheranda Samhita, sat in after meals across India: steps, props and precautions.सेतुबन्धासनSetu bandhāsana, the bridge poseSetu BandhāsanaThe gentle backbend done lying on the back, and the legendary bridge to Laṅkā behind its name.भुजङ्गासनBhujaṅgāsana, the cobra poseBhujaṅgāsanaThe serpent of the Gheranda Samhita: the gentlest way into backbends, with the sphinx for beginners.अधोमुखश्वानासनAdho mukha śvānāsana, downward-facing dogAdho Mukha ŚvānāsanaThe inverted V of every vinyasa class: steps, gentle versions, precautions and its real, modern history.त्रिकोणासनTrikoṇāsana, the triangle poseTrikoṇāsanaThe wide-legged side bend found in almost every class: steps, alignment and versions with a block or a chair.वीरभद्रासनVīrabhadrāsana I, Warrior I, and the story of VīrabhadraVīrabhadrāsanaThe lunge with arms raised, named after the warrior Śiva created from a lock of his hair: steps and the Purāṇic story.पश्चिमोत्तानासनPaścimottānāsana, the seated forward bendPaścimottānāsanaThe stretch of the west, praised by the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as the foremost of postures: steps, props and precautions.अर्धमत्स्येन्द्रासनArdha matsyendrāsana, the seated twist of the lord of fishesArdha MatsyendrāsanaThe classical twist named after the first human teacher of hatha yoga, with the legend of the fish who overheard Śiva.शवासनŚavāsana, the corpse poseŚavāsanaThe rest posture that closes every session: steps, variations and what the texts say.पद्मासनPadmāsana, the lotus pose, and the half lotusPadmāsanaThe emblematic seat of meditation, and how to approach it without hurting the knees: half lotus, preparations, texts.चतुरङ्गदण्डासनPlank and caturaṅga daṇḍāsana, the four-limbed staffCaturaṅga DaṇḍāsanaThe strength poses of the sun salutation, and how to lower without sinking into the shoulders.धनुरासनDhanurāsana, the bow poseDhanurāsanaA backbend on the belly, and a surprise in the texts: the oldest bow is an archer drawing the string to the ear.कपोतासनPigeon pose, kapotāsana and its variationsKapotāsanaThe deep hip opener of modern classes: steps, the knee-safe reclining version, and what the Sanskrit names really cover.बकासनBakāsana, the crow pose (or crane)BakāsanaThe first arm balance: steps, a cushion for courage, and why the crane became a crow.सर्वाङ्गासनSarvāṅgāsana, the shoulder standSarvāṅgāsanaThe queen of inversions, with the precautions first: blankets under the shoulders, never on the neck, and legs-up-the-wall for most people.चक्रासनCakrāsana, the wheel pose (ūrdhva dhanurāsana)CakrāsanaThe full backbend, approached in stages from the bridge: steps, preparations and precautions.हनुमानासनHanumānāsana, the splits, and the leap of HanumānHanumānāsanaThe front splits named after the monkey hero who leapt across the ocean to Laṅkā: preparation, steps and the epic.शीर्षासनŚīrṣāsana, the headstandŚīrṣāsanaThe king of asanas, with the precautions first: who should never try it, what studies measured, and a patient way in.मत्स्यासनMatsyāsana, the fish poseMatsyāsanaA chest-opening backbend named after the fish who saved the Vedas: the safe modern form, the bolster version, and the older lotus form of the Gheranda Samhita.हलासनHalāsana, the plow poseHalāsanaAn inversion that loads the neck: precautions first, the blanket and chair set-ups, the steps from shoulder stand, and what research says about its risks.शलभासनŚalabhāsana, the locust poseŚalabhāsanaA backbend on the belly that strengthens the whole back of the body: half locust first, then both legs, as the Gheranda Samhita describes it.

Questions people ask

How many yoga poses are there?

Tradition speaks of 84, or even 8,400,000 taught by Śiva. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes fifteen, the Gheranda Samhita thirty-two; modern Indian schools have added many more, especially standing poses.

Which yoga poses should a beginner learn first?

Mountain, cat-cow, child's pose, downward-facing dog with bent knees, cobra, bridge, a gentle forward bend and twist, and śavāsana. See the twelve basic poses for beginners.

Sources

Patañjali, Yogasūtra, Sanskrit text (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 16, 2026
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (Allahabad, Panini Office, 1914), Internet Archive checked October 16, 2026
Gheraṇḍasaṃhitā, Sanskrit text, chapter 2 (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 16, 2026

Practise gently and within your limits. Yoga is learnt best with a qualified teacher; this page does not replace one.