Book Review
The Language of Yoga: Complete A to Y Guide To Asana Names, Sanskrit
Terms, and Chants by Nicolai Bachman
Reviewed by christy linson
Have you ever felt a bit lost when asked to
move into Utkatasana? Do you wish you knew how to pronounce Ardha-Candrasana?
Have you ever been given a mantra to chant in class and wish you had some
idea of what you were saying?
For those perplexed by and interested in
Sanskrit, Nicolai Bachman has compiled an excellent reference. Not only does
he translate chants and asana(posture) names but he offers a guide to
pronunciation, which means that you will no longer struggle with
Ardha-Baddha-Padma-Pascimottanasana(half bound lotus back stretched out
posture), at least in conversation.
For those interested in learning about the 7
limbs of yoga besides asana, Bachman gives a brief and simple description as
well as discussing the Bandhas(locks), Cakras(energy centers), and
Mudras(hand gestures) as well as many additional intricacies. He demystifies
numerous general terms and goes through the entire First, Second, and Third
series of Ashtanga for those who would like to have an at-home guide.
The author has appendices in the back listing
asanas alphabetically by their Sanskrit names and then by their English
names for those of us left awake at night trying to remember what in the
world Bakasana is. All of this is done with very clean and accurate diagrams
as well as 2 CDs that follow through the book and pronounce each Sanskrit
term. Thanks to Mr. Bachman you can hold your head high while dropping words
like Sirsasana and Halasana in conversation and you will never have to look
around the room in hopes that someone nearby is standing in Utkatasana
again.
|
