Sanskrit: The Language of Yoga

What do those Sanskrit words used in yoga class really mean? Author, Sanskrit teacher, and Ashtanga yoga teacher Zoë Slatoff examines the beauty of commonly used Sanskrit words and explains how understanding and using Sanskrit can deepen our yoga practice.

Zoe Slatoff discovered yoga at the age of 15 and has been devoted to a daily practice ever since. After training with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath in Mysore, India, Zoe was certified to teach. She has a Master’s Degree in Asian Languages and Culture from Columbia University, and is the author of Yogavataranam, a Sanskrit textbook for yoga students which uses extracts from classical yoga texts to integrate traditional and academic methods for learning the language.

Book discussed in this episode: Yogavataranam available at Amazon

Website: www.ashtangayogaupperwestside.com

THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: For those of us on the yoga path, this program about Sanskrit, the language of yoga, was a very informative and important program, even if we don't really want to study the language deeply. We often hear these Sanskrit words and don't really understand their significance for our practice and our study. Zoe Slatoff's years of study of this language and of the practice of Hatha (pronounced “huta”) yoga and of Yoga philosophy is very supportive of our study. She addressed why it is useful to understand some of the Sanskrit we hear. She said some study helps us to pronounce the words properly and it helps us understand the deeper meaning of the words. Often the words have several different meanings. Zoe offered practical information about how to pronounce some common words that we hear in Hatha Yoga classes as well as words from the scriptures like The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. She also offered how beginners who are wanting to learn some basics to deepen their practice can learn.

COMMENTS FROM DR. TRUJILLO: I really enjoyed our conversation about Sanskrit: The Language of Yoga, and the our discussion of many Sanskrit words that are common in Hatha yoga class, as well as several from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. I was interested to read the list in herbook of the 78 definitions of the word yoga from V.S. Apte’s dictionary which include union, fitness, plan, zeal, opportunity, and wealth. This gave listeners an idea of the challenges of translating from Sanskrit into English. I appreciated her advice for those who want to deepen their study of yoga by learning more about Sanskrit, but aren’t ready to devote the time to reading Sanskrit themselves. You advised them to read multiple English translations of the same Sanskrit material from different translators, or to chant in Sanskrit. She has wonderful supportive audio files on her website for listeners to follow up with if desired.