Learn Yoga Poses and Their History: 59 Flashcards from Patanjali to Iyengar
Learn yoga poses and philosophy with 59 flashcards: Patanjali's eight limbs, hatha texts, Sanskrit pose names decoded and the modern yoga revival from Krishnamacharya.
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Most yoga flashcards stop at "Tree pose = Vrikshasana". Deck WO1811, "Yoga: Poses & Philosophy" (59 cards) goes further: it is really a history of the asana, from Patanjali's two-word definition to Iyengar's 200 photographed poses. Here is how to learn it without drowning in Sanskrit.
Study this deck: Yoga: Poses & Philosophy
1 / 10What is an āsana?
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
What the deck actually covers
The title promises poses, but only 19 cards name one. The rest split cleanly into three blocks, which make a better study plan than the card order:
- Cards 1-24: texts and teachers. The meaning of āsana, the eight limbs, the medieval hatha manuals and the 20th-century revival.
- Cards 25-43: the poses. Lotus, Mountain, Tree, Downward Dog, Cobra, Fish, Lion, Corpse, Boat, Peacock, Wheel and more.
- Cards 44-59: practice and evidence. Benefits, contraindications, styles, props, pregnancy.
Sample cards
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| What does the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define asana as? | A position that is steady and comfortable |
| How many asanas does the Yoga Sutras name? | None; it only specifies the characteristics of a good asana |
| What is the first manuscript to describe a non-seated asana? | The 10th-11th century Vimanarcanakalpa, describing Mayurasana (peacock pose) |
| How many asanas does the Gheranda Samhita describe? | 32 asanas, useful "in the world of mortals" |
| Is Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I) ancient? | No, probably devised by Krishnamacharya around 1940 and popularised by Iyengar |
| What did B.K.S. Iyengar publish in 1966? | Light on Yoga, with 600 photographs of around 200 asanas |
| What is Simhasana? | Lion pose, recalling the myth of Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu |
| What are contraindications for inverted postures? | People with glaucoma are advised not to practice them |
You'll also cover: yamas, niyamas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi, sthira sukham āsanam (Sutra 2:46), the symbolic 84 asanas, Pashupati seal, Goraksha Sataka, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Hatha Ratnavali, Siddhasana, Padmasana, Bhadrasana, Surya Namaskar, Yogendra, Kuvalayananda, Krishnamacharya, Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, Desikachar, Ashtanga vinyasa, Sivananda's 12 basic asanas, Dharma Mittra's 908 poses, shatkarma.
Two tips specific to this deck
1. Decode the pose names instead of memorizing them. Almost every name is object + āsana: vriksha = tree, bhujanga = cobra, matsya = fish, simha = lion, shava = corpse, nava = boat, trikona = triangle, mayura = peacock, chakra = wheel, tada = mountain, padma = lotus. Learn those eleven roots once and cards 25-43 answer themselves. Adho mukha svana is literally "downward-facing dog".
2. Turn the texts into a timeline card. The history cards are scattered; rebuild them in order: Yoga Sutras (c. 2nd-4th c. CE, zero poses named) → Vimanarcanakalpa (10th-11th c., first non-seated pose) → Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th c., 4 key seated poses) → Hatha Ratnavali (17th c., 52 of 84) → Gheranda Samhita (late 17th c., 32) → Light on Yoga (1966, ~200). The numbers only stick once you see them climb.
Cards worth rewriting
- Card 9 promises 12 seated asanas from the Bhasya but lists four. Complete it: Padmasana, Virasana, Bhadrasana, Svastikasana, Dandasana, Sopasraya, Paryanka, Krauncha-nishadana, Hasti-nishadana, Ushtra-nishadana, Samasansthana, Sthirasukha.
- Card 54 never names the six shatkarmas: dhauti, basti, neti, trataka, nauli, kapalabhati.
- Card 21 asks when but answers who, and card 50 asks about Western practitioners but answers about 1970s Britain: reword both fronts to match their backs.
Go further
The philosophy block overlaps with the Hinduism deck: see Hinduism Basics Study Guide for dharma, the four yogas and the Vedanta schools.
Search WO1811 in the Flip It library to start: flip-it.app.
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