Let’s talk about yoga, because not knowing the history behind something does not change where it came from or erase the spiritual beliefs connected to it.

Yoga did not begin at the YMCA. It was not created because someone wanted to become more flexible, strengthen their stomach muscles, or help their lower back. Yoga developed in ancient India within religious and spiritual traditions. It was connected to things like meditation, spiritual discipline, karma, rebirth, spiritual freedom, and the search for higher spiritual knowledge. In other words, yoga was never created as simply an exercise program.

So why are so many Christians determined to defend it? I believe a lot of people simply do not know what is behind it. And sometimes, even after they are told, they still do not want to look any deeper because they have already decided, “That’s not what yoga means to me.”

But we have reached a strange place in Christianity when we can learn that a practice has roots in another religion and still immediately defend it. We can learn that yoga includes meditation practices and sacred sounds connected to those religious traditions. We can learn about its teachings concerning spiritual energy and enlightenment. We can even listen to people within yoga openly describe it as a spiritual practice. Yet Christians will still say, “But that’s not what it means to me.”

But since when does our personal definition change what a spiritual practice actually is? Not knowing the meaning behind something does not remove its meaning. And deciding that something means something different to us does not automatically erase the history, beliefs, and spiritual practices connected to it.

What Does Yoga Actually Mean?

The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means to join, yoke, or unite. The important thing to understand is that yoga was not originally created as exercise. It developed within the religious and spiritual traditions of ancient India and was connected to spiritual discipline, meditation, liberation, and transformation. What most Americans see today as stretching and exercise came out of something much deeper than a fitness routine.

Sometimes Christians hear words like meditation, consciousness, enlightenment, energy, awakening, or union and think they sound harmless. After all, none of those words sound like someone bowing down before an idol. But understand this: the words themselves are not necessarily evil. Energy is not evil. God created a world full of energy, and your body uses energy every second you are alive. Meditation is not an evil word either. The Bible actually tells us to meditate on the Word of God. There is obviously nothing wrong with being conscious, being awake, or experiencing peace.

The issue is not always the word. The issue is what that word means within the spiritual belief system using it.

When yoga or New Age spirituality talks about “energy,” it may not be talking about electricity or the normal physical energy God created. It is talking about a spiritual life force, prana, chakras, kundalini, or other ideas about spiritual energy. So, we have to ask questions. When someone talks about an “awakening,” what are they awakening to? When they talk about “enlightenment,” what are they becoming enlightened to? When they talk about “union,” what are they trying to become united with? When they talk about meditation, what are they meditating on, and what are they trying to accomplish through it?

Words have context. Christians cannot hear a familiar or peaceful-sounding word and automatically assume the belief behind it is harmless. Someone can talk about peace, love, light, healing, energy, awakening, and spirituality while believing something completely different from what the Bible teaches.

And false spirituality does not have to look dark or evil. It does not have to look like someone bowing before a golden statue. It can look peaceful. It can smell like incense and have soft music playing in the background. It can promise healing, peace, and freedom. It can talk about love, light, energy, consciousness, awakening, and discovering your “higher self.” None of those things prove that something comes from God. That is exactly why Scripture tells us: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God.” 1 John 4:1

As Christians, our question should always be: What is behind this, what is it teaching, and does it line up with the Word of God?

Yoga Is Not Just the Poses

The physical poses used in yoga are called asanas. But here is something many people do not realize: the poses are only one part of yoga.

One of the most important ancient writings about yoga is called the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. It describes what are known as the eight limbs of yoga. These include rules for how a person should live, personal spiritual practices, physical postures, controlled breathing, pulling your attention away from the outside world, concentration, meditation, and finally samadhi, a deep state of meditation connected to the spiritual goal of yoga.

Think about that for a minute. The physical poses are only one part of a much larger spiritual system. But in Western culture, we took the physical part, put people in workout clothes, added relaxing music, and started calling it exercise. Then when someone points out the spiritual history behind it, we say, “Well, I’m only doing it for flexibility.” But changing why we personally do something does not change where the practice came from or what it has historically been connected to.

And this is where I have a very simple question for Christians: Why are we working this hard to keep yoga? If you want to become more flexible, stretch. If you want stronger muscles, exercise. If you want to improve your balance, there are exercises for that too. If you want to slow your breathing and calm down, you can take slow, normal breaths. There are thousands of ways to move, stretch, strengthen, and take care of the body God gave you. So why do we need yoga?

What About That Hand Position?

You have probably seen this pose a thousand times. Someone sits cross-legged, rests their hands on their knees, and touches their thumb and index finger together to make a circle. Most people probably never stop to ask what the hand position means. They just recognize it as the typical “yoga” or “meditation” pose. But that hand position is not something somebody invented for a yoga advertisement. It is a type of mudra. A mudra is a symbolic hand gesture used within Indian religious, meditation, and yogic traditions.

One common version is called Gyan Mudra, also spelled Jnana Mudra. A closely related hand position is called Chin Mudra. Different traditions may explain the symbolism somewhat differently, but these gestures have been connected with meditation, spiritual knowledge, consciousness, and yogic practice.

Again, putting your fingers together is not demonic. Your thumb and index finger touching each other does not magically cause something spiritual to happen. That is not the point. The point is that people are often participating in movements, gestures, chants, and meditation practices without ever being told where they came from or what they have traditionally represented.

If it is nothing more than sitting comfortably, then sit comfortably. You do not need a religious hand gesture in order to sit still, breathe, pray, or relax.

To make this clear:

Stretching is not demonic. Touching your toes is not demonic. Doing a lunge is not demonic. Standing on one leg is not demonic. Taking a deep breath is not demonic. Sitting quietly is not demonic. God created your body. Satan does not own body movements. I do not believe that accidentally putting your body into a position that resembles a yoga posture means you just worshiped a Hindu deity. The issue is intentionally participating in a spiritual practice and the beliefs and practices that can come with it.

Then They Start Talking About “Energy”

This is where Christians need to pay attention, because there is a difference between simply taking a deep breath and what yoga may teach about the breath.

In yoga, you may hear the word prana. In simple terms, prana is believed to be a kind of life force or vital energy that flows through living things. This is not just talking about oxygen going into your lungs or the normal physical energy your body uses. You may also hear the word pranayama. This refers to different ways of controlling or regulating the breath. Within yoga, these breathing practices can be connected to the idea of working with prana, that life energy, and they are part of yoga’s larger spiritual system. Again, breathing itself is not the problem. God created your lungs. Taking slow, deep breaths can help your body calm down. You do not need to be afraid of breathing exercises simply because yoga also uses breathing. But Christians need to understand the difference between taking a few slow breaths to relax and participating in a spiritual practice that teaches you to control or work with a supposed spiritual life force.

Then Come the Chakras

People talk about chakras so casually today that many Christians may not even stop to ask what a chakra actually is. A chakra is not a physical part of your body. You cannot go to the doctor and have your heart chakra examined. It is not an organ, a nerve, a gland, or something doctors can find in your body. Chakras come from spiritual teachings found in Indian religious and yogic traditions.

In the chakra system people usually talk about seven main chakras located from the bottom of the spine to the top of the head. You may hear about the root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, third-eye chakra, and crown chakra. The belief is that these are spiritual or subtle energy centers. That is why people talk about “opening your chakras,” “balancing your chakras,” “cleansing your chakras,” or removing “blockages” so spiritual energy can flow properly.

That is not simply stretching anymore. We have moved into spiritual beliefs about invisible energy centers in the human body. And Christians need to ask a very basic question: Where does the Bible teach us that we have chakras that need to be opened, balanced, or cleansed?

It doesn’t. The Bible teaches us about the Holy Spirit. It teaches us about prayer, renewing our minds, walking in the Spirit, healing, deliverance, and being transformed by God. It never tells Christians that we need to open invisible energy centers in our bodies so spiritual energy can flow through us. We have the Holy Spirit. We don’t need chakras.

Kundalini Goes Even Further

Kundalini should especially get a Christian’s attention because now we are no longer simply talking about stretching, breathing, or relaxing. We are openly talking about trying to awaken a spiritual serpent power.

In yoga and Hindu tantric traditions, Kundalini is believed to be a spiritual power or energy that rests at the base of the spine. It is often pictured as a coiled serpent. practices involving yoga, breathing, meditation, chanting, or other spiritual exercises may be used in an attempt to “awaken” this energy. The belief is that once awakened, this energy can rise upward through the body and through the chakras, bringing spiritual experiences, greater awareness, or enlightenment.

Stop right there. Why would someone who belongs to Jesus Christ intentionally try to awaken a spiritual power they cannot even identify as coming from God?

As Christians, we are not supposed to chase every spiritual experience that comes along. Something being spiritual does not mean it is from the Holy Spirit. Something being supernatural does not automatically mean it is from God. A powerful feeling does not prove God is behind it. A manifestation does not prove God is behind it. A vision does not prove God is behind it. And having an intense spiritual experience does not mean that experience came from Jesus.

That is why Scripture tells us to test the spirits. Christians should not be trying to awaken unknown spiritual powers. We have already been given the Holy Spirit. We should be seeking God, following Jesus Christ, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us according to the Word of God.

We do not need to awaken Kundalini. We need to know who and what we are opening ourselves to. And if you have awaken this spirit, you need deliverance.

What About Om?

Then someone tells Christians, “Just say Om. It’s relaxing.” But Om, also written Aum, is not just a random sound somebody made up for a yoga class. It is an ancient sacred sound used in Hinduism and other Indian religious traditions. It appears in ancient Hindu sacred writings and has been used in prayer, chanting, and meditation for centuries.

Different religious traditions explain its deeper meaning in different ways, but the important point is simple: Om has religious and spiritual meaning. It is not the same thing as humming because you like the vibration or making a random sound while you breathe.

So why would a Christian need to chant a sacred sound from another religion in order to  relax? We don’t. If you need to calm down, breathe. Sit quietly. Pray. Worship Jesus. Meditate on Scripture. Take a walk. Stretch your body. There are plenty of ways to relax without borrowing a sacred sound from another religious tradition.

And again, this is not about being afraid of a sound. The letters O and M are not evil. Making a similar sound by accident is not going to open some spiritual door. The issue is knowingly taking something that has been used as a sacred spiritual practice in another religion and bringing it into Christian life as though its meaning does not matter.

If we’re following Jesus, why do we need Om?

Biblical Meditation Is Not Eastern Meditation With Jesus Added

“But Christians meditate too.” Absolutely. The Bible teaches meditation. But just because two practices use the same word does not mean they are teaching the same thing. Biblical meditation has a focus. We are not trying to discover some hidden divinity within ourselves, awaken spiritual energy, reach a higher level of consciousness, or become one with some universal spiritual reality. Biblical meditation turns our attention toward God and His Word.

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2  ….. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night.” Joshua 1:8

That is biblical meditation. We think about what God has said. We consider His Word. We turn it over in our minds. We pray about it. We allow His truth to correct us, teach us, and change the way we think and live. Biblical meditation does not teach me to look deep inside myself until I discover that I am divine. It teaches me to look to God. The goal is not to empty myself so that I can reach some higher spiritual state. The goal is to fill my mind with the truth of God’s Word.

So yes, Christians meditate. But we need to stop assuming that everything called “meditation” is automatically the same thing the Bible is talking about.

Brahman Is Not Another Name for Jesus

This needs to be said plainly because Christians have become far too careless with religious language. Just because two religions use the English word “God” does not mean they are talking about the same God. You may hear the word Brahman when studying Hindu beliefs. In simple terms, Brahman refers to the ultimate reality behind everything that exists.

In some Hindu teachings, especially a tradition called Advaita Vedanta, there is also something called Atman. Atman refers to your deepest or true self. The teaching is that, at the deepest level, Atman and Brahman are not actually separate. In other words, the spiritual goal involves realizing that your deepest true self is one with ultimate reality.

That is not Christianity. The Bible does not teach that if we search deeply enough within ourselves, we will discover that we are God or one with God in that sense. Christianity teaches that God created us. He is the Creator, and we are His creation.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

That one verse immediately gives us a distinction: there is God, and there is what God created. Yes, Christians can have a relationship with God. Yes, the Holy Spirit lives within believers. Yes, we can belong to Christ and be united with Christ. But we do not become God. We do not discover that our deepest self is actually God. God remains God, and we remain His creation.

So we cannot simply take the word Brahman and say, “Well, that’s basically their name for Jesus.” No, it isn’t. Jesus Christ is not another name for Brahman, and biblical Christianity is not another version of the same spiritual path. Jesus said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

Christians need to understand the difference instead of blending religious beliefs together simply because some of the words sound similar.

“But It Doesn’t Mean That to Me”

This may be one of the biggest arguments Christians make about yoga: “But it doesn’t mean that to me.” But think about that reasoning for a minute. If I participate in a spiritual practice that comes from another religion, but privately decide that it means something different to me, does my personal definition automatically change what I am participating in? No. There must be a line somewhere.

Paul dealt with something similar in the early church. Christians were living in a culture filled with pagan temples, idols, sacrifices, and false gods. And Paul made an important distinction.

First, he said: “Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.” 1 Corinthians 8:4

Paul understood that the idol itself was not actually a god. A statue made out of wood, stone, or metal does not suddenly become a real god because someone bows down to it.

But Paul did not stop there. When he talked about actually participating in pagan sacrifice and worship, he said: “Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:20

There it is.The idol itself was nothing. It was not a real god. But Paul understood that there was still be a very real spiritual reality behind false worship of that idol. That is why he did not tell Christians, “Don’t worry about it. You know that idol isn’t really a god, so participating doesn’t mean anything.” He told them not to participate because he did not want them having fellowship with demons.

So “it doesn’t mean that to me” cannot be our answer to everything. At some point Christians have to ask a different question: What am I actually participating in? And really hear others when they tell them.

“But It’s Christian Yoga”

This one really bothers me. Some Christians say, “Well, I don’t practice regular yoga. I do Christian yoga.” But what exactly makes yoga Christian? We take yoga, remove some of the Hindu language, rename certain parts, play worship music, add Bible verses, talk about Jesus, and then call it “Christian yoga.” But why? Why are we working so hard to make yoga Christian when Christians do not need yoga in the first place? If what you want is stretching, then stretch. If you want better flexibility, work on flexibility. If you want better balance, do balance exercises. If you want to strengthen your body, exercise. You can even play worship music, pray, or think about Scripture while you do it. But none of that requires yoga.

Think about it. If you remove the Hindu philosophy, remove the mantras, remove Om, remove the chakras, remove kundalini, remove yogic meditation, remove yogic poses, remove the spiritual meanings and goals, and simply move and stretch your body, what are you left with?

Stretching. So call it stretching. We do not have to take something from another spiritual tradition, change the language, put a Bible verse on it, and then call it Christian. Not everything needs a Christian version. Sometimes we can simply leave the other spiritual practice alone and follow Jesus.

Listen to the People Who Came Out of It

There are people who spent years practicing yoga, and some even teaching it, who later became Christians and began warning others that there is much more to yoga than stretching. Many of them did not begin because they were looking for another religion. They started for the same reasons people start today. They wanted exercise. They wanted to become more flexible. They wanted help with stress. They wanted to relax or find some peace. But as they went deeper, some were introduced to the spiritual side of yoga: meditation, Eastern religious beliefs, mantras, chakras, kundalini, gurus, spiritual energy, enlightenment, and other practices.

When people who spent years practicing and teaching yoga tell us, “There is more to this than stretching,” maybe Christians should stop brushing them off and listen to what they are saying.

Definitions

If we are going to talk about yoga, we need to understand the language connected with it. Some of these words are thrown around so casually today that people may use them without having any idea where they came from or what they traditionally mean. Not every yoga class will use all of these terms, and different Hindu and yogic traditions may explain them somewhat differently, but Christians should at least know what they are hearing.

Yoga: The word comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning to yoke, join, or unite. Yoga is much bigger historically than a collection of stretches. It refers to traditions and disciplines developed in India involving the body, mind, meditation, spiritual practice, and liberation.

Asana: This means posture or seat and is the word used for the physical positions practiced in yoga. When you hear names ending in “asana,” you are hearing the Sanskrit name of a yoga posture. The physical poses most Westerners associate with yoga are only one part of the larger yogic tradition.

Prana: Prana is commonly understood in yogic and Indian traditions as vital life force or life energy. It is not simply another word for oxygen. This is important because when someone in a yoga setting talks about “energy,” they may be talking about something very different from the normal physical energy God created.

Pranayama: Pranayama refers to yogic practices involving the regulation or control of the breath. Within yoga, breathing can be connected with prana, which means it can carry a spiritual meaning beyond simply taking slow breaths to calm your physical body.

Om or Aum: Om is a sacred syllable with ancient significance in Hinduism and other Indian religions. It appears in Hindu sacred writings and is used in meditation, chanting, and religious practice. It is not simply a meaningless sound people make because it helps them relax.

Mantra: A mantra is a word, sound, phrase, or sacred formula repeated during meditation or religious practice. Some mantras are associated with particular Hindu deities or spiritual purposes. This is different from repeating a Bible verse to help yourself remember Scripture.

Namaste: Namaste is a traditional Sanskrit greeting associated with showing respect or reverence. The word itself is commonly understood along the lines of “I bow to you.” In modern Western yoga culture it is sometimes given expanded spiritual explanations such as “the divine in me honors the divine in you.”

Chakra: Chakra literally is the idea of a wheel or circle. In Hindu, tantric, and yogic systems, chakras are understood as centers within the subtle body and are associated with spiritual energy. Modern teachings commonly speak about seven major chakras and about opening, balancing, cleansing, or unblocking them. These are spiritual concepts, not physical organs in the human body.

Kundalini: Kundalini refers to a spiritual power (deity) described in yogic and tantric traditions, traditionally pictured as coiled at the base of the spine. Kundalini practices may seek to awaken this power and cause it to rise through the subtle body and its chakras. When someone talks about a “kundalini awakening,” they are talking about a spiritual experience, not ordinary physical exercise.

Third Eye: The “third eye” is commonly connected with the ajna chakra, located symbolically around the area between the eyebrows. It is associated with things such as spiritual perception, intuition, and inner awareness. Christians should understand that “opening your third eye” is spiritual language. The Bible never instructs believers to develop or awaken a chakra in order to perceive spiritual truth. (This is not the same thing as your mind’s eye, imagination, quoted in scripture)

Shakti: Shakti refers broadly to power or energy and, within Hindu traditions, can refer particularly to divine feminine power or energy. Shakti is also personified as the Goddess in certain Hindu traditions. So when the word is being used we should not assume it merely means ordinary physical strength.

Guru: Guru means a spiritual teacher or master. Within various Indian religious traditions, the guru may have a much deeper spiritual role than what Christians normally mean when we simply call someone a teacher.

Atman: Atman refers to the self or deepest self in Hindu philosophy. Different Hindu schools understand Atman differently. In Advaita Vedanta, for example, the deepest self is ultimately understood as not separate from Brahman. This directly raises questions about who we are and our relationship to ultimate reality.

Brahman: Brahman refers to ultimate reality in Hindu philosophy. Different Hindu traditions explain Brahman differently, but in some schools everything is ultimately understood in relation to this one reality, and the deepest self, Atman, is understood as not separate from Brahman. This is very different from Christianity, which teaches that God is the Creator and we are His creation. We may belong to Him and have His Spirit dwelling within us, but we never become God.

Moksha: Moksha means liberation or release. In Hindu traditions, it generally refers to liberation from samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This is important because the ultimate spiritual problem and its solution are being understood very differently from the gospel. Christianity does not teach reincarnation or that we need liberation from repeated lives. Scripture says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27

Samsara: Samsara refers to the continuing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth found within Hinduism and several other Indian religions. Yoga developed in a religious world where liberation from this cycle was an important spiritual concern. Christianity teaches something entirely different about life, death, resurrection, and judgment.

Karma: Karma literally has to do with action or deed, but within Indian religions it carries a much deeper meaning than the modern saying, “What goes around comes around.” Karma concerns actions and their consequences and is connected in Hindu traditions with samsara and rebirth. It should not simply be treated as another word for the biblical principle of reaping what you sow.

Dharma: Dharma has a wide range of meanings depending upon the religious and philosophical setting, including duty, right conduct, moral order, teaching, or the proper way of living. It is a major concept in Indian religions and cannot always be translated with one simple English word.

Samadhi: Samadhi is a deep state of meditative concentration and is the final limb in Patanjali’s eight-limbed system of yoga. This alone should tell us that classical yoga was never simply about becoming more flexible. Its path moves toward profound states of meditation connected with its spiritual goal.

Enlightenment: This word can be used very loosely today, but in Eastern spiritual settings it generally refers to gaining profound spiritual realization, awakening, or liberation. Whenever someone talks about “enlightenment,” a Christian should ask, “Enlightenment to what?” A spiritual word sounding positive does not automatically make the belief behind it biblical.

Higher Consciousness: This is especially common in modern New Age spirituality. It generally describes the idea of reaching an elevated state of spiritual awareness or perception. The exact meaning varies tremendously. Christians should not automatically equate “higher consciousness” with becoming spiritually mature in Christ. They come from completely different ways of understanding spiritual growth.

Awakening: Awakening sounds harmless because being awake is obviously not sinful. But in yoga and New Age spirituality, “spiritual awakening” can refer to becoming aware of a supposedly deeper spiritual reality, experiencing kundalini, realizing one’s higher self, or entering a new state of consciousness. Again, the word itself is not the problem. The question is: What are you awakening to?

Energy: Energy is not an evil word. God created physical energy, and our bodies require energy to live. But when “energy” is used in yoga or New Age spirituality, it can refer to prana, kundalini, chakras, subtle energy, or other spiritual concepts. That is why context matters. A Christian saying, “I don’t have any energy today,” is obviously not talking about the same thing as someone saying, “I need to open my chakras so spiritual energy can flow through me.”

Vibration or Frequency: These are real scientific words. Sound has frequency. Electromagnetic radiation has frequency. Physical systems can vibrate. But New Age spirituality often borrows these scientific-sounding words and gives them spiritual meanings, such as “raising your vibration,” attracting things because you are “on the same frequency,” or claiming certain emotional or spiritual states operate at particular vibrations. We should not confuse scientific terminology with spiritual claims simply because the same words are being used.

Manifestation: The word “manifest” itself is not evil and even appears in Scripture in completely different contexts. In modern New Age teaching, however, “manifesting” commonly refers to trying to bring desired circumstances into your life through thoughts, intentions, visualization, energy, or supposed universal laws such as the “law of attraction.” That is not the biblical meaning of faith or prayer.

This is why Christians need to stop judging spiritual language merely by whether a word sounds harmless. Energy can be a perfectly normal word. Meditation can be biblical. Awakening can describe something ordinary. Manifest can simply mean that something became visible. The word itself is not necessarily the problem. We have to ask what that word means in the belief system using it. When yoga and New Age spirituality use words such as prana, chakras, kundalini, enlightenment, higher consciousness, energy, awakening, and manifestation, we need to understand the spiritual ideas being communicated rather than assuming they mean the same thing Christians mean when we use similar words.

Yoga Poses Connected to Hindu Deities and Religious Figures

Hanumanasana (Splits)
Named after Hanuman, the Hindu monkey deity and devotee of Rama. The pose is traditionally connected with Hanuman’s legendary great leap in the Ramayana.

Natarajasana (Dancer Pose)
Named after Nataraja, the cosmic dancing form of Shiva.

Virabhadrasana I, II & III (Warrior Poses)
Named after Virabhadra, a fierce warrior figure that Hindu tradition says was created by Shiva.

Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge/Crescent Pose)
Named after Anjaneya, another name for Hanuman, meaning the son of Anjana.

Bhairavasana
Named after Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva.

Skandasana
Named after Skanda, also known as Kartikeya or Murugan, a Hindu deity associated with warfare and traditionally described as the son of Shiva and Parvati.

Garudasana (Eagle Pose)
Named after Garuda, a divine bird-like being in Hindu tradition who serves as the vehicle or mount of Vishnu.

Matsyasana (Fish Pose)
Matsya means “fish” and is also the name of the fish avatar of Vishnu. The shared name does not by itself establish that the posture was created as worship of Vishnu.

Kurmasana (Tortoise Pose)
Kurma means “tortoise” and is also the name of the tortoise avatar of Vishnu. Again, the name alone does not prove the posture was created as an act of worship.

Poses Named After Sages or Yogic Religious Figures

Vasisthasana (Side Plank)
Named after Vasistha, an important Vedic sage.

Vishvamitrasana
Named after Vishvamitra, a famous sage in Hindu tradition.

Matsyendrasana (Spinal Twist)
Named after Matsyendranath, an important spiritual figure associated with the development of Hatha Yoga.

Ashtavakrasana (Eight-Angle Pose)
Named after Ashtavakra, a sage associated with Hindu philosophical tradition.

Sun Salutation — Surya Namaskar
Surya means sun and is also the name of the Hindu solar deity, while namaskar means a salutation, reverential greeting, or act of homage. Sun Salutation is a sequence rather than one individual pose. Its modern history is complicated, but its name literally carries the idea of salutation to the sun, and devotional forms of Surya Namaskar can include mantras addressed to Surya.