A Yoga posture is usually called an âsana, though sometimes it is called a pîtha. Both these Sanskrit words literally mean "seat." Originally, many centuries ago, an âsana was the "seat" or platform on which the yogi sat for meditation. As the Bhagavad-Gîtâ (6:11-12) states:

Setting up a firm seat (sthîram âsanam) for himself in a clean place, neither too high nor too low and covered with kusha grass, a deer skin, and a cloth upon it, he [i.e., the yogin] should-seated on the seat, make his mind one-pointed, restrain his thoughts, and practice Yoga for self-purification. (Translation by Georg Feuerstein)

Over time the term âsana became associated with the physical position or "posture" assumed by the yogin, which is how we loosely understand the word today.

Nobody knows exactly where or how the yogic postures originated. Some authorities speculate that the earliest âsanas were spontaneous, unstructured movements of yogins responding to powerful surges of divine energy (shakti) in higher states of consciousness. These âsanas flowed one to the next, like a sacred dance, and only over many centuries did they crystallize into the more static positions we are familiar with today. Wherever the postures came from, they have-in one form or another-been around for a very long time. Archeologists have excavated, in the Indus River valley (which is now in Pakistan), clay seals c. 5000 years old that show human figure, possibly priests or deities, seated in a familiar cross-legged posture.

The earliest yogic postures were primarily used as "seats" for rituals, chanting, breath control, and meditation. These âsanas include the Lotus Posture (padma-âsana), the Accomplished, Perfect or Adept's Posture (siddha-âsana), and the Hero Posture (vîra-âsana). Just as nobody knows where the postures came from, so also nobody knows how many there are. T. K. V. Desikachar claims that his father, T. Krishnamacharya (who died in 1989 at the age of 100 and was one of the most influential Yoga masters of the twentieth century), knew several thousand yoga âsanas. A Brazilian Yoga teacher has published a book featuring over 2,000 postures.

Most of the postures you will learn in a typical Yoga class were developed over the last thousand years by practitioners of Hatha-Yoga, the Yoga of "force." These postures aim to improve our physical and mental flexibility and "firmness" (dridhatâ), to calm, purify, and energize our body-mind, and to "destroy" disease and death, which delivers us from the distractions and limitations of poor health and establishes a hospitable physical environment for our spiritual training.

It would be nice to report that once, a long time ago, some great yogin sat down and assigned a name to each and every posture for all posterity . . . but of course this did not happen. The postures and their names no doubt evolved alongside each other over several thousand years. The names have various kinds of relationships to the postures. Some names describe the rough shape of the posture (e.g. Triangle), or how the body is arranged in the posture (Head-to-Knee, One-Foot-to-the-Head). Lots of names are taken from the natural world, from living creatures (e.g. Dog, Eagle, Camel, Locust, Frog), plant life (e.g. Tree, Lotus), or heavenly objects (e.g. Sun, Moon). Other names compare the posture to common human-made objects (e.g. Wheel, Bow, Plow, Staff, Bridge, Couch). A number of different sages and deities are memorialized in the names (e.g. Bharadvaja, Marîci, Matsyendra, Goraksha, Bhairava), even Yoga itself (yoga-âsana). There are names that remind us why we are doing the posture in the first place (e.g. Liberation, Attainment, Self-delight). Really, the names include everything about every aspect of our world, everything from birth (Womb, Fetus) to death (Corpse). Be careful not to get confused though. While the names are now mostly fixed by tradition, you will sometimes find the same posture in different manuals with different names, or different postures with the same name.

Gheranda, author of one of Hatha-Yoga's classic instructional manuals, "Gheranda's Collection" (Gheranda-Samhitâ), estimates that there are 840,000 postures, one for every living creature in the world. But don't worry, you need not learn them all. Gheranda is simply saying that any movement, whether of humans or plants or animals or natural phenomena, is potentially a "seat" (the literal meaning of âsana) for divine energy and intelligence. Anyway, Gheranda continues, that of these 840,000 postures only 84 are accessible to humans, and of these he lists 32 as being most useful. A few of the older texts contain far fewer âsanas; for example, "Shiva's Collection" (Shiva-Samhitâ) describes only four.

Contemporary Yoga manuals vary in the number of postures they teach. Usually there are around 30 or 40 poses, though one of the granddads of the genre, B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga, first published back in the mid-60s, has exactly 200. But more than half of these are advanced back and forward bends, twists, and inversions that took Mr. Iyengar many years to master, and are not accessible to beginning students.

In my view, beginners can get by with 25 to 30 postures. Most important are the standing postures, which are the foundation of the entire practice of âsana. Mr. Iyengar describes 20 or so, and of these, maybe eight to 10 are important for beginners, including Mountain (tada-âsana), standing forward bend (uttana-âsana), Tree (vriksha-âsana), Triangle (trikona-âsana), Revolved Triangle (parivritta-trikona-âsana), Side Angle (parshva-kona-âsana), and Warrior (virabhadra-âsana). Other foundation postures include Downward Facing Dog (adho-mukha-shvan-âasana), a sitting forward bend like Head-to-Knee (janu-shirsha-âsana), so-called "baby" back bends like Locust (shalabha-âsana) and Bow (dhanur-âsana), and Shoulder Stand (sarvanga-âsana), preferably with the shoulders supported on a stack of thickly folded blankets.

There are some excellent instructional manuals available for beginners. Georg Feuerstein along with "User Friendly Yoga" master Larry Payne, has co-authored Yoga for Dummies. Rodmell Press (800-841-3123) has a couple of good beginning manuals: The Runner's Yoga Book by Jean Couch, and How to Use Yoga by Mira Mehta. You could also learn about the postures from an instructional audio or video tape. Our website lists a few of these tapes, and Yoga Journal regularly reviews the latest presentations.

Just about anyone can practice the Yoga postures, regardless of age or physical abilities or limitations (whether real or imagined). I have taught Yoga to people who, for example, had lost their sight, or their hearing, or the use of their legs. Of course, for this latter group, I had to modify the traditional forms of the postures so that they could be performed sitting in a chair or lying on the floor. Many Yoga schools offer classes in restorative or gentle Yoga for people working with either temporary or permanent physical conditions.

Not all teachers, though, may be willing or qualified to work with all physical problems. If you would like to practice the postures but have concerns about an injury or special condition, be sure to talk to the teacher before you begin the class. Don't be reluctant to question her closely. Find out what kind of training and experience she has, if she has at least a general understanding of what ails you, and if she's comfortable working with you in a classroom setting. You might also consider, depending on your problem, hiring a teacher to give you private lessons, at least to get your practice off on the right foot. Of course, expect to pay four or five times more for these one-on-one sessions than you would for a

public class. It is important, once you begin your practice, not to get discouraged if things do not go well right away. Give yourself and your body plenty of time to adjust to the postures and discover the ways in which they work, and don't work, for you.

If you have no serious physical problems, then no, you don't need to consult a doctor before starting Hatha-Yoga practice. But be sure to tell the teacher if you have any aches or pains, especially in your back, neck, or knees, before the class begins. The teacher really should ask you first about any injuries. He'll then be able to modify the postures (or avoid certain ones altogether), if necessary, to suit your needs.

However, if you have difficulties with your blood pressure or equilibrium, if you have recently had an operation (for example, on your heart, spine, or knee), if you regularly take medication, or if you are pregnant, then just to be on the safe side, check in with your doctor before starting a class. Many Yoga schools offer classes in restorative or gentle Yoga and prenatal Yoga for people with these conditions. You might also call the teacher of the class you want to start. Tell him about your condition, and see if he has some idea about how to work with you intelligently.

You can injure yourself crossing the street . . . if you are in a hurry and not watching out for the traffic. Students do get injured practicing Yoga-or at least the postures-but most of these injuries happen because of inattention or impatience. We often forget that the postures embody enormous power, which can cut both ways. Used wisely the postures are a time-tested tool for self-transformation and self-understanding. But used recklessly, without awareness or respect, then the possibility of injury increases considerably.

The Sanskrit âsana derives from the little verb as, which means "to sit," but also "to be present." The word âsana itself then continually reminds us that it is important "to be present" when practicing the postures, to listen carefully to what our body-mind is telling us or asking from us from moment to moment.

Yes, you can, but whether or not you will feel like it is a whole other question. Patanjali (Yoga-Sûtra 1.30) lists nine obstacles (antarâya) to Yoga practice, and the first hindrance among these is "disease" (vyâdhi). He recognizes that it is pretty hard to practice when you have a runny nose, a hacking cough, or a headache. If you are really sick, then it might be best just to take the day off and go to bed. But if your symptoms are milder, then you might want to work up a restorative routine that will help get you back on your feet. You can get some good ideas for such a routine from Relax & Renew by Yoga teacher Judith Lasater (available from Rodmell Press, 800-841-3123).