Añjaneyāsana (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: अञ्जनेयासन, "Son of Anjani pose"), Crescent Moon Pose, or Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian Pose) is a lunging back bending

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

in modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...

. It is sometimes included as one of the asanas in the

Surya Namaskar Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar(a) or Salute to the Sun (), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th centu ...

sequence, though usually with arms down in that case. Variations include Utthana Pristhasana, Lizard Pose.

Etymology and origins

The name Anjaneya is a

matronymic A matronymic is a personal name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patronymic surnames. In som ...

for

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

, whose mother's name is

Anjani Anjani Thomas (born July 10, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist, best known for her work with singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, as well as Carl Anderson, Frank Gambale, and Stanley Clarke. She became a solo artist in 2000. Life ...

. Hanuman is a central figure in the epic ''

Rāmāyaṇa The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'', and an important Iṣṭa-devatā in devotional worship. Like many standing asanas, Anjaneyasana was unknown in medieval

hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

, and was brought into

modern yoga Modern yoga is a wide range of yoga practices with differing purposes, encompassing in its various forms yoga philosophy derived from the Vedas, physical postures derived from Hatha yoga, devotional and tantra-based practices, and Hindu nation-b ...

in the 20th century from Indian martial arts. It is used in schools of modern yoga such as Sivananda Yoga. It is included as one of the asanas in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga's type 1

sequence.

Description

The asana is entered from a lunge, with the back knee lowered to the ground, the back arched and the arms raised and stretched over the head. The toes of the back foot are pointed back in styles such as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and other styles, the top of the foot on the floor, though in other styles such as Sivananda Yoga the toes are tucked under. The front foot remains in standing position, the hips lowered close to the front foot and the front knee fully bent and pointing forwards. In the full asana, the rear foot is lifted and grasped with both hands, the elbows pointing up.

Variations

Parivritta Anjaneyasana, a preparatory pose for

Parivritta Parsvakonasana Utthita Parshvakonasana (Sanskrit: उत्थित पार्श्वकोणासन; IAST: ''utthita pārśvakoṇāsana''),"Extended Side Angle Pose." Yoga Journal. Cruz Bay Publishing, 2013. Web. 10 Aug. 2013. Extended Side Angle Pose, ...

(where the rear knee is off the floor), is the rotated form of the pose. This has the opposite elbow to the bent forward knee, and the rear knee on the floor. Utthana Pristhasana, Lizard pose, is a variant with the forearms on the floor. Moving the front foot on to its side so the knee comes to the ground enables a transition to a related back bend,

Rajakapotasana Eka Pada Rajakapotasana ( sa, एक पाद राजकपोतासन; IAST: ''Eka Pāda Rājakapotāsana''), Rajakapotasana, or ne-leggedKing Pigeon Pose is a seated back-bending asana in modern yoga as exercise. The Yin Yoga form of t ...

. Some teachers use the name Crescent Moon Pose for a lunge with raised knee and raised hands, as in

Virabhadrasana I Virabhadrasana ( sa , वीरभद्रासन; IAST: Vīrabhadrāsana) or Warrior Pose is a group of related lunging standing asanas in modern yoga as exercise commemorating the exploits of a mythical warrior, Virabhadra. The name of th ...

. Some use the name Parivritta Anjaneyasana for Parivritta Parsvakonasana with elbow to knee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anjaneyasana Backbend asanas Surya Namaskar Standing asanas Asymmetric asanas

Etymology and origins

Description

Variations

See also

References