Ashtanga Namaskara ( sa, अष्टाङ्ग नमस्कार), Ashtanga Dandavat Pranam (अष्टाङ्ग दण्डवत् प्रणाम्), Eight Limbed pose, Caterpillar pose, or Chest, Knees and Chin pose is a

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 ...

sometimes used in the Surya Namaskar sequence in modern yoga as exercise, where the body is balanced on eight points of contact with the floor: feet, knees, chest,

chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

and

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

Etymology and origins

The name comes from the Sanskrit words अष्ट ''asht'', eight, अङ्ग ''anga'', limb, and नमस्कार ''

namaskar ''Namaste'' (, Devanagari: नमस्ते), sometimes called ''namaskar'' and ''namaskaram'', is a customary Hindu non-contact manner of respectfully greeting and honouring a person or group, used at any time of day. It is found on the In ...

'', bowing or greeting. The asana is 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 ...

. It forms part of

Pant Pratinidhi Pant Pratinidhi family is a prominent aristocratic noble family of India, who served as Pratinidhis to Chhatrapatis of Maratha Empire and later became rulers of the Princely states of Aundh and Vishalgad. The Pant Pratinidhi's were officer' ...

's 1929 Surya Namaskar exercise sequence, not then considered to be yoga. The yoga researcher Mark Singleton argues that the postures forming the sequence of Surya Namaskar derive from the Indian gymnastic exercises called dands (''dand'' meaning a stick or staff). He notes that in the Bombay Physical Education syllabus of 1940, Surya Namaskar is named Ashtang Dand, he supposes from this central posture, Ashtanga Namaskara. Singleton suggests further that this also gave its name to

Krishnamacharya Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "the father of modern yoga" for h ...

's and later his pupil K. Pattabhi Jois's system of Ashtanga Yoga, rather than supposing that the name of the system somehow came from the 2,000 year old Ashtanga, the Eight Limbs of

Patanjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...

's system of yoga.

Description

Ashtanga Namaskara is a prone posture with eight parts of the body in contact with the ground: both feet, both knees, both hands, the chest, and either the chin or the forehead. The hands are below the shoulders, the elbows bent. The pose has been used as an alternative to Chaturanga Dandasana in the Surya Namaskar sequence, considered suitable for practitioners lacking the strength to do the usual pose; arguments against this usage include compression of the lower back and stress on the shoulder joint. It was used in the early Surya Namaskar of Pant Pratinidhi, with the forehead touching the ground.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Yoga as exercise Reclining asanas Surya Namaskar