Yoga-related Chinese vocabulary 瑜伽词汇 (II)

你喜欢练瑜伽吗？
Nǐ xǐ huan liàn yú jiā ma?
Do you like to practice yoga?

你最喜欢的瑜伽体式是什么？
Nǐ zuì xǐ huan de yú jiā tǐ shì shì shén me?
What's your favourite yoga posture?

If you are into yoga and you come to China, you will soon discover that many yoga classes are taught in Chinese. But this should not drive you away! By learning the essential yoga-related vocabulary, you can follow the instructions and connect with your Chinese yoga teachers.

Let's look at some essential Chinese vocabulary for a smooth yoga practice.

04. Basic Instructions

If you are just beginning to practice yoga, these basic instructions might actually be more useful for you than the names of the postures themselves:

弯曲 (wān qū) ∙ to bend
伸直 (shēn zhí) ∙ to extend; to straighten

收紧 (shōu jǐn) ∙ to tighten
放松 (fàng sōng) ∙ to relax

05. Asanas / Postures

Now, let's look at some popular postures.

姿势 / 体式
zī shì / tǐ shì
asana; posture

Generally, the Chinese name of a posture is made of its descriptive part + 式 (shì, “posture; asana”):

战士式 (zhàn shì shì) ∙ warrior pose
下犬式 (xià quǎn shì) ∙ downward-facing dog
上犬式 (shàng quǎn shì) ∙ upward-facing dog
鸽子式 (gē zi shì) ∙ pigeon pose
莲花式 (lián huā shì) ∙ lotus pose
死人式 (sǐ rén shì) ∙ savasana (“corpse pose”)

06. Backbends

If you've been practicing yoga for a while, you might be at the point where backbends are included into your practice.

后弯
hòu wān
backbend(s)

Here are some popular backbend postures:

轮式 (lún shì) ∙ wheel pose
桥式 (qiáo shì) ∙ bridge pose
眼镜蛇式 (yǎn jìng shé shì) ∙ cobra pose
骆驼式 (luò tuó shì) ∙ camel pose

07. Inversions

倒立
dào lì
inversion

And if you are at the point where you can do inversions, here are the most common inverted postures:

头倒立 (tóu dào lì) ∙ head stand
手倒立 (shǒu dào lì) ∙ hand stand
肘倒立 (zhǒu dào lì) ∙ elbow stand
肩倒立 (jiān dào lì) ∙ shoulder stand

Source: That's Mandarin