Proper Pronunciation

[Guest guest]

Can you please provide the proper phonetic

pronunciation of the following terms?<br><br>Ashtanga (David

Swenson pronounces it "ash-TAWN-gah" on his videotapes,

but I've heard people use the short "a" as well.

Which is correct and why? <br><br>Oh, and is preferred

spelling "Ashtanga" or "Astanga" and what's the difference

between the two?<br><br>How is "Pattabhi Jois"

pronounced?<br><br>How is "Iyengar" pronounced?<br><br>How is

"Desikachar" pronounced?<br><br>How is "Tirumalai

Krishnamacharya" pronounced?<br><br>Is "Moola Bandha" like the

book preferred spelling or is "mula bandha" more

widely used? Any difference in use or

meaning?<br><br>Any other confusing pronunciations or spellings out

there that we should be aware of in our daily quest to

understand the inner workings of Ashtanga Yoga? <br><br>I

thank you for your time!

[Guest guest]

I'll tackle this because I have a pet peeve:

Canadians can totally maul the pronunciation of some of

these words, most notably, "ashtanga." It's "ah" as in

"calm," not "aaaaaaa" as in "Tang" or "bang." In fact, I

don't think there is a Canadian "a" sound in Sanskrit.

Sorry to pick on the canucks, but I've heard "Maazda"

and "paasta" and "ash-Tang-a" enough!<br><br>I'm no

expert but here's a go at the others; please don't yell

at me if I get these wrong, OK?<br><br>Pattabi Jois=

"Pa-Tahb'-ee-joyse"<br><br>Iyengar="eye-Yen'-gar"<br><br>Desikachar="Deh'-si-ka-\

char"<br><br>Tirumalai Krishnamacharya= "Tir'-u-mal-eye

Krish-na-ma-char'-ya"<br><br>As for spellings, these are only transliterations

and were not always standardized. A while back

someone posted a link to one of the standardized sets of

Sanskrit transliterations. "moola" and "mula" are

different spellings of the same word.

[Guest guest]

Super!<br><br>Two more, please. <br><br>"Namaste"

-- Pronunciation? What, precisely, does it mean?

I've seen several different interpretations -- all

similar, but none the same.<br><br>"Asanas" -- The

American temptation is to place the accent on the second

syllable, but I believe it is on the first?<br><br>Thanks!

[Guest guest]

namaste = nah-moss-te (te rhymes with day). It means "the divine in me bows to

(salutes) the divine in you". more literally, in hindi, it means "hello"!!!

[Guest guest]

No name uninamity. Yet, amity in naming,

diversity in diction. This stuff is from India, after

all.<br><br>Especially diverse is the ways of chanting "Vande

Gurunam"...I've yet to find 2 teachers (with long experience in

India) who chant it with the same cadence. KPJ, I might

add, does it differently from all of them.

<br><br>Proper is for the English.

[Guest guest]

I think (I'm no expert) that the pronunciation of

"asana" is different depending on the syllables and

sounds that precede it. When the word is used alone,

it's pronounced with a subtle stress on the first

syllable. When "asana" is used in a compound word (like

"padmasana" or "trikonasana"), the stress will change

depending on the sounds and quantity of syllables. I

believe "padmasana" is pronounced Pad'-ma-san-a. But

there's difference between the proper Sanskrit

pronunciations and the common pronunciation in India and among

yogis. Many people (Westerners and Indians) always

stress that third-to-last syllable, like "pad-MA-sa-na"

and "kur-MA-sa-na." Perhaps it's easier that way than

learning the intricacies of Sanskrit

inflection!<br><br>Sunshine

[Guest guest]

Great stuff, thanks!<br><br>I appreciate your help and the assistance of others

who contributed to this thread.

[Guest guest]

Actually, people say it different ways but the

proper Samskrtm pronounciation of asana is AH-sah-na and

namaste nah-mah-STAY. Sanskrit vowels all have two

versions, a long and a short and there is a way to indicate

this in the devanagri (sanskrit) script. A general

rule is that a vowel before a conjunct consanant (two

or more consanants together) is heavy and therefore

emphasized. A sound that is a diphthong as in the 'ay' in

namaste is also always emphasized. There are many, many,

many other rules that determine emphasis and such

things. Basically, there is no way to tell unless you can

find a good trascription of the devanagri which will

indicate with little flat lines over the vowels which one

is accented. Also, the letter 's' is pronounced 'sh'

if there is a dot under it or an accent mark over

it. BKS Iyengar's "Light on Yoga" has the exact

english transcriptions of the correct Sanskrit

pronounciation of hundreds of poses and the English translation

in the back of the book.<br>Also, just as a point of

interest, Sanskrit sounds also have pitches which are

respected when reciting text such as the Gita and the Rg

Veda, etc. It is a very musical language and it is much

easier to learn when recited as in

chanting.<br><br>Asana = Posture<br><br>Good luck. If you have more

questions please ask.<br><br>Check out The American

Sanskrit Institute for a really great introduction to

Sanskrit. They have a website, tapes and the owner, Vyaas

Houston does workshops all over and I have heard they are

very good.<br><br>T.

[Guest guest]

Wow! What a precise and historical answer,

thanks!<br><br>Is LIGHT ON YOGA a good book for Ashtanga folk or

does it deal mainly with Hatha ideas?<br><br>Any other

good books out there that, while not purely Ashtanga

related, would still prove fruitful for further study of

Ashtanga practice?<br><br>Thanks again!

[Guest guest]

funky, you seem to have a good grounding in the

sanskrit language, as do several others on board here.

what prompted you to learn it? i know that most of the

original verses and texts are in sanskrit. but it is not

an active language. do you also know kanada or

hindi? do you try read and interpret the writings in the

original form?<br>these will probably seem rather dolt-ish

questions but i'm just curious about how people use the

language.

[Guest guest]

Chalkmine - <br>The ideas are not different

really, eight limbs of yoga, Patanjali's sutras and the

Hatha Yoga Pradipika - just a different application.

Iyengar and Jois have the same guru - Krishnamacharya of

Mysore and they use the same asanas but put together in

different way to achieve what is understood to be the same

end. I don't mean to precipitate an argument here -

trying to keep things simple. SInce both men are alive

and still teaching, it can be assumed that all asanas

may or may not be taught as they are shown in light

on Yoga. There will be slight variations from one

style to another, but essentially, Iyengars Light on

Yoga is a great reference book for asana practice,

which is the third limb of yoga.<br><br>As is often

mentioned on this board, Yoga Mala, by SKP Jois and

published in English by Eddie Stern is the most current

definitive Ashtanga Yoga text (with pictures) Even since the

book was published, Guruji teaches a couple of

addittional (usually parivritta) asanas.<br><br>Also,

regarding teacher training - to the best of my knowledge,

the only way to become an Ashtanga teacher is to

learn from Guruji. There is no formal teacher training

program in Ashtanga Yoga. It takes years and a teacher

training course with Wayne Krassner will not even get you

close to being an Ashtanga teacher. The only person in

America that I might even consider doing a "teacher

training" course with is Tim Miller. Honestly, don't do it

until you have established your own daily Ashtanga

practice and have fairly mastered the basics. Your money

would be far better spent going to India and taking

class with Guruji and Sharath in Mysore. Ashtanga is

completely different from other kinds of yoga and you'll

have to humble yourself and start from the beginning.

But what's so bad about that?

[Guest guest]

I like how people call me 'funky.'<br><br>I study

sanskrit because I study and recite sacred texts as part

of my yoga practice. Also because it is the language

of yoga. I am also interested in Sanskrit from a

literary and theatrical point of view. There seems to be a

resurging interest in Sanskrit as a uniting language in

India. Many sanskrit words still float around many

modern Indian languages. It is like us studying latin.

Also, the Sanskrit grammarians established many rules

that are also used in latin and latin based languages

and there were some amazing Sanskrit

mathameticians.<br><br>Yes, I try to read the Sanskrit in the original form,

especially when I read the Vedas and the

Bahagavadgita.<br><br>I am somewhat a beginner, however. Sanskrit is a

difficult language with lots and lots of rules. No, I do

not speak kannada or hindi, just a few words.

[Guest guest]

Great, insightful message, thanks to you and

everyone else who has been helping out!<br><br>I come to

Ashtanga from a Pilates background. Pilates regularly

popped my hip and shoulder joints during the program.

Ashtanga does not. I sweat much more doing Ashtanga than I

ever did with Pilates and with Ashtanga I feel more

alive after.<br><br>db

[Guest guest]

to funky and others who are enchanted by the

majesty of Sanskrit chanting, here are some Real Audio

files/samples of chanting from the Rig Veda and

Upanishads:<br><br><a href=http://sanskrit.bhaarat.com/Dale/Audio.html

target=new>http://sanskrit.bhaarat.com/Dale/Audio.html</a>