Asana Names and the Language of Yoga (now called The Language of Yoga)

Note: The original Asana Names and the Language of Yoga was a 180 page spiral-bound book with separate double-CD, and came in a box.
The new version is called The Language of Yoga and is a hard-back book with a spiral-binding inside, with both CDs inside the back of the book.

Review in Yoga Journal by Richard Rosen, February 2005 issue

Despite the protests of its present day aficionados, Sanskrit just ain't an easy language to learn. Actually, it was never meant to be used by the masses; Sanskrit was "perfected" (samskritam) as a liturgical language for the Vedic sacrifice and used primarily by the educated elite. But, for better or worse, Sanskrit is the language of yoga, and until we Westerners develop our own English lexicon (if ever), it behooves us to have at least some passing familiarity with this classical Indian tongue.

Unfortunately, many printed Sanskrit primers - I have a half dozen or so, for all the good they've done me - are about as dense as the language itself and don't help much with pronunciation. One thing that's been sorely needed is an audio primer, especially one that focuses on the yoga lexicon. And - mirabile dictu - our prayers are answered with these two CDs and accompanying book from Nicolai Bachman. A resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Bachman has some impressive credentials, including a year's study at VagYoga Institute in Varanasi, India, and a stint as the personal assistant of well-known Sanskrit teacher Vyaas Houston.

Disc 1, titled "The Language of Yoga," begins with seven chants - six that commonly open a yoga practice and one that commonly ends it. The word list contains more than 300 yoga-related terms, divided into groups with headings like bandhas and mudras, chakras, deities, animals, titles of important books, and pranayama. Each Sanskrit word is pronounced twice, followed by a short pause (for our response) and an English translation. Disc 2, "Asana Names," follows a similar format, with names drawn from the first, second, and third Ashtanga vinyasa series. (Its usefulness isn't restricted to this school's devotees, however.) The helpfully spiral-bound book shows each word in Sanskrit, with its English transliteration and a clear definition (with a simple line illustration for each of the poses.)

Both this and 108 Sanskrit Flashcards with CD should, without doubt, be in the yoga library of every teacher and serious student.