the astavakra pretzel

Astavakra Enters the Palace (embellished and paraphrased retelling of a story)

Asta means 8. Vakra means deformities or bends. And this why Astavakra was the name given to a boy born with 8 deformities.

When Astavakra was a young man, he went to the king's palace. He crawled his way to approach the esteemed yogis of the palace and said," I want to learn yoga."

The yogis mocked him, "You! How can a cripple do yoga?"

Astavakra cleverly stopped the mocking with these words, "Excuse me. I thought I was speaking to the finest yogis in all of India, but I was obviously mistaken. You are not yogis. You are shoemakers!"

The yogis were shocked by his impudence. "Shoemakers? Why do you call us shoemakers?"

Astavakra replied, "What you call 'yoga' is moving the skin. Does not a shoemaker do this with hide? You obviously don't know the first thing about yoga!"

The faces of the yogis scowled. While it was fine for them to insult others, it was not fine for anyone to insult them. They called the guards. "Arrest this man!"

Fortunately for Astavakra, King Janaka had overhead the conversation from the hallway. He stepped into the room and commanded, "No, do not arrest him!" He walked toward Astavakra, who was on floor. "Tell me. What is the first thing to know about yoga that these 'shoemakers' do not know?"

Astavakra bowed to the king. "Your highness. Yoga is not really about acrobatics or athleticism, although these are beautiful things. The first thing to know about yoga is that it must come from within."

King Janaka realized Astavakra's wisdom surpassed that of all of the yogis in the palace. And he rewarded Astavakra by appointing him as his guru.

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The astavakra pose, which is pretzel-like, is named after Astavakra. Here is a tutorial.

We document and share a catalog of movements. This blog and the videos are for entertainment purposes only. Please seek guidance from a certified instructor to be sure you move with proper biomechanics and safety.

Easy Arm Balance, Astavakrasana with Kino