Parighasana or Gate Pose is a kneeling

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) 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 late ...

in modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of asana, postures, often connected by vinyasa, flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by pranayama, breathing exercises, and frequently ending with savasana, relaxation lying down or ...

Etymology and origins

The name of the pose is from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, in turn from , meaning "gate" or "crossbar", and , meaning "seat" or "pose". The asana is not known before the 20th century. Since, as yoga scholar Mark Singleton writes, it closely resembles a pose used in modern gymnastics, such as

Niels Bukh Niels Ebbesen Mortensen Bukh (15 June 1880 – 7 July 1950) was a Denmark, Danish gymnast and educator who founded the first athletic folk high school in Ollerup in Funen, Denmark. He achieved international fame as a gymnastics trainer for the D ...

's 1924 ''Primary Gymnastics'', it is likely that

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

derived the asana from the general gymnastics culture of his time; there is no suggestion that he copied it directly from Bukh.

Description

The pose is entered from an upright kneeling position. One leg is stretched straight out to the side, the arms are stretched out sideways, and the body is extended to the side of the outstretched leg until the arm lies along the leg. The other arm may be stretched up alongside the head, and the hand may eventually lie on top of the other hand and foot.

Variations

Beginners may work in the pose with the ball of the foot of the straight leg supported on a folded blanket or sandbag, or by pressing the foot against a wall. Practitioners with a knee injury may work in the pose sitting on a chair, with one leg stretched out to the side.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Yoga as exercise Standing asanas Kneeling asanas Asymmetric asanas