Ashtanga

noun

Ash·​tan·​ga ash-ˈtäŋ-gə 

variants or Ashtanga yoga or less commonly ashtanga or ashtanga yoga

: a system of yoga in which the practitioner moves through a series of poses usually in a prescribed order

Ashtanga yoga is definitely an energy-raising practice. The constant flow of movement and breath is designed to detoxify and enliven, ideally bringing your metabolic rate back to normal through the finishing poses.

—Sarah Powers, Yoga Journal, July/August 2003

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Sanskrit aṣṭāṅga (in aṣṭāṅgayoga) "eight-limbed, having eight members," from aṣṭā "eight" + aṅga- "limb, member"

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

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