Here at Inner Fire, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We like to crack jokes (especially really bad ones), laugh a lot and shake ourasanas. But what do phrases likeasana actually mean, you may be asking? These yoga puns are scrolled over our shirts and were some of the original gear Leah made when Inner Fire was first created. They are, to this day, a fan favourite, so we thought we would share with you their meanings. Just to get a little idea of how these phrases came to be, we’ll share the backstory. Several years ago, Inner Fire founder Leah was on the bus on her way home one day, when all these Sanskrit yoga puns started coming to her. Some of them, like “I’ll order the Sushumna on rice,” (which Leah claims you need to be an extra huge Sanskrit nerd and eat excessive amounts of sushi to understand), never made it onto the shirts.
Full disclaimer: We apologize in advance if we sound like that guy at the party who’s always explaining his own jokes. Bless him.
“SHAKE YOUR ASANA”
Asana means yoga pose, or traditionally, seat. Shake what your mama gave ya.
“METTA IS BETTA”
Metta means loving kindness, which is the best kind of kindness.
“LIVING IN THE PERFECT SIDDHI”
Siddhimeans perfection, success or attainment. In this context it’s a play on the word ‘city.’
“I’M WITH THE BANDHA”
Abandha is an energy lock in the body that you activate to get stronger in a pose. We’ve used it here as a play on the “I’m with the band” shirts.
“I’M SWIMMING WITH PRANA”
Prana is life force energy that flows through all living things. You may have heard it asPranayama,or breath. In this case, it sounds like piranha, which we don’t recommend swimming with (for safety reasons, naturally).
“I’M SO HAPPY I COULD KRIYA”
Kriya means “completed action” and also refers to exercises one does to cleanse the body, including self-induced crying to clear the eye ducts.
“I’M JUST HERE FOR THE SAVASANA”
Savasanais corpse pose, the final resting pose in a yoga class where you do absolutely nothing but lie on the floor and breathe. You can understand why people would come to a yoga class for this one!
“I DRIVE MY OWN KARMA”
Karma means action, and refers to the cycle of cause-and-effect that is linked to our actions. Every person is in control of their own actions, and possibly also drive their own car.
“I BROKE UP WITH HIMSA”
Himsa means harming or violence. It is definitely something you want to break up with.
“ALL YOU NIDRA IS SLEEP”
Nidra literally means sleep in Sanskrit. Yoga Nidra is a style of meditation practice done laying down.
“GOING BHAKTI BASICS”
Bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion; simple practices that bring us closer to an enlightened state, like chanting a mantra. This one is our yogic version of the well-known phrase “Back to basics.”
“NAMASTE, NAMASGO!”
Namaste means “the divine light within me bows to the divine light within you.” It is said by both teacher and student to end the yoga class. Then you go!
There ya have it: a little Sanskrit lesson and some laughter! We hope you invite us to your next party – jokes are on us.
