Just look at all these asanas! Who’d ever guess so many was? There’s Mountain, Diamond, Moon, and Tree There’s Frog and Locust, Lotus, Bee. There’s Dog and Rabbit, Cat and Mouse The Fish’s Lord and Indra’s spouse There’s Monkey Chief and Wolf and Deer There’s Hero, Baby, Dancer, Seer. There’s those who scare us with their style Like Scorpion or Crocodile... Or who like Snail and Tortoise beat A hasty-into-shells retreat. There’s Lion, Tiger, Bear, oh my! A bovine Face and Firefly A Hare, a Snake, a Goat, an Ant A Bull, a Horse, an Elephant. And birds? They put on quite a show: There’s Rooster, Parrot, Cuckoo, Crow Yes, hear them twitter, coo, and squawk There’s Crane and Pigeon, Vulture, Hawk. They gabble, whistle, chatter, cluck There’s Ostrich, Sparrow, Goose, and Duck And Eagle, Peacock, Heron, Swan The feathered flocks of Audubon. There’s man-made stuff to keep us loose: A Plow, a Scale, a Staff, a Noose A Bridge, a Bed, a Half-a-Boat (However does it stay afloat?) A Wheel, a Ball, a Bell, a Lamp A Trumpet, Swing, a Flag, a Clamp A Gate Latch, Girdle, Goblet, Tank A Yoke, a Wagon, Scissors, Plank. And if you want to fight us, Bub? We’ve got an Axe, a Mace, a Club We warn you that we have no fear Not with Arrow, Trident, Spear. There’s Fortunate and Brave and Fierce They're Steady, Firm, and even Pierce But some of them...we’re not so sure Like Headless, Celibate, and Pure. They’re East and West, and in a knot They’re twisted, straight, and in a squat Face up and down and on the side (For this we’re getting certified?) They’re pendulous and in a split They go one way, then opposite On elbows, shoulders, knees, and head And in the end...we fall down dead. Don’t worry though, we’re soon awoke We’re just pretending that we croak... Now class is done, at last we’re free Just don’t forget the teacher’s fee.
Books consulted for asana names:
