If you are into yoga and you come to China, you will soon discover that many yoga classes are taught in Chinese. But this should not drive you away! By learning the essential yoga-related vocabulary, you can follow the instructions and connect with your Chinese yoga teachers.

Yoga-related Chinese Vocabulary

Let’s look at some essential Chinese vocabulary for a smooth yoga practice.

01. ‘Yoga’ in General

瑜伽
yújiā
yoga

练瑜伽 (liàn yújiā) ∙ to practice yoga
哈他瑜伽 (Hātā yújiā) ∙ Hatha yoga
流瑜伽 (liú yújiā) ∙ flow yoga
阿斯汤加 (Āsītāngjiā) ∙ Ashtanga yoga
Vinyasa瑜伽 (Vinyasa yújiā) ∙ Vinyasa-style yoga
空中瑜伽 (kōngzhōng yújiā) ∙ aerial/fly yoga

02. Breath

One of the essential instructions during any yoga practice is coordination of your breath.

呼吸
hūxī
breath; to breathe

Your teacher might use such instructions as:

吸 (xī) ∙ to inhale
呼 (hū) ∙ to exhale
深吸 (shēn xī) ∙ to inhale deeply
深呼 (shēn hū) ∙ to exhale deeply

03. Body Parts

Knowing what different parts of your body are called in Chinese will help you understand your teacher in case she/he gives you some verbal adjustments.

身体
shēntǐ
body

Here are the most common body parts that might be mentioned during a yoga class:

腿 (tuǐ) ∙ leg(s)
膝盖 (xīgài) ∙ knee(s)
脚 (jiǎo) ∙ foot/feet

肩膀 (jiānbǎng) ∙ shoulder(s)
胳膊 (gēbo) ∙ elbow(s)
手臂 (shǒubì) ∙ arm(s)

腹部 (fùbù) ∙ abdomen
髋 (kuān) ∙ hip(s)
背 (kuān) ∙ (bèi) ∙ back

04. Basic Instructions

If you are just beginning to practice yoga, these basic instructions might actually be more useful for you than the names of the postures themselves:

弯曲 (wānqū) ∙ to bend
伸直 (shēnzhí) ∙ to extend; to straighten

收紧 (shōujǐn) ∙ to tighten
放松 (fàngsōng) ∙ to relax

05. Asanas / Postures

Now, let’s look at some popular postures.

姿势 / 体式
zīshì / tǐshì
asana; posture

Generally, the Chinese name of a posture is made of its descriptive part + 式 (shì, “posture; asana”):

战士式 (zhànshì shì) ∙ warrior pose
下犬式 (xià quǎn shì) ∙ downward-facing dog
上犬式 (shàng quǎn shì) ∙ upward-facing dog
鸽子式 (gēzi shì) ∙ pigeon pose
莲花式 (liánhuā shì) ∙ lotus pose
死人式 (sǐrén shì) ∙ savasana (“corpse pose”)

06. Backbends

If you’ve been practicing yoga for a while, you might be at the point where backbends are included into your practice.

后弯
hòu wān
backbend(s)

Here are some popular backbend postures:

轮式 (lúnshì) ∙ wheel pose
桥式 (qiáoshì) ∙ bridge pose
眼镜蛇式 (yǎnjìngshé shì) ∙ cobra pose
骆驼式 (luòtuó shì) ∙ camel pose

07. Inversions

倒立
dàolì
inversion

And if you are at the point where you can do inversions, here are the most common inverted postures:

头倒立 (tóu dàolì) ∙ head stand
手倒立 (shǒu dàolì) ∙ hand stand
肘倒立 (zhǒu dàolì) ∙ elbow stand
肩倒立 (jiān dàolì) ∙ shoulder stand

Your Turn!

Now it’s your turn to share with us in comments!

你喜欢练瑜伽吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan liàn yújiā ma?
Do you like to practice yoga?

你最喜欢的瑜伽体式是什么？
Nǐ zuì xǐhuan de yújiā tǐshì shì shénme?
What’s your favourite yoga posture?

Leave your answer in the comments below or on our WeChat Public Account  🧘‍♀️