When we had to choose a name for our Yoga club, we spent days on it. Our key criteria was, the name of the Club should reflect the intensity and depth of Yoga. It should also reflect the cultural richness of our country which is the birthplace of Yoga.
The name DownDog comes from Sanskrit name Adho (Down) Mukha (Face) Svana (Dog) Asana (pose) or downward facing dog.
The asana is pronounced as A-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAS-anna.
Adho mukha svanasana posture replicates a dog bending forward, hence the name downward facing dog pose.
The Myth
There is a deep significance of the DownDog pose as it refers to a Dog that followed Pandavas as they made their way to heaven after the Mahabharata war was over.
At the summit, when Lord Indra descended with his chariot to take Yudhisthira to heaven, Yudhisthira was alone. He has lost all his siblings and his wife. However, one Dog followed and stayed with Yudhisthira till the summit. Yudhisthira developed a lot of respect and love for the Dog and declined Lord Indra to go to heaven alone. Yudhisthira was unable to abandon the Dog as Dog had stayed with him through sorrow, pain and on an arduous climb.
Even though heaven has no place for Dogs as they are considered inauspicious, Lord Indra on seeing Yudhisthira’s utmost faith, love for the Dog, congratulated Yudhisthira on his passing the ultimate test. Lord Indra revealed The Dog signifies none other than Dharma as Yudhisthira has shown an intimate bond with Dharma.Yudhisthira boarded the chariot to heaven and The Dog turned into the God of Dharma.
What Downward Facing Dog Signifies
We are all living in times when qualities like honesty, loyalty, faithfulness, commitment have become mere cliché. We need to practice and live these qualities more than ever in both our personal and working lives.
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog) is more than a physical Yoga asana. While performing Adho Mukha Svanasna one should focus on the qualities that makes the dog man’s most loyal friend. It is all about the dog’s unwavering loyalty, love, sacrifices, focus, selfishness that makes us humans to fall in love with them. We humans need these qualities for sustainable internal happiness in our mortal lives. No monetary achievement can replace this.
The most beautiful part of Downward facing Dog Yoga pose: it can be practised by either a beginner or a regular yoga practitioner. It can be just as intense for a beginner as welll as a professional regular Yoga practitioner.