Ashtanga Namaskara

The name comes from the Sanskrit words अष्ट asht, eight, अङ्ग anga, limb, and नमस्कार namaskar, bowing or greeting.

It forms part of Pant Pratinidhi's 1929 Surya Namaskar exercise sequence, not then considered to be yoga.

He notes that in the Bombay Physical Education syllabus of 1940, Surya Namaskar is named Ashtang Dand, he supposes from this central posture, Ashtanga Namaskara.

[6] Ashtanga Namaskara is a prone posture with eight parts of the body in contact with the ground: both feet, both knees, both hands, the chest, and either the chin[7] or the forehead.

[8][7] The pose has been used as an alternative to Chaturanga Dandasana in the Surya Namaskar sequence, considered suitable for practitioners lacking the strength to do the usual pose; arguments against this usage include compression of the lower back and stress on the shoulder joint.

Ashtanga Namaskara
Pant Pratinidhi 's 1928 guide to Surya Namaskar , not at that time considered to be yoga , used Ashtanga Namaskara (with forehead on ground) as its fifth step (lower left). [ 4 ]