Everything you need to know about yoga poses, Sanskrit names, breathing techniques, and how yoga-bits works.
Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-European language originating in South Asia around 1500 BCE. It is the traditional language of yoga texts including the Yoga Sutras and Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Yoga poses are named in Sanskrit because it provides a universal naming system understood across languages and traditions, preserving the cultural roots of the practice.
Learning Sanskrit names deepens your understanding of each pose — many names describe the shape, animal, or sage the pose is named after. For example, "Vrksasana" means Tree Pose (vrksa = tree). Knowing the names also helps you follow along in any yoga class worldwide, regardless of the instructor's native language.
The quiz shows you an image of a yoga pose and presents multiple-choice options with Sanskrit names. You select the name you think matches the pose. After each round, you see your score and can review which answers were correct. You can filter by difficulty level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and by game mode (classic, reverse, speed, survival, or category).
yoga-bits offers five quiz modes: Classic (match pose images to Sanskrit names), Reverse (match Sanskrit names to pose images), Speed (answer as many as you can before time runs out), Survival (one wrong answer ends the game), and Category (focus on a specific pose category like standing, seated, or backbends).
There are three difficulty levels. Beginner includes common foundational poses like Mountain Pose (Tadasana) and Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). Intermediate adds more challenging poses like Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana) and Eagle Pose (Garudasana). Advanced includes demanding poses such as Crow Pose (Bakasana), Firefly Pose (Tittibhasana), and King Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana).
Spaced repetition is a learning technique where you review material at increasing intervals over time. In yoga-bits, poses you get wrong appear more frequently in future quizzes, while poses you know well appear less often. This scientifically-proven approach helps move knowledge from short-term to long-term memory, so you retain Sanskrit names more effectively.
Pranayama refers to yogic breathing techniques. The word comes from "prana" (life force or breath) and "ayama" (extension or control). Pranayama practices regulate the breath to influence energy flow in the body. yoga-bits covers 30 pranayama techniques including Ujjayi (Victorious Breath), Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing), and Kapalabhati (Skull Shining Breath).
yoga-bits features 68 yoga poses spanning all major categories: standing poses, seated poses, backbends, forward folds, twists, inversions, arm balances, hip openers, and restorative poses. Each pose includes a high-quality illustration, Sanskrit name with pronunciation guide, English name, step-by-step instructions, and difficulty level.
Yes, yoga-bits is completely free. There are no subscriptions, in-app purchases, or paywalls. All 68 poses, 30 breathing techniques, quiz modes, the leaderboard, and the pose library are available at no cost.
yoga-bits is available in 11 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Hindi, Dutch, Korean, and Chinese. The quiz interface, pose descriptions, and breathing guides are fully translated in each language.
The leaderboard tracks top quiz scores across all players. Your score is based on how many poses you correctly identify in a session. You can filter the leaderboard by difficulty level and game mode. Submit your score with a player name after each quiz to compete with others.
Yoga poses are grouped into several categories: Standing poses (like Warrior I and Tree Pose) build strength and balance. Seated poses (like Lotus and Easy Pose) improve flexibility and are used for meditation. Backbends (like Cobra and Wheel Pose) open the chest and strengthen the spine. Inversions (like Headstand and Shoulder Stand) reverse the effects of gravity. Arm balances (like Crow Pose) build upper body strength. Restorative poses (like Child's Pose) promote relaxation.
Sanskrit pronunciation follows consistent rules. Vowels are pronounced as in Italian or Spanish — "a" as in "father," "i" as in "machine," "u" as in "rule." The letter "c" is always "ch" as in "church." Each pose page in yoga-bits includes a phonetic pronunciation guide to help you learn the correct pronunciation.
Yes. yoga-bits is a progressive web app (PWA) that works on any device with a web browser — phones, tablets, and desktops. You can add it to your home screen for an app-like experience without needing to download anything from an app store.
Hatha Yoga is a broad term for physical yoga practices and typically refers to slower-paced classes where poses are held for several breaths. Vinyasa Yoga links poses together in flowing sequences synchronized with breath. The Sanskrit pose names used in yoga-bits apply to both styles — the poses are the same, but the pace and sequencing differ.
Each pose illustration in yoga-bits is a high-quality digital image showing correct alignment and form. The illustrations are designed to clearly show the key elements of each pose, making it easy to identify and learn proper positioning.
Asana is the Sanskrit word for "seat" or "posture." In modern yoga, it refers to any physical yoga pose. The word appears as a suffix in many pose names — for example, Tadasana (Mountain Pose), Savasana (Corpse Pose), and Trikonasana (Triangle Pose). The practice of asanas is one of the eight limbs of yoga described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.
yoga-bits tracks your progress locally on your device. You can see your quiz scores, earn achievement badges for milestones (like getting a perfect score or reaching a streak), and monitor which poses you know well versus which ones need more practice. Your stats persist between sessions.