Yoga Exercise - Garland Pose or Squatting (Malasana)

I respectfully submit that Malasana is not to be called Garland Pose. Mala in Sanskrit means
impurity, and specially Malasana (squat pose) is designed to facilitate bowel movement . Mala should be pronounced differently
from Maala. In Mala both the vowels are short, In Maala the vowel after the M is to be elongated which means garland.


The same mistake appears in several yoga community pages including the current Yoga Journal (Sep. 2007), page 77.

Very often there is a tendency to look at the English word and pronounce it the English way. With only 26 letters, English has its limitations, whereas Sanskrit has 51 letters or alphabets, so the short vowel and the long vowel are distinctly understood.
Also, yoga teachers make the same mistake when they pronounce "Tadasana" as "Tadasana" instead of the correct pronunciation,
"Taadasana" with emphasis on the first vowel a. I have placed two "aa" to indicate the emphasis since I am unable to
use transliteration marks.
I believe strongly that yoga teachers should learn to read Sanskrit correctly before they can be certified as yoga teachers.
Signed: Perinkulam Ramanathan, (500 R.Y.T.)