Morning Yoga: Spanish story (A1)
Marina wants the tree pose from a video before breakfast. Her foot slips on her knee, so her mother tells her to use the leg and the wall. A1 reading.
Yoga por la mañana
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About this article
What you'll learn
Present tense, querer plus an infinitive, and body words: pie, rodilla, pierna, esterilla.
Marina wants to copy the tree pose from a short video before breakfast. She puts her foot on her knee and slips. Her mother says the foot goes below the knee or higher, so the knee stays free. Marina holds the wall and breathes five times. She does not match the video. Clear present-tense Spanish for A1.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
por la mañana
newin the morning
Por la mañana means in the morning. The pattern continues: por la tarde, por la noche.
The time phrase you need to say when you do anything during the day.
el saludo al sol
newthe sun salutation
El saludo al sol is a sequence of postures done one after another. Saludo means greeting, so the name says exactly what it is: a greeting to the morning sun.
The Spanish name of the best known yoga sequence, and it is built from ordinary words you already know.
hacer yoga
newdo yoga
Spanish uses hacer for sports and activities: hacer yoga, hacer deporte, hacer gimnasia. Practicar yoga is equally correct and slightly more formal; the text uses both.
Hacer is the verb that goes with most physical activities.
posturas sencillas
newsimple poses
Sencillo means simple or easy. It is more common than simple in everyday Spanish.
Sencillo is a very frequent adjective well beyond yoga.
Mantengo el equilibrio
newI keep my balance
Mantener el equilibrio is the fixed phrase for keeping balance. Note the yo form: mantengo, not mantenO.
A set phrase, and one more verb from the -go group in the yo form.
los fines de semana
newon weekends
Los fines de semana with the plural article means every weekend, as a habit. El fin de semana would mean one particular weekend.
The article carries the meaning: los = always, el = one specific time.
desayuno saludable
newhealthy breakfast
Desayuno is breakfast; the verb is desayunar. Saludable means healthy and describes food, habits and lifestyles.
Two everyday words: the meal and the adjective you use to talk about food.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Yoga mat
esterilla
yoga mat
La esterilla is the mat you put on the floor. It comes from estera, a woven mat, and the ending -illa makes it small.
The one object you need to practise, and a clear example of the -illa ending.
Back
espalda
the back
La espalda is the back of the body. Careful: for the back of an object Spanish uses la parte de atrás, not espalda.
A body word you cannot guess, and it comes with the article rule: siento la espalda, not siento mi espalda.
Face down
boca abajo
face down
Boca abajo means face down; boca arriba means face up. Literally mouth down and mouth up.
A pair you need for exercise, for sleeping and at the doctor, and it cannot be worked out word by word.
The floor
el suelo
the floor
El suelo is the floor indoors and the ground outdoors. Do not confuse it with el piso, which in Spain means a flat or apartment.
One of the most frequent nouns in the language, and a false friend of piso.
Knee
la rodilla
the knee
La rodilla is the knee. The related verb arrodillarse means to kneel down.
Body vocabulary you need to describe any movement or to explain where it hurts.
Barefoot
descalzo
barefoot
Descalzo means barefoot and behaves like an adjective, so it agrees: descalzo, descalza, descalzos, descalzas.
One word where English needs two, and a clear case of adjective agreement.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Reflexive verbs
me levanto temprano
I get up early
Levantar means to lift something; levantarse means to get oneself up. The me is what makes the action come back to you: me levanto, te levantas, se levanta.
The text is full of them: me levanto, se practica, arrodillarse. Without the pronoun the sentence means something else.
The -go verbs: hago, pongo, tengo
hago algunas posturas
I do some poses
A group of common verbs is irregular only in the yo form, which ends in -go: hacer gives hago, poner gives pongo, tener gives tengo, mantener gives mantengo. Every other person is regular: haces, hace, hacemos.
This text uses four of them. Someone who learned hacer will not recognise hago unless the pattern is pointed out.
Estar for a passing state
está tranquila
it is calm
Estar + adjective describes how something is right now: la habitación está tranquila this morning. Ser + adjective would state a permanent trait.
Compare with the text: el cuerpo está más flexible is a change, but el yoga no es difícil is a lasting property.
Body parts take the article, not the possessive
Estiro los brazos y las piernas
I stretch my arms and legs
Spanish says estiro los brazos, not estiro mis brazos. With parts of your own body Spanish uses the definite article, because the owner is already obvious from the verb: me duele la cabeza, levanto la mano, siento la espalda.
The single most useful habit to break here: mis brazos, mi espalda and mi cuerpo all sound foreign to a native ear.
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