Should I know the names of poses before taking a yoga class?

You do not need to know the names of poses to begin a yoga practice. A professional yoga teacher will provide instructions to guide their students into a pose, and then they will state the pose in English and/or Sanskrit. At YogaWorks, teachers use the pose names more often in upper level and advanced classes because the students don’t need as much guidance to enter a pose. The learning process is gradual as you move through lower level classes to more advanced practices.

It is good to familiarize yourself with yoga poses to fully understand what you will be soon undertaking. However it is not important to know the name of the poses prior to starting. The yoga instructor will demonstrate and guide you to perform the poses correctly.