The yogi’s say there are an unlimited number of poses and variations. They also teach us that there are several, original, essential, archetypal poses. And from these poses we can see different categories of poses, or families of poses. There’s only so many ways we can anatomically move the body. There’s three areas of the body which provide most of the movement and which we primarily focus on in yoga asana practice — the Thoraco-lumbar spine, the hips, and the shoulders.