Why would we want to twist our body into the shape of a cow's face? Sometimes the Sanskrit name of a pose can reveal a hidden intention or unexpected aspect of the posture. Gomukhasana translates literally as "cow's face pose." Go is a root word that refers to the senses, because they nourish the conscious mind, just as cow's milk nourishes our body. Mukha means passageway or an aspect of something. Combining the two words we see that gomukha refers to the art of working with the senses as a gateway to a deeper aspect of the mind.