My favorite word for that particular arrangement of muscle is 'seat'. So, getting into Dandasana becomes "come to sit on your seat with your legs out in front of you".
Good luck, keep watching your students for clues. They'll *tell* you eventually when they understand.

One of my teachers uses "pumpkin;" this works well. It's a little bit frivolous, but most folks get over the giggles after hearing it a few times. I think it's less about the word itself and more about the voice the instructor uses. Also... probably there's no way to talk about one's backside to teenagers without eliciting some laughter.

I tend to use the word "bum" or "tail".

I say glute. Short version of gluteus maximus. I also find the less attention and energy you give to the word, the less it strikes the group. A few giggles sneak in anyhow-Its always healthy to have a laugh in class and to let go of the result you are searching for in the class. Afterall, teaching is a service to others, not just to ffill the self

I tend to use the word backside. I have quite a few older women in one of my classes and I don't think they'd be comfortable with the use of words like "booty." Backside seems to be neutral enough not to offend anyone and descriptive enough so they know what I'm talking about.

I think "sitting bones" is the one that not only have I never even considered laughing at it, but it has always described to me exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. Something just clicked when I heard it as opposed to "butt" or anything else. I can raise my butt, however, it somehow feels differently to raise my sitting bones and I feel it's more accurate, personally.

I give directions regarding the tailbone , and/or the hips.

I work a lot with kids and use the word "bottom" in those classes... I try and avoid mentioning it at all in classes where the children are under 5, as the class seems to get lost in giggles at the mere mention of anything "bottom"-related and the composure never returns! I should mention that I'm in the UK :)

How about SITS bones?

I like "tush" myself. Most of the time nobody even gigles at it, and if you use the same word all the time the students will lose any amusement they have towards it very quickly. Of course, teenagers are from a different planet entirely and will laugh at anything just to make you uncomfortable. Ignore their laughter and they'll give it up as a lost cause sooner or later.

Pardon my newbie-ness, but what's wrong with a few chuckles in yoga class?

Well, when I describe raising the rear end for downward dog, I have decided it works well as a description AND to draw their attention to the right place in the body by telling them to raise their tail bones up and back, away from their heels. Then again, I was trained the old-fashioned guru-disciple way.

In response to someone else's comment; the "sit bones" or "sitting bones" refers to the base of the pelvis, mostly.

Now, back to addressing the main post - I use "tail bone" and "glutes" a lot. I would have to say that I use "tail bone" more often, though.

Thumbs up to GABY - putting little attention on what you are saying is DEFINITELY right on! Actually, you need to be as undistracting as possible as a teacher, so... raise yourself up, realize your station in that group, and GUIDE them with confidence. When you do that, they don't care what word you pick to call the butt!

P.S. I, too, tend to be playful with my students, but that does not mean that you and I are playful in the same way - most likely not. So, I tend to maintain a leading, guiding presence - it helps your students trust in your abilities and to keep them from THINKING about your capabilities while they are supposed to be focusing on a great practice - but I also laugh at myself constantly and quip about my own mix-ups. It's a good balance.
Let me put myself into perspective for a moment... (too much to put here... I'm going to start my own blog, so look for it, k?)
;)

Hmm... so, I see Erica is the writer here of the blogs. My apologies; it was my first day checking out these blogs!
I feel as if I left that last comment open-ended and I also had a lot of thoughts I wanted to share for feedback with other bloggers.
So, I'm thinking I'll just post it here now...
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I learned in the 'Guru-Disciple" fashion, as I mentioned before... but in this day of RYTs being required here, there & everywhere, I've been rejected sometimes for not having those three letters at the end of my name. Why don't I have them even still? Well, battling cancer naturally for over 2 years, home schooling my son for first grade, and dealing with custody issues about sums it up. My husband, son and I survive mainly on my hubby's income. The money is not there for me to invest in the Teacher Training Programs that I have decided I would truly like to invest in... not yet.
Because of this, I found my groove in the "After-school Continuing Education" venue. I love it because it reminds me of how I discovered yoga - I found the most incredible instructor teaching at Gold's Gym, of all places! He had earned four time slots a week, with a full class every night and students that kept coming for years. That represented to me: affordable yoga without sacrificing the quality of instruction!
HOWEVER, as with anything in life, you have to love it even with the things you don't like about it. The school requires that I pass out comment forms to the students each semester to get feedback on how they like my class. Plus, this is a venue that attracts people who, quite honestly, are not in great shape. I was taught to teach Hatha Yoga in a very traditional manner, which, if you're new enough to yoga still, is TRADITIONALLY not much different from Astanga. When I first began teaching, I taught the way my instructor had led me and taught me to teach & practice. It was tough for these beginners, and many of them reflected a feeling that I was being ignorant of their special needs. Because of this, a great flower opened, and I was able to learn to modify my teaching style for the general population in my area & those attracted to my venue.
All of this is coming from the transitions I have made in my presentation as a teacher. Much of my teaching experience is based on this venue.
Teach with COMFORT and your students won't react to any which way you talk about the body (not usually, anyway). But it's finding your way to teaching with comfort that I was trying to address in that big long explanation!

Why not just say "bottom"? To my ear (inner and outer) it's the most neutral, least laden term. Actually, to me it's completely neutral. Kind of disappears after it's said, in the same way that "said" does when used as a dialogue tag.

Yup every class must be made interesting and fun to magnetize all your students to come back and back again

K Amber
POWER Yoga Positions FREE

I prefer bum, but the word butt slips out of my mouth a lot.

this is a difficult subject, but certainly something that needs to be dealt with. Although a little humor in a taught-class is not such a bad thing!

I've been a student of dance and yoga in the UK for a very long time and all my teachers have used 'glutes', i think it works, it's a mix between the anatomical seriousness and slang.

I use bottom sometimes, as in to sit your bottom on your heels in child's pose; or tail / tailbone when describing how to lengthen lower back into down dog or mountain pose; sometimes "butt" just happens; occasionally "glutes" when I'm teaching back bends (just feels like a more technical word is needed) or sit bones in forward bends or twists. I occasionally make the mistake of saying "buttocks" during savasana - I think it's important to relax those big muscles to get the lower back to soften, but I nearly laugh at the sound of it (not a good time to start sniggering!) It's because long ago a teacher used to use "buttocks" and say the word too clearly: "BUT-tocks". Made me laugh then too, and I was supposed to be relaxing.

It depends on the class, for kids i would say 'bottom', adults i would use 'tailbone', 'glutes' or 'sitting bones', depending on the pose....