Are you a yoga fidget? Do you get into a pose and start fiddling with your clothes, feet or jewellery? After all you're doing the yoga pose aren't you. Do you move from each pose as quickly as possible to get to the next one for a nice stretch? If the transition is hard maybe skip some parts out, because those don't matter as much as the poses right? Sometimes add in an extra breath and then get a bit lost or out of sync with others around you?
Chances are we all answer yes to any and/or all the above from time to time.
Vinyasa yoga is probably something you've heard of. Most yoga centres offer Vinyasa classes.
The Sanskrit word Vinyasa means moving or placing [the body] in a special way. It can be interpreted as flow. The way you flow from one poses to another. Vinyasa Yoga can be anything the teacher wants to put together, it describes a flowing class where the movements are linked to breath.
I believe in the true spirit of yoga and how Sanskrit is often broken down, that there is more to it than this.
I've been practicing Astanga Yoga for nearly 20 years, on & off and not in the way many fully dedicated practitioners of Astanga do, 6 days per week.
This is 'the original Vinyasa Flow'. The set sequence is very specifically sequenced so that each movement, and each transition is linked to part of the breath. See this clip from one of Paramaguru, Sharath Jois' leading a class. It's beautiful synchronisation. Total focus and concentration and a really great example of vinyasa flow yoga.
You might be interested to read a bit more about the history of Modern Yoga, here's a little easy to read link.
Also, here's an interesting account of types of yoga written in 2014, nearly a decade ago! There's infinitely more styles which exist now from Rocket, Forest, Acro and even 'Doga' (yoga with your dog). Currently on Triyoga's website there are 39 different styles of yoga class!
Going back to the translation, I feel the key is about 'placing'. Practicing the correct placing, whilst being synchronised with breath, can be really difficult. But that's really important too. When something is difficult it sharpens the focus and concentrates the mind. This is part of the yoga journey. For me it doesn't mean giving up on working on something just because our body doesn't easily go there, but [more importantly] understanding why this is important and putting in the practice. Whether you're 18 or 80.
So, I feel we can all practice better Vinyasa and whilst there are some guidelines to follow, like the space between your feet in a warrior or triangle pose, there are some things which are unique to each individual (depending on our body type and make up). For example how far our feet should be apart, width ways, when stepping into a warrior. But 'how' we 'place' our feet and hands are just as important.
I quote a highly respectable yoga teacher in London today, Stewart Gilchrist, who said of all the lines on some quite expensive yoga mats. 'You might as well get a sharpie and draw your own'. The point being, the lines and angles are right for some but not all -because we're all different. (Having said that they can be good as a guide).
Placing the body in a special way can improve all our yoga practice but also a lesson for better alignment and posture for life.
Namaste
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