Vinyasa also called “flow” is one of the most popular contemporary Yoga Style (Vinyasa). It’s a broad classification that encompasses many different types of yoga, including Ashtanga and power yoga.
What Is Vinyasa?
In this Yoga Style Vinyasa stands in opposition to hatha. Hatha classes tend to focus on one pose at a time with rest in between. In contrast, flow classes string poses together to make a sequence. The sequence may be fixed, as in Ashtanga in which the poses are always done in the same order, but most of the time vinyasa teachers have the discretion to arrange the progression of poses in their own ways.
In vinyasa yoga, each movement is synchronized to a breath. The breath is given primacy, acting as an anchor as you move from one pose to the next.
A cat-cow stretch is an example of a very simple vinyasa. The spine is arched on an inhale and rounded on an exhale. A sun salutation sequence is a more complex vinyasa. Each movement in the series is cued by an inhalation or an exhalation of the breath.
Vinyasa’s strength is in its diversity. If you appreciate having things a little loose and unpredictable and like to keep moving, this style is definitely worth a try.
In most cases, there is no single philosophy, rulebook, or sequence that teachers must follow, so there is a lot of room for individual personalities and quirks to come through.
What to Expect
Vinyasa allows for a lot of variety, but will almost always include sun salutations. Expect to move from pose to pose. Whether the class is fast or slow, includes advanced poses, or is alignment-oriented will depend on the individual teacher and the particular style in which he or she is trained. Some classes include warm-up stretches while others launch straight into standing poses.
Some very popular yoga styles fall under the vinyasa umbrella, including Jivamukti, CorePower, Baptiste Power Vinyasa, and Modo. If a class is simply identified as vinyasa, it may use aspects of several different traditions. The one thing you can be sure of is the flow between poses. The rest is up to the teacher, but you can expect to go through any combination of the poses below.