Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa Yoga

All You Need to Know About Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa yoga or flow yoga originated back in 200 BC when Pattabhi Jois, a renowned yogi of the time, put together the Ashtanga yoga form. Hence, it can be rightly said that the Vinyasa belongs to more or less the same yoga style as Ashtanga. Ashtanga yoga refers to moving meditation, where the movements between asana are as significant as the whole meditation process.

 

What Is Vinyasa?

Vinyasa yoga is also known as ‘consciousness in motion.’ In its literal sense, the word is translated as ‘arranging something in a special way,’ which refers to the arrangement of poses. In Vinyasa yoga, an alignment between movement and breath must be attained while flowing from one pose to another. Vinyasa yoga has the following types:

  • Ashtanga
  • Baptiste yoga
  • Jivamukti
  • Power yoga
  • Prana Flow

Vinyasa Yoga vs. Hatha Yoga

Amongst the various types of yoga forms, Hatha refers to a slow and gentle form of meditation. It is usually prescribed for beginners. Hatha yoga aims to deepen one’s concentration, also known as Dharana in India. It is also practiced to improve meditation and energize the body and mind by letting in Kundalini energy. With the help of this yoga form, channels of this Kundalini energy may be opened, which can be used to promote spiritual growth and understanding.

Alternatively, Vinyasa yoga is a more advanced version of meditation and is physically more challenging. Within Vinyasa, students are required to follow certain postures that impact the cardiovascular system. With each pose, a series of inhalations and exhalations are mandated in order to produce heat within the body.

Vinyasa differs from Hatha as it aims to focus more on internal cleansing than understanding. All the asanas performed in Vinyasa are used to increase the body temperature by accumulating enough heat.

vinyasa yoga flow yoga pose

Benefits of Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa yoga is beneficial in multiple ways, a few of which are as follows:

  • Vinyasa provides the mind with a much-needed break with its ability to offer calmness and stillness to the mind. Each breath, movement, posture, and sequence are aimed toward relaxing the mind. When the mind is set free, its ability to concentrate goes up. This leads to enhanced focus, leaving behind stress and anxiety. With a better mental focus, one can achieve sound sleep and fight addiction.
  • The movement in Vinyasa helps burn unnecessary calories. People who are faced with weight loss issues and obesity can turn to this form of meditation to get rid of those unwanted calories. In a 60-minute session, an individual can drop as many as 445 calories. In order to maximize calorie burn, lean toward Vinyasa movements that require standing and balancing postures. Additionally, speed up your inhaling and exhaling motions to achieve optimal results.
  • Vinyasa can also be practiced to teach oneself about self-love. With the help of asanas, greater mental focus is achieved, which takes the mind to memories of the past. Asanas trigger emotions in the body, making one realize how important it is to self-heal.

For all those willing to attain these physical, mental and spiritual benefits, Vinyasa is the way to go. All it requires is a little motivation.

Continue Reading