Why I Vinyasa
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Yogis, I’m curious… what style of yoga do you practice?
And how did you find your favorite style of yoga class?
Depending on what’s going on in your life and with your physical body, different types of yoga might draw you in.
In my ten years on the mat, I’ve practiced a variety of styles: mostly Bikram, Hatha, restorative/yin, Dharma, and Vinyasa. I’ve also tried Buti, Bhakti and Ashtanga, among others.
When I went to do my 200 hour yoga teacher training, I landed on a Vinyasa training in the style of Baron Baptiste. Both of my trainers had trained directly with Baron.
I was drawn to Vinyasa for a few reasons.
Dynamic movement feels great in my body. I love that the sequences of poses in Vinyasa are linked to the breath, and the ‘flow’ itself feels like a dance. It’s like you’re moving your body through honey; slow, sweet, nourishing and healing movements.
Control, strength, muscular tone, and lung health… all of these have been such gifts from my practice.
Vinyasa yoga offers mindful sequencing. Once you get the basics of breath cues down, you realize there’s a ton of freedom for how to sequence postures in a class. There are patterns and the formulas work, but you don’t get bored.
Vinyasa offers the opportunity for a fun, upbeat, energizing and very physical class. It feels good to sweat and put in some hard work!
The community of yogis who practice Vinyasa yoga are a great group. ;)
Here’s a little sample of a Baron Baptiste style Vinyasa warmup:
Sun Salutation A
Mountain pose (inhale, exhale)
Arms overhead (inhale)
Flat back/ forward fold (exhale)
Halfway lift (inhale)
Forward fold (exhale)
Reverse swan dive to lift arms overhead (inhale)
Hands in prayer (exhale)
Nothing quite like a smooth, slow, graceful flow to get your body centered and the mind calm!
Have you ever tried a Vinyasa flow class? I’d love to hear about how you liked it. ;)
First two photos by Angelo Hilton.
PS Are you a yoga teacher working on your Vinyasa flow classes? I created this e-book to help you find your rhythm…
This e-book is a great tool for new yoga teachers who are working on memorizing breath cues, sequencing classes, and building confidence. Included:
A printable checklist for tracking your weekly breath cue practice
A printable breakdown of Vinyasa flow sequencing and breath cues for Sun Salutations (A & B)
Short sequences for warm ups, core, leg strengthening, back strengthening and cool down
A journal entry page to help you work through any blockages or frustrations that are holding you back
