yoga combining dynamism and relaxation

For people reluctant to traditional yoga and who think of yoga as a boring activity, you will be surprised by the vinyasa yoga. This practice modernize it yoga and meets the expectations of Western populations and reflects their way of life, generally in movement and speed. Vinyasa yoga is an active type of yoga with much more dynamism in the movements.

In Sanskrit (Indo-European language), the “vi” part of the word vinyasa, means “in a certain way” and “nyasa”, means “to place”, we can understand vinyasa as the synchronization of breath and movement. Vinyasa yoga is a succession of movements, almost similar to a choreography, it allows to reach a state of meditation, while moving. Vinyasa yoga is a practice with many benefits for body and mind.

What type of yoga is vinyasa?

Vinyasa is active and dynamic yoga, these are two points that characterize it the most. This style of yoga is also called the Flow Yoga. This name comes from the fact that vinyasa is a permanent flow of movements. In this practice, we synchronizes the postures with our breathingthe movements take precedence over the thought, which makes it possible to free your mind and totally relax. It can be combined with dance sequences and completed with meditation.

Breathing is at the heart of vinyasa yoga, everything rests on her. The fast and sustained pace of this practice requires a lot of concentration. This concentration helps clear your mind. Having an active and dynamic rhythm, vinyasa yoga sweat a lot. It is practiced barefoot on a carpet, which is why it is preferable to use a non-slip carpet to avoid slipping because of your perspiration.

What are the benefits of vinyasa yoga on our body?

This yoga brings many benefits:

• it allows to strengthen your muscles, relax, evacuate toxins, and boost your metabolism.
• By releasing tensions, vinyasa brings a ideal balance between body and mind. This type of yoga is a real sport, which can be practiced as a hobby, the latter acts as a self-care on our body.
• The advantage of flow yoga is that it cansuitable for all levels, beginner, intermediate or confirmed. The postures are flexible according to his level and his knowledge. You can even modify your postures according to your physical abilities.
• While being dynamic, vinyasa yoga remains gentle on the joints. It allows toimprove the posture of our bodyour flexibility, and brings renewed energy.
• Flow yoga offers a boost to the whole body. It tones, sculpts, boosts the metabolismour breathing, but also our motivation and our self-confidencewhile unwinding.
• Practiced in the studio, indoors, or at home with online courses such as on youtube, vinyasa sessions are all unique. Each teacher brings his personal touch to the session and to the choreography, which makes it possible not to repeat the same movements at each session, quite the opposite of ashtanga yoga, created by K. Pattabhi Joisyoga guru.

What is the difference between traditional yoga and vinyasa yoga?

Traditional yoga and vinyasa yoga have many things in common, but also many differences. First of all, the main common point between these two disciplines is the breathing. Breathing is the solid foundation of all yoga styles, it is based on the movements of the practice. In traditional yoga, also called hatha-yoga in the west, the postures (otherwise called asanas) are rather strict, soft and repetitive.

Traditional yoga is obviously suitable for beginners as well and there are some rather simple postures, like “downward dog” or “child’s posture”. In vinyasa yoga, thesequence of postures is not strict, it is modular and adapts to everyone. Alignments bring fluidity to the energy flowing through our body.

Unlike traditional yoga, vinyasa yoga does not pay so much attention to these alignments, the most important thing is harmony between breath and movement. The other difference is the fluid and fast sequence of flow yoga, against the softer and slower sequence of traditional yoga. In order to become more anchored in the traditional practice of yoga, you can add mantras (sacred spiritual formula) or pranayama to control and lengthen your breath, to your sequence of vinyasa yoga.

What is a vinyasa yoga session like?

The session of a vinyasa yoga class begins with a connection to selfbased onbreathing and pranayama exercises. We continue with a warm-up consisting of stretching, sun salutations (Surya Namaskara A and B or Hatha Yoga), then comes the practice of asanas. Then, some postures are performed in order to raise the cardio to a crescendo.

We continue with the heart of the session, thesequence of postures. It’s time to mix between balance, flexibility and muscle strengthening. The transitions energize the sequence between the asanas (postures). Breathing is the guide of the session, it must be in harmony with the movements. For example, during your inspirations, you will make downward movements, during your expirations, the bending movements.

The session ends with a quiet moment, you can realize the savasana“corpse pose”, a lying position, back on the ground, hands open towards the sky. You continue with a moment of relaxation, then a gradual return to self.

Vinyasa yoga is by definition a practice combining the physical well-being with psychological well-being.

Louise Lethiec

Passionate about make-up and beauty care, Louise is on the lookout for the latest trends in vogue. Interested in travel, she is always on the lookout for novelties and …