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A vinyasa (,
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...
: ') is a smooth transition between
asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...
s in flowing styles of modern
yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of asana, postures, often connected by vinyasa, flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by pranayama, breathing exercises, and frequently ending with savasana, relaxation lying down or ...
such as Vinyasa Krama Yoga and Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga, especially when movement is paired with the breath.


Description

The vinyasa forms of yoga used as exercise, including
Pattabhi Jois K. Pattabhi Jois (26 July 1915 – 18 May 2009) was an Indian Modern yoga gurus, yoga guru who developed and popularized the vinyasa, flowing style of yoga as exercise known as Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga. In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yo ...
's 1948 Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga and its spin-off schools such as Beryl Bender Birch's 1995 Power Yoga and others like Baptiste Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Power Vinyasa Yoga, and Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga, derive from
Krishnamacharya Tirumala Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga as exercise, yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "Father of Modern ...
's development of a flowing aerobic style of yoga in the
Mysore Palace Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and a royal residence. It is located in Mysore, Karnataka, India. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. The pala ...
in the early 20th century.


Krishnamacharya's usage

According to Ashtanga yoga's official history,
Krishnamacharya Tirumala Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga as exercise, yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "Father of Modern ...
learned the complete system of
asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...
s (postures) and vinyasas (transitions) from an otherwise unknown document, the '' Yoga Kurunta'', supposedly written 5,000 years ago by Vamana Rishi; the history tells that Krishnamacharya copied it out and taught it, unmodified, to Pattabhi Jois. However, the original manuscript was supposedly destroyed by ants, and no copy survives; neither Jois nor any other of Krishnamacharya's pupils transcribed it, as would have been expected in a traditional
guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
- shishya relationship. Further, Krishnamacharya "surprising y did not cite the text in his 1935 ''
Yoga Makaranda ''Yoga Makaranda'' (Sanskrit: योग मकरन्द​), meaning "''Essence of Yoga''", is a 1934 book on hatha yoga by the influential pioneer of yoga as exercise, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Most of the text is a description of 42 asanas ...
'' or his c. 1941 ''Yogasanagalu''. The ''Yogasanagalu'' did contain tables of asanas and vinyasas, and these are "comparable" to Jois's system, but far from being fixed as written in an ancient manuscript, Krishnamacharya's "jumping" yoga style at the
Mysore Palace Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and a royal residence. It is located in Mysore, Karnataka, India. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. The pala ...
was constantly changing, adapted to the needs of specific pupils according to their ages, constitutions (''deha''), vocations (''vrttibheda''), capabilities (''sakti''), and paths (''marga''); the approach was "experimental". In contrast, the system that Krishnamacharya taught to Jois and that became the basis of Jois's Ashtanga Yoga was fixed. This may have been because Jois had to teach at the Sanskrit Pathasala in 1933, while Krishnamacharya's other pupils were studying at his Yogasala, so he may, Mark Singleton suggests, have taught the 18-year-old Jois a simple fixed sequence suitable for a novice teacher to use with large groups of boys. Norman Sjoman notes that Krishnamacharya cited the 19th century ''
Sritattvanidhi The ''Sritattvanidhi'' (, "The Illustrious Treasure of Realities") is a treatise written in the 19th century in the Mysore Palace, Karnataka on the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India. One of its sections includes instru ...
'' which documents asanas used in the Mysore Palace in his early writings; his early vinyasas developed into forms more like those of Jois, something that Sjoman takes as evidence that Krishnamacharya created rather than inherited the vinyasas: "It was not an inherited format". Krishnamacharya used "vinyasa" in at least two different ways. One was in a broad sense to mean "an appropriately formulated sequence of steps (''krama'') for approaching a given posture". The other was a "stage in the execution of an asana". For example, in ''Yoga Makaranda'' the
Sarvangasana Sarvangasana (), Shoulder stand, or more fully Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulder stand), is an inverted asana in modern yoga as exercise; similar poses were used in medieval hatha yoga as a mudra. Many named variations exist, including wit ...
sequence is introduced with the words "This has 12 vinyasas
tages Tages was claimed as a founding prophet of Etruscan mythology, Etruscan religion who is known from reports by Latin authors of the late Roman Republic and Roman Empire. He revealed a cosmic view of divinity and correct methods of ascertaining ...
The 8th vinyasa is the asana sthiti he actual pose"


Pattabhi Jois's usage

In contrast,
Pattabhi Jois K. Pattabhi Jois (26 July 1915 – 18 May 2009) was an Indian Modern yoga gurus, yoga guru who developed and popularized the vinyasa, flowing style of yoga as exercise known as Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga. In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yo ...
used "vinyasa" in a narrower sense to mean "the repetitious linking movements" between the asanas of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. The Ashtanga yoga teacher Gregor Maehle explains that this flowing style "creates a movement meditation". The vinyasa sequences used in the touring demonstrations of Krishnamacharya's yoga were, according to an interview with Jois, "virtually identical to the aerobic schema" of modern Ashtanga Yoga, namely "several distinct 'series' within which each main asana is conjoined by a short, repeated, linking series of postures and jumps based on the
Surya Namaskar Sun Salutation, also called Surya Namaskar or Salute to the Sun (, ), is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th century, though s ...
model".


Sharath Jois's usage

Modern vinyasa yoga such as what was taught by
Sharath Jois R. Sharath Jois (born Rangaswamy Sharath; 29 September 1971 – 11 November 2024) was an Indian teacher, practitioner and lineage holder (paramaguru) of Ashtanga Yoga, in the tradition of his grandfather K. Pattabhi Jois. He was the director ...
(grandson of Pattabhi Jois) coordinates the breath with the vinyasa transition movements between asanas. A particular sequence of asanas, also called a vinyasa, is used repeatedly in Ashtanga yoga classes; it involves
Chaturanga Dandasana Chaturanga Dandasana (; ) or Four-Limbed Staff pose, also known as Low Plank, is an asana in modern yoga as exercise and in some forms of Surya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun), in which a straight body parallel to the ground is supported by the toes ...
(Low Staff Pose),
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana Cobra Pose or Bhujangasana (; IAST: ) is a reclining back-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. It is also performed in a cycle of asanas in Surya Namaskar, Salute to the Sun, as an alternative to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Upward ...
(Upward Dog Pose) and
Adho Mukha Svanasana Downward Dog Pose, Downward-facing Dog Pose, or Downdog, also called Adho Mukha Svanasana (; ), is an inversion asana in yoga as exercise. It is often practised as part of a flowing sequence of poses, especially Surya Namaskar, the Salute to t ...
(Downward Dog Pose) to link other asanas. Sharath Jois defines vinyasa as a system of breathing and movement.


See also

*
Trul khor ''Trul khor'' ('magical instrument' or 'magic circle;' Skt. ), in full ''tsa lung trul khor'' ( 'magical movement instrument, channels and inner breath currents'), also known as yantra yoga, is a Vajrayana discipline which includes pranayama ( ...


References


Sources


online
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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinyasa