What Is Vinyasa?
In order to achieve equilibrium in the mind and body, vinyasa yoga combines both movement and breathing.
Vinyasa, which means to position in a specific manner in Sanskrit, is the alignment of a planned series of postures with the breath to create an uninterrupted flow.
The growth of vinyasa (Birch 2018, 101–180) has been one of the most exciting developments in contemporary yoga.
Despite its widespread appeal, no comprehensive philosophy for its methodologies and operations has yet to be developed.
The practices of asana – the "steady seat" of postural yoga – have been emphasized in both modern and traditional yoga, seeing it as necessary for contemplative activities.
Vinyasa, on the other hand, views transitions between poses as equally important — at its most extreme, it advocates for continuous fluid movement that is inspired by and synchronized with breath.
Asana yoga approaches have always attempted to recreate a profound sensation of changelessness.
The body is held immobile, suspended breathing (a refinement of bodily immobility) is valued, and an effort is made to stop the mind's workings by bringing it to a point of fixity – essentially negating mundane bodily processes in order to achieve a more lucid experience of the unity that it sees as the true nature of the universe.
"... defined and continuous focus, dubbed ekagrata ('on a single point,') is gained by integrating the mental flux...
which clogs the mental stream and so produces a 'psychic mass,' a solid and unified continuity," according to Eliade (Eliade 1958, 47–48).
This might be related to Milesian pre-Socratic thinkers' attempts to figure out what the actual essence of the cosmos as a basic or primordial material was.
In this perspective, Vinyasa, on the other hand, shares a more Heraclitian idea, positing that the basis is a process rather than a substance.
As its ekagrata, it favors the evenness with which the process develops above the fixity on a single and immovable point.
The practices of vinyasa yoga include maintaining evenness of breath and synchronizing it with evenness of bodily movement in order to achieve evenness of mind, but it might be argued that evenness of mind is the first need.
Breath, body, and mind are most likely engaged in a dynamically reciprocal relationship.
The vinyasa approaches imply that time passes at a constant pace, with no "moments" of higher significance.
The passage of time might also be equally accelerating, decreasing, or flowing irregularly, according to different theories.
A fourth alternative is that time is only an abstract convention for an everlasting and undifferentiated present that is simultaneously brought into existence and obliterated - something that, ironically, constitutes unity via its ceaseless changing-ness.
An attempt is made to maintain a longer breath in order to build awareness of this never-ending flow.
Postures are shifted about and given no more weight than the movement toward or away from them.
Because there is a distinction as the breath transitions from intake to exhale and back again, there is a sensation that length does matter, which would lead one to reject the view that there is no such thing as time.
The duration of a breath does give a fairly realistic restriction for the development of focus or concentration — it is a very small period of time to maintain attention.
When it's finished, there's minimal connection to the experience since there's no investment in it, and the next breath, with its own set of obstacles, comes quickly after.
- Each breath is special and should be savored for what it is and what it reveals over time.
- With each breath, the process starts again, and there is no fidelity to previous or future breaths.
- When respiration and movement are stated to be synchronized, it signifies more than "they happen at the same time."
- Each breath should be full yet regulated without exerting unnecessary pressure.
- The accompanying movement is similar - that specific breath could only cause that movement – the movement aims to be a flawless portrayal of what that breath is – not only as it occurs in time, but also as it shares its features.
In the same way, the intellect is in perfect harmony with the breath.
If the breath is a little ragged, it means the mind is agitated as well.
The breath is thought to be an accurate intermediate between physical and mental processes, with each portion mediating and attempting to precisely represent the status of the whole as it travels through a continuous transition.
This vinyasa philosophy presents an alternative to asana's pursuit of stillness perfection, saying that no matter how hard an asana practitioner tries to stay still, their breathing will always result in movement.
Furthermore, blood continues to flow through the body in asana, cells continue to multiply and die, and the endocrine system continues to operate.
The asana yogi would seem to be seated on a planet that spins on its axis as it hurtles around the sun – a solar that is part of a developing and slowly rotating galaxy that is part of an expanding cosmos (Rees 2001, 50–51).
In summary, the nature of reality is this process of movement and change, and it is important to attune oneself to this process in order to be one with it.
There are also significant distinctions between asana and vinyasa.
Asana practitioners "gaze" within in quest of the oneness of underlying Self, eventually seeking detachment from body feeling - subjecting oneself to intense physical challenges until mastery is accomplished in stillness.
The vinyasa method shown here, on the other hand, begins energetically at an infinitely tiny place inside the pelvic region and flows externally with a unification of breath, body, and mind.
Before delving into the meaning of inner and outward, it's important to define the words prana and pranayama (yogic terminology for energy and the practices used to move it).
The meaning of prana and, by extension, pranayama, is unclear.
Prana is defined by Eliade as "organic energy expelled by breath and exhalation" (Eliade 1958, 58), but he does not specify what that organic energy is or where it goes.
- Vital life force energy is a frequent current definition, albeit it's unclear if the term vital implies that there are additional types of life force energy.
- Prana, according to Swami Rama, pervades everything of existence, even inanimate things (Rama 2002, 202).
This wide definition might imply that prana is a kind of energy similar to that found at the atomic level.
The word yama is frequently translated as "restraint," although it may also be translated as "control" or "manipulation."
The goal of asana yoga is to put the prana into a condition where there is no flux - no energy discharge.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Sinh 1915, 4.18) and the Siva Samhita (Vasu 1914–15, 2.13) both list the nadis (or channels) in the body via which prana passes (72,000 and 350,000, respectively).
In their book Roots Of Yoga, James Mallinson and Mark Singleton discuss how the primary nadis start at the "base" chakra and travel to the "crown" chakra (top of the head), allowing prana to flow through the "subtle body" (Mallinson and Singleton 2017, 171–184).
The idea of a mysterious source of energy near the base of the spine with attached channels through which energy rises is a premise so pervasive and adamantly held that one must take a step back to appreciate what an extraordinary and peculiar assertion this is if taken literally – predicated on "subtle bodies" with elaborate structures that defy demonstration but have apparently resonated with practitioners throughout the ages; replete with "subtle bodies" with elaborate structures that belie demonstration.
The "lower" chakras (nexuses of pranic energy) are more primitive and instinctive; the "higher" chakras (nexuses of pranic energy) are more noble and spiritual; The lower ones are more simple in their qualities, while the higher ones are more elaborate in their elaboration.
It's debatable to what extent these alleged structures should be regarded literally in reality.
They are, nevertheless, imaginatively strong weapons with both poetic and metaphoric resonance.
The vinyasa philosophy described here claims that literal understanding of the "subtle body" and its architecture is impossible.
Vinyasa, on the other hand, loosely adheres to this energetic foundation and interprets it as imagery that serves as a metaphor for its ekagrata of continuous flow.
This imagery is a useful poetic conception around which the vinyasi can cohesively integrate the concrete efforts of body, mind, and breath.
It is unique to each individual and is a useful poetic conception around which the vinyasi can cohesively integrate the concrete efforts of body, mind, and breath.
Whatever shape a nadi and the energy that passes through it take, it's probable that each person imagines it differently ("My sushumna is like a glittering thread"; "Mine is like a plastic tube").
The mula (albeit not a chakra) is the location where this energy originates, and it is seen as an endlessly tiny and fictitious, but theoretically powerful, point positioned in the pelvic region somewhere between the sitting bones, pubic bone, coccyx, and pelvic floor.
This is where the outward flow of prana is said to begin.
Though "root" is a commonly accepted translation of mula, this meaning may lose some of the nuance that "location or site of origin" suggests.
The vinyasa imagery serves as a strong focus point — its ekagrata – from which the whole body moves together.
This assumption offers the framework for imagining prana (the activity of pranayama) flowing from this infinitely tiny place - so minuscule that it equates to a zero on a number line.
Mula is the beginning point for the continual flow of energy in the direction of the legs and feet, as well as the torso, head, and arms - compared to light spreading forth.
Zero points on number lines and light emitted from infinitely tiny points should be recognized for what they are: culturally particular metaphors attempting to create parallels for an experience that each practitioner would interpret differently.
This idea of vinyasa places a premium on creative participation with the event, just as it does on intellectual, emotional, and physical engagement.
The event consumes the totality of one's existence.
Both asana and vinyasa appear to hold extreme polar positions on the surface – one a complete negation of self and the other a complete affirmation – but they are both predicated on the entry (or rebirth) into a different sphere of being or experience – that of understanding the true nature of reality.
The way by which they strive to assure their capacity to recreate the experience at will is via technical mastery.
Each has significant challenges to overcome in this endeavor.
The numerous distractions of one's own thoughts must be quelled in asana - for those searching within – as they aim to discover a new and more universal plane of awareness.
Those gazing outwards have the challenge of absorbing everything that their senses provide them and reacting to it in a completely coherent manner - one that sees the blatant manifestation of a distinct and developing "other" with whom they are attempting to blend their knowledge.
Vinyasa Yoga recognizes that each person conducts this as a unique and imaginative endeavor, and so it falls within the ambit of aesthetic philosophy.
Sensory Control
Focused Concentration
In vinyasa, the concept of volume is crucial.
The vinyasi, like the teacup actor, tries to arrange their practice with a set of roughly repeatable movements.
The dhyana practice demonstrates how space and volume interact to effect the practitioner.
The Space And Reality In Between You And Existence
What is the difference between space and time?
Physics and yoga comparisons are always forced.
The phrase samadhi might refer to a direct experience of the Totality.
You may also want to read more about Gnani Yoga here.
You may also want to read more about Kundalini Yoga here.
You may also want to read more about Yoga here.
You may also want to read more about Yoga Asanas and Exercises here.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
