Good question. A really big question.
In short – yoga is a lot more than the series of poses we do on the mat for one hour. This is just a part of yoga – the ASANAS (which is the Sanskrit word for pose). So – downward dog is a pose. But yoga is a whole lot more and has been around for thousands of years, although not necessarily in a form we’d recognise in the West. I’m going to do a series of videos about the history and philosophy of yoga but in the meantime – what we do on the mat – I like to think of as “moving meditation”. It’s a way of bringing our mind and body into alignment and through that we hope to reach a greater understanding of ourselves and how we could be better humans.
What is Power Vinyasa Yoga?
It’s a form of yoga that builds strength, flexibility and power by flowing from one pose to another connecting the breath to the move. The vinyasa sequence is a series of moves that we string together and which are repeated all the way through the class.
They are: PLANK – LOW PLANK (CHATURANGA) – UPWARD DOG – DOWNWARD DOG
Here's a video of a very sped up version of a power yoga class. See how many vinyasas you can spot.
Why do YOGA?
Yoga is more than just exercise, although it’s really good exercise, and if you want it to just be that then that’s totally cool. BUT yoga can provide more than just physical benefits. It can open you up to the possibility of a different way of being that connects you more into your body, into your breath, and into the world. Through the breathwork in yoga you can actually change your mind and mood. Every time you fall out of a pose and get back into it you are learning to begin again – learning that you can be more and do more than perhaps you ever thought possible. Its about creating a positivity that will hopefully flow into the rest of your life and enable you to see your own potential.
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