I admit it. I’m a Viniyoga snob. I won’t practice any other style of yoga, and I certainly won’t teach any other style. But I didn’t start out that way. Like most people, when I took my first yoga class I didn’t even know different types of yoga existed. I thought all yoga was the same, and honestly, I thought all yoga was a little weird.

My first yoga class changed all that, even though it wasn’t Viniyoga; it was Iyengar-influenced Hatha yoga. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry. Neither do most of the people down-dogging next to you. Suffice it to say that Hatha is an umbrella term for the physical practice of yoga, and Iyengar is a specific style, focused on holding poses with exact alignment.

I liked my first yoga class. A lot. In fact, I liked it so much that I was afraid if my yoga teacher knew how much it was hurting me, she might not let me attend anymore. She knew of my injuries, but even though she was a well known and very experienced yoga teacher (she even co-authored a yoga book!) she didn’t know how to adapt yoga for my body. But that didn’t matter to me. All that mattered was the incredible peace of mind I received from practicing.

Then that teacher went on a month’s vacation.

Determined to keep up my practice, I went to a number of studios in the Seattle area and tried a variety of styles. Luckily for me, one of those styles was Viniyoga. I didn’t know why at the time, but for the first time, I left a yoga class feeling not only mentally, but also physically, better. Over time, I continued to experiment, but I kept coming back to Viniyoga. And then one day I knew: I was destined to teach this wonderful lineage.

Flash-forward 12 years, and I can now explain what makes this style so unique. My teacher calls it The Four Key Differentiators of Viniyoga:

• Linkage of Breath and Movement: Viniyoga links movement with the breath, which makes each movement more powerful, mindful, and structurally integrated than non-breath-centered movement.
• Use of Movement and Stay: Viniyoga students move in and out of poses before staying in them. Movement systematically prepares the body to hold a pose by warming the muscle groups that will be taxed in that pose. Movement also helps reprogram habitual movement patterns, so students move more functionally, even in non-yoga activities.
• Adaptation: Viniyoga adapts poses to the practitioner, rather than assuming there is one “right” way to do a pose. The goal is to achieve the function of a pose, instead of its form.
• Sequencing: Viniyoga teachers carefully design classes so that each pose prepares for or erases strain from the poses before and after it.

But I’ve found something even more powerful in Viniyoga—community. Viniyoga emphasizes the teacher-student relationship. With no “one size fits all” approach, a Viniyoga teacher must be present with her students, get to know her students, even care about her students to be effective. I came to love practicing Viniyoga for what it did for my mind and my body. I came to love teaching Viniyoga because it made me a more observant, caring part of my larger community.

More than anything else, that’s why I love Viniyoga.

Namaste

Tracy

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

One of Viniyoga’s key differentiators is our principle of adaptation, or modifying a pose’s form to achieve its function. Because of this principle, we often do poses in a Viniyoga classes significantly differently than in other styles.  This is especially apparent in forward bends. (Actually, lateral bends as well, but that’s a blog topic for another day).

In Viniyoga, we categorize postures based on their primary and secondary intentions.  The primary intention is the “have to have,” if you will, or the most important effect of a posture.  The secondary intentions of a pose are the “nice to haves.”  Those effects that, while useful, can be sacrificed if needed to achieve the primary goal of the pose.

In forward bends, the primary intention is usually stretching the low back.  Secondarily, the pose may also stretch hips, hamstrings and the upper back.  If you feel a forward bend in your hamstrings or upper back but not your low back, then you are likely getting the secondary intention of the pose at the expense of the primary intention.

The photos below are of a student doing a specific forward bend, called Uttanasana. In the photo on the left, she is stretching her hamstrings, but not her low back. The photo on the right shows the same student with improved form.  Note how a slight bend in her knees has changed the pose significantly.

Of course you can’t see your own form when you’re practicing, but you can still tell whether you are doing the pose “right” by how it feels.  If you’re doing Uttanasana correctly, you will feel a stretch in your low back and perhaps a small stretch in the backs of your legs.

Coming out of the forward bend should feel a bit different, and this is where things get tricky.   While it is vitally important to stretch the low back, you should do so while keeping the rest of the spine, particularly the inter-vertebral discs, resilient and safe. Therefore you should not keep a rounded position as you come back up to standing. Doing so puts pressure on the front of the discs, which may lead to disc wear and even disc herniation over time.  Instead, contract the low back muscles and come to a neutral or even slightly arched back at the half-way point.  From there, press through the feet and return to standing. Many teachers call this “lifting through a flat back.”   I often describe this movement as “lifting from your collar bones.”

In the photos below, the student on the left is rounding through her back as she comes to standing.  On the right, she is using correct form. Note the return of the subtle arch of her lumbar curve.

Again, you’ll know if you’re doing the movement “right” by how it feels. When you come to standing, you should feel your shoulder blades move together, your collar bones lift, and a slight curve return to your lower back.

Still not sure if you’re doing it correctly? Ask your teacher to watch you closely and give individual feedback.  Sometimes a even minute change in form can have a dramatic impact.

Namaste

Tracy

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle! And if you have back pain, we offer specific yoga for healthy backs classes to help!