This week, I thought it would be fun and a nice change of pace to do the exact opposite. This week I'm teaching my classes with more of a "vinyasa" feel to them; with more of a flow.

The word vinyasa is an interesting word. It's a polyvalent term (meaning it has many capacities). The most common definition of the word vinyasa is that it's a series of poses in the middle of Surya Namaskar (namely plank, chaturanga dandasana and bhujangasana; as when the teacher says: "stay in downward facing dog or go through the vinyasa.") The word also means "to move with the breath." It can also  stand for "setting your intention for your practice and taking the necessary steps towards reaching a goal.

The actual word breaks down into two Sanskrit roots which can help us decode its meaning: nyasa and the prefix vi.

Nyasa means "to place" and "vi" means "in a special way."

So all of this can lead us to deduce that vinyasa is "to place your body, your breath, your intention in a special and mindful way as you move through your practice." BTW the word "special" is interesting- it's a word that I think few would look up in the dictionary since we all know what it means. But as I have often discovered having a dictionary, or two, or three (I have three different dictionaries always handy; Webster's, a Sanskrit dictionary and another Sanskrit dictionary of Indian Philosophy) will help reveal deeper meanings to the terms and help add color and texture to the teachings. The word "special" I just learned comes from the word "species." And one of its meanings is "not general or regular but specific." Wow. 

SO: vinyasa can mean to move in a specific way, not general, in a highly regarded, exceptional way (further meanings).

Whew! So much to the word!

Theme: Vinyasa; flowing with grace; moving with the breath; aligning movement of body with breath creating a specific and special way of moving and being.

Sequence: I had a blast and by far this (I can tell) is going to be a super fun week for me to teach. I love how the poses dovetail so nicely with each other.

Here are some sequences out of the top of my head that we did today:

1) Warrior 2 to Reverse Warrior 2 to Reverse Triangle to Triangle to Half Moon, To Chapasana to Chapasana with no hands to Standing Splits to Handstand!

2) Ardha Matsyendrasana to Gomukhasana to twisting Gomukhasana to Eka Pada Koundyniasana #1 to chaturanga to cobra to Down Dog...

3) Bakasana to Sirsasana 2 to Bakasana...

4) Triangamukhaikapada Pashimottanasana to Supine eka pada virasana to a supta padangusthasana variation to Urdhva Dhanurasana...

5) Urdhva Dhanurasana to Ustrasana back to Urdhva..

I really felt today more than any other day in my teaching career a glimpse of the whole dance of the universe; how the poses are created, sustained and dissolved over and over and over. And all the while the breath is the anchor that connects everything together.

Class was a blast- there was a great group today and people were having breakthroughs and having fun!  Several came afterwards and commented several times how great it was.

Isn't it wonderful that Hatha yoga and in particular Anusara yoga allows so much room for playful exploration of the same poses and of the same themes?