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Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow & Power Yoga Styles
by
Marianne Woods Cirone, M.S., R.Y.T., Certified Yoga Teacher
In Ashtanga (or astanga) yoga, also known as power yoga, the
yoga postures flow with an emphasis on strength and agility.
Ashtanga yoga is also referred to as
Flow Yoga or Vinyasa
(series of poses), and focuses less on alignment than Iyengar
yoga, and props are used less frequently. Ashtanga yoga,
popularized by originator Pattabhi Jois, often appeals to the
person who is fit or desires to become so quickly as it
usually involves a challenging physical routine. Ashtanga yoga
takes its name from the eight limbs of yoga which include
moral, physical and spiritual practices (see
Yoga Philosophy), which are taught in many classes,
typically more so in yoga studios. An excellent book on Ashtanga Yoga is
Yoga Mala
(shown above) by Pattabhi Jois.
The cornerstone of power yoga is the sun
salutation, a twelve-pose flowing series which is modified in various ways known
as the primary and secondary series, with attention is paid to linking the
breath and the movements. Those new to yoga may want to take time to become
familiar with each pose before going to make sure they understand the poses
before beginning the flow.
Click here to view 35 Ashtanga,
Power and Vinyasa
Yoga Videos
A classic and
maybe the most popular book on Ashtanga yoga is Ashtanga
Yoga: The Practice Manual: An Illustrated Guide to Personal Practice by
David Swenson. It is a spiral-bound to enhance its usability
during practice, and contains 650 photographs which include the full
primary and intermediate series, which are two of the divisions of
ashtanga yoga. This book includes modifications of poses and the
explanations behind the poses and their sequencing.
Readers can create their own routines lasting from 15-minutes to
over two hours. David's brother, Doug, has also written a book
on Ashtanga yoga, called
Power Yoga for Dummies (shown left).
For those
interested in other Ashtanga or Power yoga books, Baron Baptiste has
recently released a popular book entitled, Journey into Power: How to Sculpt Your Ideal Body, Free Your True Self, and Transform Your Life with Yoga
and has several videos to complement the book (see
Ashtanga Yoga
videos). Veteran yoga teacher Beryl Bender Birch has written an earlier book called Power Yoga: The Total Strength and Flexibility Workout
(see left) and also has developed a power yoga video tape/DVD. (For a link
to this and dozens of other ashtanga yoga DVDs and videos, click on
Ashtanga Yoga
videos.)
Books on Ashtanga yoga provide excellent support for classes and videos because
often the classes move quickly and there is little time to discuss or analyze
the individual poses. A fairly new book on Ashtanga yoga is
Ashtanga Yoga: The Definitive Step-By-Step Guide to Dynamic Yoga
by yoga instructor John Scott, with a foreword
by Ashtanga yoga guru Pattabhi Jois, which provides
clear photographs of the "first series". This book can
help clarify the poses and the sequencing for Ashtanga
practitioners. One of the features of Ashtanga yoga is the
emphasis on the breathing and coordination of each movement with the poses,
which Scott discusses.
Ashtanga Yoga for Women by Sally Griffyn and Micheala Clarke is
suggested as a reference for women who do ashtanga yoga and are
looking for specific modifications appropriate for women. This
book contains the primary series, plus the benefits and sequencing
of "power yoga" as it relates to the female life cycle and for
specific purposes such as stress relief or detoxification.
This book also includes informations on preventing injuries, healthy
eating, and further resources. Knowing how to modify poses for your
own unique characteristics, injuries, etc. is very important in
ashtanga yoga since classes can be fast-paced.
A form of Asthanga that
originated in New York is
Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul, by
Sharon Gannon and David Life. Their book by the same name
describes the order in which poses are done, but not the detail of the
poses themselves. Their focus of their power yoga workout
incorporates deeply the yogic scriptures, plus chanting and meditation
(see photo, right). Gannon and Life have been pictured on the
cover of Yoga Journal (to the left) and the Jivamukti (meaning "soul
liberation") style of strong spiritual focus in addition to the
sequencing of the poses in an asthanga format has made their style of
yoga quite popular.
Before
undertaking videos such as these it helps if one is familiar
with the individual postures first, and knows what actions and resistances
they are striving toward in the posture as the videos tend to supply
inadequate depth in this regard. Visiting a yoga class can be
helpful in supplying this information. Some experts suggest that a potential
downside of Ashtanga yoga for both experienced and inexperienced practitioners
can be injuries. Caution
should be used in ashtanga practice, especially if any pain is
experienced during or after practice as detrimental movement patterns
could become ingrained. Sticky mats should be used unless they
get excessively wet. Cotton yoga rugs (as shown to the
left) can be useful to avoid slipping on a mat if perspiration gets
the mat wet and slippery. The rug can be used on top of the sticky mat
also.
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Vinyasa and Flow Yoga Information
