Viniyoga Is Different In 4 Key Ways

The first thing to consider in your yoga teaching is who you're working with, why they're there and what you can do to help them achieve what they want to achieve.

There's a generalization in the modern yoga world that the main focus of practice should be developing the body in the direction of the FORMS of asana.

Speaking first from the perspective of asana there are four points that differentiate Viniyoga from most of the other traditions you'll find.

Let me go over those four points very specifically...

The first point I call the use of “repetition and stay” and the combination of “repetition and stay”.

The general notion in asana practice at large is that each posture is defined by a precise form.

The way to practice the posture is to move into that posture and stay there. Maybe in some traditions they suggest you work with the breath in a particular way while you're in these postures.

In viniyoga we don't just move into postures and stay there working with muscular contraction to define the form of the posture.

One of the things that differentiates viniyoga is we have a strategy of repetition where we move from a starting position into the posture and out of it.

We use repetition in and out plus preparation and also compensation for extended periods of staying in the posture.

We have crucial underlying fundamentals that drive our unique approach towards repetition.

Repetition has both a muscular skeletal and neuromuscular benefit.

When you move into a posture for example the “agonist” muscles of the body contract and their “antagonist” muscles stretch.

When you move out of a posture that antagonist muscle that was stretching is now contracting – it becomes the agonist muscle. And the agonist muscle has now become the antagonist muscle.

So what you have in the body through repetition is the alternation of contraction of core muscles and stretching. This alternation of stretching and contracting is what increases the circulation to the muscles and their condition.

Even though it's a neurological function it has a mucular skeletal benefit to the body. The condition of the muscles actually change.

The neuromuscular benefit of repetition is that it helps you establish new and beneficial movement patterns.

Most of the movements of our body follow pre-established movement patterns that we've developed over time since we were children.

And a lot of the problems we have structurally are themselves a result of these long term patterns not being adapted to the unique needs of our structure.

In physiotherapy they talk about repetitive stress injury which is stress to the joints or ligaments that occur from doing the same kind of movement over and over again that isn't adapted to the needs of the body.

So one of the other advantages of repetition is that you're able to establish new and more beneficial neuromuscular movement patterns.