After over 20 years in Hatha Yoga training and practice, an experience with Viniyoga and everything changed! What struck me was the focus on the movement with adaptation that honored the yogi as they are in that very moment. Having this combined with the breath lead movement that had been a part of my practice for decades I knew I had stumbled onto a home for my own practice. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was drawn to what Gary Kraftsow, calls 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. Some poses are done on inhale; others, on exhale. We even use the breath to do subtle, yet powerful, micro-movements when we stay in a pose.
• 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. We can also flow between poses with the best of them!
• 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. This means that two students can do the same pose but look significantly different from each other. Ideally, they are feeling the same effects of the pose in their body.
• Sequencing: Viniyoga teachers carefully design classes so that each pose prepares for or erases strain from the poses before and after it. Proper sequencing both makes the practices safer (both in the short term and for years of consistent practice) and allows the practitioner to move more deeply into each posture with greater ease.

The beauty of this lineage and methodology is the adaptability to every level of student. As a yoga therapist this is essential to honoring and supporting the yogi! Viniyoga meets each yogi EXACTLY where they are and adapts the practice to meet the unique condition and specific goals of the yogi. In this way everything about the practice is customized to the student. There is no single practice, no single style, no single intention, and no right way to be in a pose. From this foundation Viniyoga can be as gentle and as strong as any other practice while also honoring the individual as they are. 

Viniyoga (prefixes vi and ni plus yoga) is an ancient Sanskrit term that implies differentiation, adaptation, and appropriate application. For me it has become an honoring of who I really am, that allows me to be with resistance and challenge while supporting my needs and goals. 

Viniyoga is a comprehensive and authentic transmission of the teachings of yoga including āsana, prāṇāyāma, bandha, sound, chanting, meditation, personal ritual and study of texts. 

Lastly, my advice to yoga teachers and those who wish to explore becoming a teacher: Teaching yoga is not about you as the teacher, our role is to be a guide for our students that creates the space for them to fully connect with their true self, to be the supporter of their unique mind, body and spirit needs. In my experience, this is where as a teacher my heart sings. 

Namaste,