Introduction to Vinyasa Flow Yoga

When vinyasa is used as a noun, it describes a series of three poses that are done as part of a sun salutation sequence. When teachers say, "Go through the vinyasa at your own pace," they mean do a Plank, Chaturanga, and Upward Facing Dog (or their equivalent variations), using your breath to measure when to move on to the next pose.

If you start to get tired and this affects the quality of your poses, it's very acceptable to skip the vinyasa and wait for the class in Downward Facing Dog.

The beginner's version of the vinyasa is Plank → Knees, Chest, Chin → Cobra → Downward Facing Dog.

The advanced version is Plank → Chaturanga Dandasana → Upward Facing Dog → Downward Facing Dog.

Let's look a closer look at the beginners' sequence first and then on to the more advanced sequence.

Begin in a plank position. This is usually arrived at by stepping or jumping back from the front of your mat. If plank is too much for you, you can always drop your knees to the floor. Keep shoulders stacked over wrists and hips in line with shoulders. Lengthen forward through the crown of your head and out through your heels.

Exhale to lower your knees, chest, and chin to your mat. Your butt stays high in the air and your elbows point straight back along your sides. This pose is a good warm-up for backbends and helps you develop arm strength.​

Inhale and slide forward to a low Cobra Pose. Don't move your arms. As you lower your hips to the floor, your chest will come forward and lift up off the ground.​

Try to make this lift come from the strength of your back, not pushing down into your hands. Keep little to no weight in your hands while you anchor your pelvis and the tops of your feet to the mat.

Exhale and curl your toes under as you straighten your arms to push back to Downward Facing Dog. You can come through all fours or a Child's Pose in transition if you want to. In Downward Facing Dog, your hands are shoulder-width apart and your feet are hip-width apart. Keep your spine long; press sit bones towards sky and heels towards floor.

Now let's take a look at the advanced version, which also begins with Plank Pose. During a sun salutation flow, seasoned practitioners will sometimes jump back from Utanasana straight into Chaturanga. In that case, skip the Plank Pose.

To prepare to lower from Plank, shift forward onto your tiptoes.

Exhale and bend your elbows straight back to lower to Chaturanga Dandasana. Your body is in one straight line and your shoulders should be no lower than your elbows. It's a tough position to hold but try not to rush on to the next pose. Use your leg strength: Press the backs of your knees toward the sky and press into the balls of your feet to help engage the leg muscles.

Inhale and straighten your arms, drop your hips, and roll over the toes to the tops of your feet into Upward Facing Dog. You can flip the feet one at a time if that works better for you. Press into your hands and feet to keep your thighs lifted off the floor. Keep your shoulders moving away from your ears.

Exhale, roll over the toes and shift your hips up and back to Downward Facing Dog.

Do the version of the vinyasa that you are most comfortable with. Even if you have a very competent Chaturanga, it's nice to warm up with a few rounds of Knees, Chest, Chin at the beginning of class.

Vinyasa’s strength is in its diversity. If you appreciate having things a little loose and unpredictable and like to keep moving, this style is definitely worth a try.

In most cases, there is no single philosophy, rulebook, or sequence that teachers must follow, so there is a lot of room for individual personalities and quirks to come through. This makes it essential that you find a teacher you enjoy and can relate to. If your first flow class doesn’t rock your world, keep trying different teachers until you find one that's a better fit.