Vinyasa yoga is one of the most popular styles of yoga practiced in the United States.  Often times people associate vinyasa with packed classes filled with sweaty bodies moving at a fast pace.  While some classes are indeed like this and have tons of great benefits, this isn’t the only way vinyasa is practiced.  It’s not just for advanced students or people looking to get a two for one (yoga + workout).  It can be practiced by all levels.  While there are plenty of physically challenging vinyasa classes, YourBuddhi has plenty of vinyasa yoga for beginners.

In an excerpt from a 2012 Yoga Journal article by the Shiva Rea, the reigning Queen of Vinyasa, gives a beautiful and accurate definition:

“‘Vinyasa’ is derived from the Sanskrit term nyasa, which means ‘to place,’ and the prefix vi, ‘in a special way’—as in the arrangement of notes in a raga, the steps along a path to the top of a mountain, or the linking of one asana to the next. In the yoga world the most common understanding of vinyasa is as a flowing sequence of specific asanas coordinated with the movements of the breath. The six series of Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga are by far the best known and most influential.”

Vinyasa Yoga for Sequence Beginners Has Many Benefits

In simple terms, vinyasa can be defined as breath to movement.   The inhale initiates a movement and the exhale initiates a different movement.  Typically you move away from the earth with the breath in and toward the earth with the breath out. The sequence can be very basic. For example, inhale the arms overhead and exhale the arms to the sides.  The sequence can also be very strenuous and require more strength, flexibility and stamina.  Regardless of how “hard” or “easy” it is, if you’re flowing with the breath you’re doing vinyasa.

A vinyasa yoga sequence for beginners has basic postures with simpler transitions.  It’s just as beneficial as a more complex combination of moves.  Vinyasa has many great benefits including:

• calms and balances the nervous system
• increases strength and flexibility
• improves focus, concentration and coordination
• teaches the mind to find presence through focusing on the breath and body.

If you’re looking for vinyasa yoga for beginners, try our slow flow classes.  

The sequences are filled with the smooth transitions that people love about vinyasa.  The classes are physically challenging and build stamina but are slower paced than our regular vinyasa videos.

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