Allow us to translate for you: Vinyasa
Let’s talk about words. Have you ever walked into a class and felt like it was in another language? Or felt like you were very clearly the only one in class who didn’t know what was going on? Yeah, we’ve BEEN THERE. 🫠 We don’t want anyone to feel like that!
You shouldn’t have to wonder what’s going on in class. We don’t want you to feel like the new kid around here, or on the outside of the joke. So we do our best to define things as we go during class, but we’re also kicking off this new series where we will define words you’ll hear or see a lot!
In this series, we’ll share the “technical” or “classic” definition and then we’ll break down other ways people use the word in their own vocabulary. Is this confusing? Yes. We’re here to try to help you out, though!
We’re kicking off our new series with a doozy of a word that is used lots of different ways:
Vinyasa
Definition: to place with care; to place in a special way
Use 1: as a class name
You’ll often see Vinyasa, Vinyasa Flow, or Power Vinyasa classes on the schedule. Classes with the word Vinyasa in the name generally mean you’re linking breath with movement. This often means you’ll inhale to one posture, exhale to another, rinse and repeat.
Often times these classes are physically demanding, but they don’t have to be. One way to think of a vinyasa practice is as a moving meditation - it can feel a bit like a choreographed dance.
There is no standard definition of a vinyasa class. There’s also no one right way to teach a vinyasa class.
Use 2: as a cue in class
In class, teachers will say “take a vinyasa” or “take your flow” or just “vinyasa” to tell you to get back to your starting point (often down dog, but it could be anything.) Many times they’ll say “take your vinyasa to meet us back at downward facing dog” or something similar. Teachers may also say “this is your vinyasa” aka this is the series of poses we’ll do over and over for a little while. When teachers say this, they’re doing a few things:
They’re expecting (or assuming, or hoping) that you know what pose you’ll be “landing” or meeting in, and then giving you a one size fits all cue to get you back there.
They’re using this shorthand so that you have some space to move and think without them telling you exactly what do to every step of the way.
Teachers may also use this as a way to give you some freedom within class: you can add, delete, or modify “your vinyasa” as you move.
Confused? Yeah, that’s normal. (Unfortunately.) Speaking in broad generalizations, most teachers aren’t using these words to purposely confuse you, or to throw you off - often times they’re either repeating what they were taught to repeat or using terminology that has become second nature to them. But it’s helpful to know the context behind the cues so that you get what’s going on and know how to make choices that work for you.
Spoiler alert: a lot of the times the definition “depends” and there are more options for a movement or posture than a teacher could possibly cue in a 60 minute class without driving you crazy.
At Heart of Wisdom Yoga, we try to give you as much information and context as we possibly can (without going overboard and driving you nuts, we hope!) And that’s why we’re also breaking things down outside of class in this series.
So what else do you want to know? What else can we clarify for you?