Key Principals

Here are my key principles for Vinyasa Yoga*

Make all movements soft (move slowly, mindfully, deliberately; like you’re moving through water; allow the body to be relaxed and calm, natural; release stress and tension)

Keep the dynamic quality (poses should be dynamic and alive not static, rigid or maxed out)

Practice with a very light touch (“bring gentleness and compassion to yourself at every turn” Jon Kabat-Zinn)

The priority is on the cultivation of mindfulness (“be the knowing that awareness already is”, gently return to the breath, bodily sensations, and gazing points; attending stabilizes the mind and stills the patterning of consciousness (vritti).

Ride the breath (allow the breath to initiate the movement, learn the vinyasa so that you are able to breathe and move with more grace and awareness)

Let Go (let go of any striving and self-identification as well as any competitiveness and the tendency to compare yourself with others or previous versions of you; “no place to go, nothing to do, nothing to attain” (Heart Sutra); no special “state” or “feeling” to achieve. Be Present.)

What key principles of movement inform your practice? I’d love to hear from you.

*I started sharing these principles in my Yoga classes and workshops in 2013. They were created as a support for vinyasa yoga students. However, these principles most likely apply to other forms of mindful movement. They were inspired by my yoga practice, my practice of Qi Qong with Clive Wheatley in Australia in 2013 and a week-long retreat I did with Jon Kabat-Zinn on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in 2011. His words are quoted above. I also gained a great appreciation for keeping the postures dynamic and alive from David Garrigues in 2010 and Simon Borg-Olivier in 2013. Many thanks to all my teachers.

Photo: Michael Hannum. Lake Zurich just before sunset.