vinyasa yoga

September 4, 2008 11:09 AM

What should I expect from a vinyasa yoga class?

I've been doing Bikram/Hot Yoga for a while. Tomorrow I am going to try a Vinyasa class. How will it differ? I want to be mentally prepared for the pace of the class.

I've seen this question but the answers swerved to a direction that was not detailed enough.

posted by mustcatchmooseandsquirrel to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

Not having taken Bikram, I can't talk so much about the differences, but I have tried other kinds of yoga (Hatha and Ashtanga) and in comparison to those, Vinyasa is more about movement and flow.
Poses aren't held for very long and each inhale/exhale corresponds to a movement.
It's pretty energetic and I get the best workout from Vinyasa classes (and end up sweating a lot).
posted by rmless at 11:35 AM on September 4, 2008

Bikram is very pose oriented, and so it's got a rhythm where it's pose-hold-hold-hold-rest (shake out) and then into another pose (or back to the same pose if the class does that double thing). Vinyasa is "flow" yoga, where you move with every breath. It can be slow or fast, and relaxing (to the point of zoning out) or strenuous. But it's got a lot more of the breath control and internal focus than does Bikram. Some vinyasa classes are more like tai chi in their overarching design. Other's (though they're mostly called "fast flow" or "vigorous vinyasa" or some such) are pretty hard core. These classes are more like Ashtanga yoga.

P.S. - I say this as someone who's got limited (and not all good) experiences with Bikram's yoga.
posted by zpousman at 11:47 AM on September 4, 2008

Well, it'll be a bit cooler, that's for certain :)

In all seriousness, zpousman is pretty much right. Vinyasa will give you more of a cardio workout. You're also more likely to have "free form" times where people are encouraged to work on some things (typically inversions) at their own pace.
posted by mkultra at 1:08 PM on September 4, 2008