Vinyasa Yoga places rhythm at the centre of practice: rhythm of the breath, of the body, of the world. Through the living repetition of the sādhana, Ashtanga yoga helps us regain harmony with ourselves, with others and with Life.
Rhythm, a path to fullness
This letter was written in September 2012 in Brussels.
“O yogin, do not practise Yoga without vinyāsa…”
Vāmana Ṛṣi, Yoga Korunta
Life is rhythm: the cosmic rhythm of the stars and planets, the rhythm of the seasons, the moon and the tides, the biological rhythm of the breath, the brain, the heart. Not long ago, humans lived in harmony with these rhythms. Our technical civilisation has moved us away from them.
Entering the dance of Life
To regain the right rhythm, harmony with oneself and with what surrounds us — others, the cosmos: this is what Yoga invites us to, entering the dance of Life. In Ashtanga yoga, each day the sādhana repeats the same series; we enter a cyclical time (Yoga Mālā). But within this time there is no repetition: it is never the same experience. Time passes but does not repeat; there is simply the presence of the moment — here and now, in the heart, the breath and the body — the non-dual time, advaita.
Om Shanti,
Jean-Claude Garnier
In short
Vinyāsa is not only a transition between two postures: it is the thread of breath and movement. In regaining this rhythm, the practitioner finds a simpler, steadier and deeper presence.