I was at a “vinyasa” class last week. Music was Jazz. Sade and others were taking turns to provide the vocals.  The instructor told us to press on the golden egg between the root chakra and the genitals. Some more chakra talk continued. My golden rule of thumb had always been to avoid a class where the teacher talks about chakras. I normally draw the line at bandhas. Most instructors understand bandhas. Chakra talk is so DC (Deepak Chopra) and is what I classify as saccharine sweet. It is mostly mumbo jumbo to me. I understand chakras in the real yogic sense, but not in a yoga class where the instructor is trying to sound cool.

In my home practice, I follow the KYM and astanga style. The breath is super long, the asanas look like it is done in slow motion. There is no hurry to jump through things in milliseconds. The “Vinyasa power” uses a lot of movements so quickly, that my knees buckle. Moving from a mostly hyper extended trikonasana to warrior 2 to ardha chandrasana to standing splits. What does it all mean to the knee? Is it okay to put your knee through all these movements one after the other? This style is torture to my knees and my breath. My knee screams violence. Especially the ardha chandrasana, the standing splits and the lunges. The darling poses of western vinyasa power.

One aspect of my issue is the knee injury, for sure. What matters is also the yoga instructor. I believe any style of yoga can be good if the instructor is good. I have attended amazing Bikram, Vinyasa, Hatha, Astanga classes. Each one of them can turn bad if the instructor is just so so. The yoga education, practice of a teacher matters a lot and how they translate their knowledge to guide the class. It is a combination of things.

For now, I have decided to take a break from vinyasa power in Vancouver. It is quite possible the teachers are not as good as in San Francisco. Or it may be that I am attached to my experiences of San Francisco. I have also been studying a lot about Yoga and I have changed a lot too since I went to India and KYM. My understanding of Yoga has gained a lot of depth as well.

Vinyasa power feels like Bollywood yoga and Disney combined in one. Everything is perfect, color coordinated, sweet, cute, lots of songs, nice outfits and so predictable. I have decided to go Indie and try other styles. “Hatha” seems to make sense to me as the asanas are done at a much slower pace and does not feel too scripted. I keep reading about Yin. I will try that as well. Ultimately, I will be happy in a yoga class which does not use music. Silence must be encouraged and that is the style what I enjoy the most. Astanga fits the bill for most part, but just a little too aggressive for me.

I am looking for a style that has no music and a little mild. I hope this is not too much to ask. No offense to Sade, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, Reggae, Rock, Trance and others.

Another variation of the same Shanti Mantra, set to a different tune.

It is about faith and says that if you have faith you can see divinity in a stone sculpture. But, if you don’t, all you see is a stone. The god featured in this song is Vishnu on the Yogic snake Ananta.

I remember reading about Sri Krishnamacharya where he asks his son TKV Desikachar, if he sees tears flowing from a statue of Vishnu after a deep meditation. TKV Desikachar says no. This song reminded me of Sri Krishnamacharya and his faith in Vedas, Yoga and Narayana.

Sounds yogic, yes? I do like one of the comments for this video on Dixie Chicks.

You have to be emotionally dead not to be moved by their music.