My approach to teaching follows the directive - "Yoga is a superscience, it shouldn't be practiced casually"
The foundation of my role as a teacher is the respect & reverence for the teachings, lineages, yogis, monks, mystics, sages and culture that have preserved Sanskrit based teachings through oral transmission and sacred texts. Sanskrit is considered the blueprint of the cosmos and traditional practices and methods are embodiments of the Sanskrit tenets of truth for the path and process to liberation - any bona-fide system, method, practice and technique will have a scriptural reference. Changing the parameters, guidelines and intelligent design of a system does not lead to what the scriptures and lineages affirm. Adapting and modifying certain practices per individual can be done without losing the essence & architecture. Even if a practice is authentic, the level of yogic practices that we learn from teachers is only the beginning of yoga - we need a satguru to safely pursue the higher paths.
Yoga is vast with many systems, methods and ancient lineages that protect and sustain the teachings. Certain aspects of hatha & raja yoga became popular in the west and worldwide & modern constructs/hybrids of these methods became mainstream mostly emphasizing physical movements, but taught in new ways.
Sanskrit wisdom traditions are not dogmatic with rigid rules and punishment, they teach us the nature of reality, philosophical parameters and specific methods of practice & navigating our lives within the cosmic blueprint and natural laws of karma - cause and effect, ultimately guiding us to liberation. Unfortunately, the western colonized mindset has dominated and distorted the narrative of yoga in the west by projecting it's own interpretations onto yoga and often uses dogma as an excuse to extract what is useful, change it and dismiss the rest. Declaring to honor yoga's roots while teaching an approach that does not align with the Sanskrit teachings and garnishing it with co-opted Sanskrit concepts is also misleading & deceptive.
The way yoga is approached & displayed in most modern platforms is very casual and diluted, often compared to & mixed with pilates, dance & other western fitness disciplines. It can feel irreverent and unrelatable & sometimes even desecrating. Studying and practicing in a traditional context and environment under realized masters, scholars and adepts is a completely distinct reality. It's very humbling and it's sad to see what is happening in the name of yoga with all the distortion, disrespect & commercialization through the colonized approach & it's entitlement.
What is Vinyasa Krama?
Yoga Vinyasa Krama is not a style of yoga, but a complete system focused on mental one pointedness, purification, conscious breath refinement & precision (distinct use of breath different from ashtanga & modern vinyasa), energetics - balancing prana - awakening subtle energy, neuromuscular fitness & internal discipline. It's architecture encompasses a vast presentation of these tonic, energetic & psychophysiological practices that are designed for the developing yogi and applied as a therapy - connected to the Sanskrit body of wisdom, catered to the unique individual through the stages of life - through lineage designed sequencing of the mind completely focused on breath with SLOW smooth & controlled breathing (with pause) & SLOW motion, vinyasa variations, vaseth (important asanas are held for a long duration), bandha, mudra, nada, mantra, pranayama & dharana and dharmic living wisdom. Vinyasa is foremost a breathing/pranic system and it's original form is slow and precise and rest breaks are taken when needed - the modern fast pace is contradictory to the philosophical parameters. Vinyasa is also not a continuous flow, it has a structure.
Note that the terms vinyasa or vinyasa krama are often used in modern yoga to refer to a particular style (mostly modern constructs) rather than a complete methodology originating from an ancient lineage. The vinyasa krama I am referring to is a traditional comprehensive system, beyond just standardized physical movements, that Srivatsa Ramaswami learned under Sri Krishnamacharya through one on one studies with him for over 33 years - and insight from a similar Himalayan vinyasa krama method of my meditation lineage.
Srivatsa Ramaswami did not create his own method, but teaches exactly as he was taught. Sri Krishnamacharya is often seen only for only popularizing asana possibly due to certain students who became famous only studied with him for a brief time - and mostly emphasized asana, but taught in new ways - seem to carry his name. Sri Krishnamacharya was a realized Yoga Master, scholar and ayurvedic practitioner who belonged to the Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition. He received lost teachings through an experience with Nathamuni, a 9th century sage in his Śrīvaiṣṇava lineage (revealing the Yoga Rahasya - how to apply yoga individually through the stages of life and as a therapy). Sri Krishnamacharya also spent seven years in the Himalayas and was initiated and studied ancient texts and yoga under Nath Yogi, Sri Ramamohan Brahmachari. Sri Ramamohan told him to live in society, become a householder, get married, have children and teach yoga. Sri Krishanamcharya taught yoga as an extensive and complete system and emphasized many other important elements beyond yogasana/vinyasa including pranayama, mudra, vaseth, chanting & mantra & studying the scriptures. He affirmed that vinyasa was a breathing system and emphasized that it was to be practiced slowly.
Distinct from modern styles, the vinyasa krama system has variations of approach while adhering to the architecture, guidelines, parameters & nuances via lineage & scriptural translations - targeting the physical body including the internal organs, the mental & pranic bodies. The nature of a daily practice may vary depending on daily intention, needs & goals & time of day - varying from physically moderate to very vigorous & conditioning, with energetic and therapeutic effects, use of bandha, vaseth & mudra, breath ratio, mantra, the specific kramas & variations practiced, subtle aspects & important morning kriyas, extensive pranayama, pratyahara & dharana practices. One can use the system intelligently and apply appropriate practices more than once a day, lets say a morning and evening practice.
My Classes and Teaching Philosophy
Unlike styles, there are variations of practice and not one size fits all. Every class may be extremely different depending on the practices. Dropping in for a class here and there, one would never get an accurate understanding of the system. It is not intended to be just a random class for a particular experience. It has practices that build upon one another & it is best to learn the foundational first krama before moving to other kramas. Yoga traditionally is designed for the practitioner to embrace self empowerment & establish a home practice and gradually progress on the subtle inward path to silence & stillness.
Learning the foundations & philosophy of the system & attending classes regularly, the practitioner can get a better understanding of the method & nuances and be able to begin a home practice. The system doesn't fit into the standardized modern studio format and presentation of yoga. There is often a bit of a shift and "unlearning" certain modern tendencies when embarking on a traditional system. Not all yoga is meant for everyone and general classes cannot accommodate or properly benefit everyone's unique needs. Traditionally, yoga is taught one on one & in small groups. Vinyasa Krama, and yoga in general, is designed to address that.
The modern day "shopping around yoga" - style after style, workshop after workshop in "hodge podge" - as many Indian Masters call it - creates confusion. Any traditional system requires discipline & consistency and it's best not to mix things up.
My teaching draws from over 30 years of studies and teaching for 25 years, immersed in the teachings of Sanatana Dharma with very disciplined & long time personal practices and studies within bona-fide lineages, sanskrit philosophy and lived experience, not easily acquired certifications or new techniques & information used as embellishment without integration. My classes are not fluffy or a bootcamp and do not have music or distractions in the background. My teaching is warm hearted, but direct & straight forward, honoring who's standing in front of me and where the teachings came from and how I have been taught to apply them. I do my best to keep the teachings pure without my own unfounded interpretations.
Through my own personal experience and teaching in modern spaces, I have observed the incorrect narratives, approaches & habitual tendencies that have become the normalized accepted consensus of yoga. As I was exposed to modern yoga alongside my traditional teachings, I also went through some unlearning, clarity and discernment about things I picked up in modern yogaland. The inner confusion & frustration I had with modern approaches not feeling related to my meditation and higher studies was resolved through learning the vinyasa krama system. When I first encountered this system, I was in awe and wondered why I had not known about it. It clarified the internal conflict I had been holding for quite some time of why the mainstream presentation of asana/vinyasa (and applications of asana I learned including my personal practice of ashtanga vinyasa & modern vinyasa) seemed completely contradictory to yogic science, especially the parameters of the breath - and was missing so many other elements. It was the first movement based system that felt aligned with my longtime Himalayan yogic meditation practices. I left my first class feeling grounded, light, clear, oxygenated & filled with prana and immediately pursued learning the system in-depth. I have been teaching for over 25 years and gradually transitioned to exclusively teaching this system about 12 years ago from more mainstream & popular practices. I have other long time personal practices with vows, only learned through my Masters & Satguru, but highly inform me.
With all the challenges and demands of our modern world, I understand why people just want to go somewhere and have an experience, but that is a crutch, not yoga. We go to class to learn, but the real yoga happens at home through a personal practice. Yoga is self empowerment. There are millions of excuses why we can't develop a home practice. It just takes a shift in our thinking and attitude to make our practices a priority in managing our time and make the space (even if just a quiet corner) and find a bona-fide practice that makes sense and can grip us.
Modern yoga approaches and doing practices that are not suitable for us may disturb our rajas or tamas and can even be harmful. Many longtime practitioners may still have a hard time sitting still & quieting the mind for meditation and even struggle in savasana. Yoga can either heal or harm us as the Sanskrit scriptures tell us. Traditional yogic practices as designed to still the mind and create sattva - purity, clarity, balance, harmony & peace.