Vinyasa, Hatha and Ashtanga, What's the Difference?

"Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, what's the difference?" The short answer is, "They are all the same." The more modern answer is, "hatha is gentle (wrong), vinyasa is more flowy (also wrong) and ashtanga is vigorous and athletic (also a poor description).

[@3260ELEMENT]

Thank you Michael

[@renaah100]

Thanks Mike

[@gracjankoprowski8252]

thank you for this clear explanation Michael! :)

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

Glad it was helpful!

[@davidstarlyte]

This was excellent Michael, first time to your channel. I would love to hear more, as I am still a little confused. Thank you for sharing.

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

To quote Desikachar, "The recognition of confusion is a moment of clarity!" Straight answers are rare in studying the yoga tradition, the more we discover the less we know certainly applies in this realm.

[@dragonmantra9554]

Thank you for making this

[@barbararoriz]

Great explanation! Thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MrDemodamian]

Thanks mate....PLZ upload more vids. Like to explore more about the philosophy and mythology .

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

Sure will, thanks for the praises!

[@vishwanathsharma3393]

Great and very effective presentation over Yoga. Pl send me your Yoga training Guidelines through videos for my following up. Thanks.

[@montesdeplata]

Thanks this was very clear!

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Glad the message resonated ❤️✌🏼

[@robertworrall2346]

"Ashtanga vinyasa hatha". Set - hatha, the umbrella term for all postural ("on the mat") yoga. It means forceful, in as much as you have to apply some commitment, discipline, focus and tapasya. It is still practiced to achieve sattvikata (as per sutra 2.46 - sthira sukham āsanam, and non-dual single pointedness (sutra 2.48). Subset vinyasa - viśeṣa nyasa , specifc placement (of the breath and body, in sequences [krama]). Other teachers received vinyasa from Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, e.g. Srivatsa Ramaswami, Mr & Mrs Mohan, & BNS Iyengar etc. Subset subset - ashtanga , 8 limbs. Note, the "ashtanga" in Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois' system of vinyasa hatha is only called so because that's what he named his studio in Mysore - the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute - that's all. All systems of classical yoga (e.g. Iyengar etc.) apply the 8 limbs if Patanjali, not just Jois.

[@marinaka5558]

Hi Michael, thanks for making this video. You are explaining the differences between the types of yoga well. I just have one question. If hatha yoga means Sun and Moon (seen as representation of opposites), am I right to associate it with connecting the person with and balancing out the energies of Yin and Yang? According to the Chinese yin and yang are both elements of the universal energy called Chi (qi). At the same time, yoga, which comes from India, is the practice of balancing and increasing the universal energy, chi. Thus, is it right to say that the philosophy of Yin and Yang is related to and can be put into practice through Hatha yoga? Ps. Here is a short part of an article about yin and yang from Wikipedia: In Ancient Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (/jɪn/ and /jɑːŋ, jæŋ/; Chinese: 陰陽 yīnyáng, lit. "dark-bright", "negative-positive") is a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of Yin and Yang and formed into objects and lives. Yin is the receptive and Yang the active principle, seen in all forms of change and difference such as the annual cycle (winter and summer), the landscape (north-facing shade and south-facing brightness), sexual coupling (female and male), the formation of both women and men as characters and sociopolitical history (disorder and order).

[@ugiemoodley3614]

Thank you❤

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

You're welcome 😊

[@allahnazar77]

sir which yoga is best for boxers muy thai athletes. ashtanga. hatha.power yoga.or which one please reply me

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

Honestly, they would all be helpful to practice. Ashtanga has more emphasis on strength within flexibility, so you might find that to be helpful.

[@dragonmantra9554]

What would you recommend for asana for someone whos getting into ashtanga?

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

Sorry for the very slow reply! I hope you've found your way through Ashtanga comfortably so far. I always recommend learning sun salutations, modifying whenever necessary, and then mainly practising standing series. Please send an update when you :)

[@paulthomas281]

Great video! Have you tried learning Sanskrit?

[@MichaelDynieYoga]

Dabbled a little with a few teachers. Love the language, and I consider myself very much a beginner, limited to key terminology related to asana, pranayama and some key philosophical terms. It's incredible how many different interpretations many terms have among different schools of thought, all the more important to learn what we can!