Phil’s Approach to Iyengar-Based Vinyasa Flow 
When asked what type of yoga I practice, I often answer with the short answer ‘hatha yoga’, or even with the silly quip: “I practice yoga because I hatha’. More seriously though, and more specifically, the “style” I practice could be described as ‘an augmented and modified (and perhaps softened) Iyengar style’. By this I mean to include an emphasis on the principles of good alignment, and of course, some sense of the sequencing of the asanas, elements that are signature to the teaching of B.K.S. Iyengar. Also, there’s the artful use of ‘props’: bolsters , blocks, belts, chairs, etc.
I have been very fortunate in my formation in that, over the years, my main teacher has always shared, and even drilled, her students in everything new she has learned . By the same token, she has exposed me to several different master practitioners as well as elements of Feldenkries, Pilates, mind-body, dance, and other anatomical studies and obsessions. With this background, I hope to grow in, or at least maintain, my practice and teaching.
Lately, I’ve found my interest stirred in the direction of “vinyasa”, a term which I understand to describe “flow”– one asana morphing into another, how one posture informs another, riding on the vehicle of the breath.
Early in my yoga practice I found confidence when I discovered how safe my knowledge of the Iyengar alignment principles made me feel. I like to remember this as a teacher, and it has spilled over into my teaching and my desire to safely guide people. I think of moving in vinyasa flow (sequencing from asana to asana) as moving from one ‘safe haven’ to another.
If yoga leads to a deepening consciousness and awareness of what is already there, by the same token, an observation and understanding of how the body naturally “wants” to be, is the basis of “correct” asana practice.
photo credits Jenn Fraser © 2008
fraser.jenn@yahoo.ca
