What is viniyoga? Therapeutic yoga for everyone

Vinyoga is a form of yoga perfectly adapted to the needs and conditions of the person, which is often used for therapeutic indications. It was developed by T. Krishnamacharya (1888–1989), who is considered the father of modern yoga. Then his son TKV Desikachar (1938–2016) made him more widely known in the West.

Desikachar represented each yoga posture in simple graphic forms that could be shared with patients so that they could understand and memorize the sessions.

The term viniyoga belongs to classical yoga. In fact we find it in the sixth aphorism of the third book of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. From the beginning of the third book, Patañjali had introduced the notions of concentration (dhâranâ), meditation (dhyâna), mystical awareness (samâdhi) and the process that unites them (samyama).

Yoga adapts to each person

Samyama consists of choosing an object for meditation, fixing the attention intensely on this object, and exercise with great interest and regularity. The eagerness to search and abandon must also characterize the process.

Directly after this teaching comes the aphorism on viniyoga to make it clear that the choice of the object of meditation must be made with great care, taking into account a number of factors.

Professor T. Krishnamacharya taught in the 1980s that the proper application of yogic psychosomatic techniques should be based on individual considerations. To T. Krishnamacharya we owe the judgment: “It is not the person that must adapt to yoga, but yoga that must be correctly adjusted to the person.”

Therefore, viniyoga is not an organization, nor a particular school, nor a special style of yoga. It’s just a criterion. an orientation so that the discipline provides all its benefits. On a practical level, viniyoga consists of respecting the person: age, sex, health, constitution, life habits, resources, weaknesses, beliefs…

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Focus on the breath

In TKV Desikachar’s translation of Pantanjali’s Yoga Sūtra, yoga is defined as “the ability to direct the mind exclusively towards one object and maintain that direction without distraction.”

The object of concentration is breathing and one of the objectives of viniyoga as therapy is teach patients to reconnect with their breath, It is directly related to your state of mind. Learning to focus on the breath helps to better control the mind and reduce the flow of thoughts.

The essence of viniyoga is to adapt the practice to each patient, which makes it much easier for them to establish it as another habit in their life. The yoga teacher takes into account the problem that the patient wants to solve (for example, a sleep disturbance), the time available for practice, the patient’s personal context, lifestyle (eating and drinking habits, work, physical activity, etc.).

How is the practice of viniyoga?

In viniyoga daily practice is considered important and all facilities are offered. Practices can take from five minutes, two or three times a day, up to 30 minutes. It is not necessary to go to a yoga center or put on special clothes. The teacher provides all the advice so that the practitioner can do the exercises almost anywhere: in his bedroom, just before going to sleep, in bed if the night is interrupted, in the morning when he wakes up, at work before your desk, on public transportation, or in public places.

The teacher performs all the exercises with the patient first, until the patient is autonomous enough to practice on your own at home.

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On the other hand, unlike many sports, where it is common to feel pain during or after exercise, viniyoga emphasizes that patients must Learn to respect your body. There is always a step-by-step progression, week after week, which allows you to practice yoga without complexes, safely and within your own individual limits.

Yoga exercises include a variety of traditional tools, such as postures (asanas), breathing practices (prānāyāma), visualizations (bhāvanā), coordination of breath with body movements (nyāsa), meditation (dhyāna), and sometimes , intonation of mantras.