22 YOGA JOURNAL
MAP MY SEQUENCEPHOTO: AMANDA FRIEDMAN; HAIR: LINDSEY GLENN; MAKEUP: EMILY HARDINGER; CLOTHES: MODEL’S OWNSchuyler Grant, co-creator of
Wanderlust and founder of Kula
Yoga Project, shares sequencing
strategies for inversions.learn from
teacher
Schuyler
Grant
“Meditation in motion” is a recurring trope when teachers speak
about vinyasa. I confess to using it regularly myself because it
perfectly describes the magical elixir that has kept me hooked on
this particular way of practicing yoga for almost 30 years. But using
posture, breath, and attention to attain a meditative state is easier
said than done. Linking posture and breath isn’t sufficient. There
must be intention and intelligence behind sequencing, or flow-
style yoga becomes tedious at best, injurious at worst.
My introduction to yoga was Ashtanga Yoga. I loved the practice
for its rigor, straightforward approach to spirituality, and the reliable
access to a state of flow that came from a set sequence of postures
with a priority on the breath. But I developed as many injuries as
I overcame and craved more breadth and knowledge. Stage II of my
evolution was a love affair with the Iyengar Yoga tradition. Since
then, I’ve developed and refined a way of sequencing that artfully
weaves the two influences, creating a rigorous practice that heals
the body and tones the nervous system: Kula Flow (which is what is
taught at the Wanderlust Hollywood studio today).
I’m often reluctant to talk about what I love to do on the yoga
mat as a brand. For many years, the notion of “branding” yoga
completely turned me off; it seemed silly and presumptuous toput a stamp on a particular way of serving up asana. My New
York City studio, Kula, had been open 10 years before the issue of
branding came up. During that time, students continually asked
our teachers what style we taught, and we all said, “Um ... I dunno
... vinyasa...” And they would say, “No. This is different.”
Eventually, I conceded that names are powerful, that in its
purest sense branding is simply naming and that by codifying
my style I could more clearly communicate with students and
the teachers I train. What is yoga if not communication? The
illumination of the unseen? As a practitioner, this dialogue often
involves observing the ego and happens among brain, body, and,
especially the breath. As a teacher, you are the guide for students
on this same journey.
My hope is that a Kula Flow experience is both visceral (sweaty
and present-moment focused) and smart (alignment-heavy
and aspirational); that the lower and upper chakras are both
well served; and that through the practice we fully express the
definition of vinyasa—to place in a special way. Place the mind
on the breath. Place the breath in the body. Place attention to
the nuanced transition of thoughts, movement, and energy—
illuminating the seemingly mundane as exquisitely special.