her students “impose the pose upon their body
rather than unfolding it from within,” and
therefore adapted classical asanas to help stu-
dents experience the deeper effects she realized
from Kundalini yoga. With the goal of opening
the body and experiencing the transcendent
inner state called svaroopaby Patanjali in the
“Yoga Sutras,” Svaroopa focuses on alignment
and support and makes frequent use of chair
poses to help release deep-muscle tension.
Each pose is based on integrated principles of
asana, anatomy, and yoga philosophy.
- Tantra yoga: Tantrameans expansion in San-
skrit; a Tantra yogi teaches ways to expand all
levels of consciousness to realize the Supreme
Reality (samadhi). Although Tantra yoga may
be confused with tantric sex, the goal is to
awaken and balance male-female energy for
the sake of inner peace and overcoming of per-
sonal limitations and subconscious blockages.
According to Srinivasan of the Sivananda Yoga
organization, Tantra yoga has been practiced
for the spiritual regeneration of the Hindus.
Often considered a secret doctrine, the Tantra is
also known as Gupta Vidya. Srinivasan said one
must acquire this knowledge not from books,
but from the practical Tantrikas, the Tantric
Acharyas, and Gurus. The tantric student must
be “endowed with purity, faith, devotion, ded-
ication to Guru, dispassion, humility, courage,
cosmic love, truthfulness, non-covetousness,
and contentment.”
- Tibetan yoga: A method of yoga little known in
the West, Tibetan yoga is the name used by
Buddhists to describe tantric meditation and
breathwork. In 1939 Peter Kelder published
Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth(New York:
Doubleday, 1998), which contains a series of
postures called “The Five Rites of Rejuvena-
tion.” The author Christopher Kilham pro-
duced a modern version: The Five Tibetans: Five
Dynamic Exercises for Health, Energy, and Personal
Power(Inner Traditions, 1994). Kilham’s book
explains five flowing movements that start
with 10 to 12 repetitions and progress to 21,
with the purpose of restoring the spin of the
chakras to their youthful rate. It is believed that
if the chakras are perfectly balanced, the body
resists aging. Few classes are available on this
method.
- Viniyoga: Viniyoga is a method incorporating
asana, pranayama, meditation, ritual, and prayer
for the higher purpose of enhancing an individ-
ual’s ability to adapt. The late Sri T. Krishna-
macharya and his son, T.K.V. Desikachar,
advocated treating each yoga student as an indi-
vidual who wishes to reach particular goals in a
way that is comfortable for him or her. Gary
Kraftsow, a yoga teacher since 1976, wrote Yoga
for Wellness: Healing with the Timeless Teachings of
Viniyoga (New York: Viking Penguin, 1999) and
Yoga for Transformation: Ancient Practices and
Teachings for Healing the Body, Mind, and Heart
(New York: Penguin, 2002). Kraftsow met
Desikachar and T. Krishnamacharya and cre-
ated a link with the Viniyoga tradition through
his American Viniyoga Institute, which offers
retreats, seminars, and Viniyoga Teacher and
Therapist Training throughout the United
States, Canada, and Europe.
- White Lotus yoga: A nondogmatic approach
developed by the husband-and-wife team
Ganga White and Tracey Rich, White Lotus
yoga is dedicated to the development of the
whole human being. White and Rich produced
five yoga videos that highlight the practice of
partner yoga in 1978, and White is also the
author of Double Yoga (New York: Penguin,
1981). The technique involves a flowing
vinyasa approach that ranges from gentle to
vigorous and consists of alignment, breath, and
the basic yoga principles. White Lotus includes
the Flow Series, or Flow Yoga, which uses
proper body alignment, attunement with
breath, focused attention, and the development
of a balance of strength, flexibility, and
endurance. It also includes moving sequences,
standing poses, inversions, backbends, forward
bends, twists, balances, bandha, mudra(hand
gestures), and pranayama. White and Rich’s 40-
acre retreat in the Santa Ynez Mountains in
Santa Barbara, California, offers weekend and
week-long yoga-immersion experiences as well
as 16-day teacher-training programs.
- YogaDance: A combination of standing move-
ments and yogic stretches developed by Jeff
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