Difference Between Vinyasa and Ashtanga

Hanging out in the yoga studio often exposes us to a range of different conversations about yoga. We often hear, “how can I get my hips to open?” or, “how can I safely achieve handstand?” A question that has commonly come up lately is, “what is the difference between Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga?”

Yoga authorities will probably all have a slightly different opinion on this, but what we’ve found is the terms “Ashtanga” and “Vinyasa” are sometimes used interchangeably, although they actually have distinct differences. That said, both styles of yoga are focused strongly on asana, or postures.

Ashtanga yoga translates literally as “eight-limbed yoga” and refers to the eight limbs outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras which include moral and ethical guidelines, postures, breath work, sense withdrawal, concentration and meditation. Traditional Ashtanga yoga follows the same sequence and series of poses in a precise order, and is very physically demanding!

Vinyasa or Power yoga incorporates many of the same postures, but the order or variance of the poses often changes. And most importantly, Vinyasa links breath to movement, so it’s more quickly paced and has a flowing rhythm. Vinyasa yoga is also challenging, but includes a bit more movement.

VeryWell.com offers a basic description of many different types of yoga.

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