“Vinyasa really just means linking breath with movement,” explains yoga teacher Jessica Rihal. “Through western popularisation, it kind of has its own meaning now. We think of vinyasa as a specific style of movement, rather than what it means in Sanskrit.”

That style is a very dynamic movement pattern “that gets your blood pumping, moving up and down with every breath you take,” according to Rihal. While ‘vinyasa’ can be the generic reference for a faster-paced yoga class, in your practice a teacher most likely refers to a vinyasa flow as the sequence that takes you from a downward facing dog into a high plank, through chaturanga (yogi press-up), into upward facing dog and back to your starting position. Phew.

This common transition isn’t just popular because it’s a great way to easily move between poses, but because it’s a brilliant way to strengthen and stretch the full body while maintaining proper breath. It’s accessible for beginners to get to grips with the physical and mental elements of the practice, while it can be modified to challenge the more experienced yogis.

Vinyasa yoga: how to do the energising yoga flow for body and mind