Anusara Yoga

Anusara (a-nu-sar-a), means “flowing with Grace,” “flowing with Nature,” “following your heart.”

Founded by John Friend in 1997, Anusara yoga is a school of hatha yoga, which unifies a life-affirming Shiva-Shakti Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness with Universal Principles of Alignment.

Each class has a heart-oriented theme, which has a meaningful connection to the grand spiritual purposes of the asana practice. The theme usually centers on cultivating a virtue-a quality of mind or heart, which is a microcosmic reflection of our Divine nature. Each theme gives a direction for the attitudinal energy that infuses every action and breath in the poses. Effectively, all the poses in Anusara yoga are expressed from the “inside out.”

An elegant, concise set of alignment principles called the “Universal Principles of Alignment™” is applied to each asana. A central idea within the Universal Principles of Alignment is the 3 A’s: Attitude, Alignment, and Action. This refers to a foundational concept within Anusara yoga in which every pose is infused with a meaningful intention connected to the grand purposes of yoga, awareness of specific postural alignment, and balanced action between stability and freedom. The specific principles include Muscular Energy and Organic Energy, which are the two complementary forces that provide each pose with a balanced action. Other alignment principles include Spirals and Loops, which help to bring refinement and precision to each pose.

The Universal Principles of Alignment

• Opening to Grace: The practitioner sets the intention to place oneself in alignment with the flow of Supreme Consciousness. For asana practice, this includes having an attitude of soft-hearted devotion, and open-mindedness.
• Muscular Energy: A drawing of energy from the periphery of the body into a central location in the body, called a Focal Point. The goal is to increase stability, strength, and physical integration in the pose.
• Inner Spiral: An expanding energy spiral. In the legs it runs from the feet up through the pelvis into the waistline area. Inner Spiral rotates the legs inward, moves the thighs backward, and widens the thighs and pelvis.
• Outer Spiral: A contracting energy spiral. In the legs it runs from the waistline area down through the tailbone and out through the legs and feet. Outer Spiral draws the pelvis and thighs closer together, moves the tailbone and thighs forward, and rotates the legs outward.
• Organic Energy: An outward extension of energy from the Focal Point through the core lines of the body to the body’s periphery, which increases expansion, flexibility, and freedom in the pose.

Each session usually opens and closes with the Anusara chant: