Ashtanga vinyasa yoga side. Vinyasa is the alignment of breaths with movements in asanas while practicing yoga. Founder Pattabhi Jois states, "Vinyasa means 'breathing system'. Without vinyasa, don't do asana. When vinyasa is perfect, the mind is under control". For each movement, there is one breath. All asanas are assigned a certain number of vinyasas. According to Sharath, "The purpose of vinyasa is for internal cleansing. Breathing and moving together while performing asanas makes the blood hot, or as Pattabhi Jois says, boils the blood. Thick blood is dirty and causes disease in the body. The heat created from yoga cleans the blood
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga classes in similar style, offering posture variations, and teaching Ashtanga in a much less linear style, with a greater emphasis on alignment and breathing. Sharath's "new generation" of young students have adopted Sharath's new rules, and teach in a linear style without variations. According to the Sharath generation, variations are not allowed, and practice must be in a strict Mysore environment under the guidance of a Sharath-approved teacher. How-to videos & workshops, detailed alignment instructions, and strength-building exercises are not part of the method, neither for the practitioner or the teacher. These types of instruction are not approved by Sharath,