The British Yoga Studying Center

Vini yoga is not so popular in the West, as the other two schools in the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya. Within the UK and Ireland, training of Vini yoga is presented by the Yoga Studying Center, where Western teachers support students who have committed themselves to complete at least six-year courses, have been practicing for four years, and became an expert in the direction chosen. System of training at the Yoga Studying Center has being developed on the basis of approach of Deshikachara and his teacher Sri Krishnamacharya for nearly three decades of teaching. Center was originally founded in 1981 by Paul Harvey, who had been a pupil of Deshikachara since 1976, to develop the study of yoga techniques and methods of teaching. The purpose of the center is training of Vini yoga in the West, while maintaining the true spirit of this style.
Here yoga is offered as a tool to help maintain physical health, psychological stability and mental focus in daily life, including work and a variety of relationships in modern society. This means the application of yoga in accordance with the current situation, following the behest of Sri Krishnamacharya: "when we are attentive to our actions, we are no longer imprisoned by our habits." During training of appropriate methods of yoga some differences in age, gender, mental and physical health, cultural level, religious beliefs, occupation and interests are taken into account. All practitioners who wish to receive a diploma, should faithfully fulfill the annual training program. Qualified graduates offer to teach in small groups, conduct workshops and give private lessons. In the center, they try to preserve the very spirit and the key aspects of the Vini yoga.
Adaptation of all aspects of yoga to the needs and opportunities of human being includes movement, breath and mind for improvement of health and understanding of the practice itself. The transition from training complexes adapted to human limitations, and further - to the construction of sequences develops some latent abilities. The precise use of breath as a powerful tool of influence on human being in general includes into action the mind as well the physical body. The correct relationships between a teacher and a student during the learning process, their consent in understanding of practice essence are also very important.
Under the conditions of modern life Vini yoga is proposed to be used in different ways: estimation of relationship between body, breath and emotions, the development of attention, which promotes self-awareness and change habits, the therapeutic effect to improve health. As a therapy Vini Yoga helps to restore or maintain good health, which allows for necessary changes in lifestyle. The practice allows coping with excessive stress or anxiety, reducing dependence on tobacco, alcohol, drugs and overeating, preparing for childbirth and breastfeeding, restoring menstruation or bearing menopause easily, solving other problems for women, alleviating chronic diseases such as arthritis, asthma, hypertension, insomnia.
When the restoration of health is not important, Vini Yoga allows us to go to a higher level. In this case, a man is able to save energy and increase efficiency, improve the clarity of thinking and reaction speed, keep being in good form or attractive appearance, working with a large range of body movements, and go beyond it, develop his own ways to positively affect the body.

The «Yoga of Yoga» World Movement

In the dissemination of this style, there is an interesting experience, which can be called as "free" continuity, similar to emanation of tradition in space, without leading to its dispersal. Together Deshikachar and Kastub do not just pass their teachings of Krishnamachari to specific students, but make it open for mastering by all human beings as they consider it necessary. The external form they chose, got a philosophical title "Yoga of Yoga. This is quite clearly made out "trip" around the world to explore and test the teaching methods of Vini yoga. Originally conceived as a series of seminars, this movement started in July 2001, when Deshikachar and Kastub conducted workshops in France and Germany. In their speeches, they stressed the need to strive to understand the spirit of each action proposed in yoga, rather than focusing only on the methods. The mastery of yoga should not be measured by the ability to apply techniques, such as doing asanas and pranayama. It is important to understand how yoga affects the daily lives, improves human relations with the outside world and sharpens the acuteness of thinking.
In recent years Kastub seeks to convey the message of yoga to people around the world not only through seminars, but other media, including the Internet. Especially for this purpose a website was designed, that reflects the information and provides information services that help maintain the spirit of yoga in the modern world. For example, the interpretation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as "healing from the deep sleep of ignorance" is presented on its web pages. This is one of the experiences of yoga on-line, found on many sites already established in Scotland, Arkansas and other countries by the Vini yoga teachers, who received the yoga instructors diplomas directly in Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandir or its affiliates. This is an advanced search, which pays tribute to the priceless heritage of ancient masters, but also creates the preconditions for its development in the modern context, in order effective methods of yoga not to become mechanical ones.