Anusara yoga was founded in 1997 in the USA by John Friend (*1959).
He himself began to study yoga philosophy extensively as a teenager and has been practicing Ashtanga yoga and later mainly Iyengar yoga since 1984. He met both founders, Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar, in person in the USA.
These strict, very masculine styles gave rise to the need for a more sensitive style of yoga that allowed for more feelings and sensations, that opened up the possibility of expressing oneself more from the inside out, that should correspond more to the heart. He called this yoga “anusara”, a Sanskrit term that translates as “following” or “flowing with grace” and is often translated as “following the heart” in line with the aim of practising with the heart.
Opening the heart and connecting with the divine is at the heart of John Friend’s idea. He himself comes across as authentic and encourages his students to explore their inner connections and put them into practice in movement. They are encouraged to accept and gently expand boundaries, not to break them. They practise with joy and in an aesthetic way.
The style is characterized by three “A “s:
A
Attitude: the intention, attitude
The first A stands for the quality of the heart, which should unfold. The power of the heart is expressed in the way we practise, in the exercises themselves and should also be translated into life.
A
Alignment
While in Iyengar Yoga, alignment only refers to the body, here it also refers to the mental posture. The consciousness should be aligned comprehensively and ultimately integrate all aspects of inner and outer alignment with each other.
A
Action
The third A refers to the implementation of the former and this should be expressed in the physical exercise.
Here he presents his yoga himself:
And explained and demonstrated in German by Barbarah Noh:
Until 2012, Anusara yoga flourished worldwide, but allegations ended John Friend’s chairmanship of his organization and it has continued without him ever since.
Further development of fascia yoga and bowspring
In 2013, John Friend and Desi Springer introduced a new approach to the public: fascia – or bowspring yoga.
Influenced by the new findings of fascia research, Friend is convinced that a new approach to performing physical exercises is needed.
See more under Fascia Yoga & Bowspring
Continue to the next yoga style: Ashtanga Yoga
