Ever since the ancient Indian philosophy of Yoga was introduced to the West some 5 decades ago, its popularity has been on a steady increase. Yoga, being as adaptable as it is, several new styles of Yoga emerged to cater to specific needs and requirements its practitioners. Anusara Yoga is one such style of Yoga that came to be developed in the West. It was created by John Friend in 1997 in Houston, Texas and has now acquired an international audience across North America, Europe and parts of Asia.

The foundation of Anusara Yoga lies in Tantric philosophy, mainly the sacred text Kularnava Tantra. The term ‘anusara’ means “flowing with grace”, “being in the flow”, and “following your heart”. One of the founding concepts of Anusara Yoga is that ‘flowing with grace’ is essential to be able to achieve physical, mental and spiritual health and well being. Along with, one of the other founding concepts is that of innate goodness, implying that there is an innate goodness in each one of us and once we are able to acknowledge and appreciate this innate goodness, we will be able to see the Divine in everything around us.

The practice of Anusara Yoga can be broadly divided into three parts: Attitude, Alignment and Action. Within the principle of alignment, there are five main alignment principles, namely Opening to Grace, Muscular Energy, Inner Spiral, Outer Spiral, and Organic Energy. In addition to this, there are other secondary principles that govern the correct postures, or Yoga asanas to adopt. These Yoga asanas help make the body flexible, maximize its movement and attain a state of grace.

Anusara Yoga is extremely popular all over the world because of its inherent openness. This form of Yoga ensures that anyone and everyone who has the inclination to adopt it, is able to do so. Even people who are disabled or elderly have the opportunity to participate in Anusara Yoga. The philosophy of everyone having innate goodness is the foundation of this openness and followers firmly practice it. Even outside their Yoga classes, practitioners are encouraged to follow this principle in every aspect of their lives.

While Anusara does give a lot of significance to the quality of goodness that is common among all its followers, it also encourages personal creative and individualism.  It encourages people to look into themselves and discover themselves by being open to new and creative idea. In a way, Anusara Yoga achieves the apparent opposite of sameness and individualism, which is at the heart of spiritual enlightenment. Once one is connected to one’s inner self, as well as connected to others through the principle of innate goodness, only then is one able to contemplate unity with the oneness of the universe. Anusara Yoga provides an extremely fun and exciting way of exploring this possibility. However, it is important to remember that while Anusara Yoga can be light-hearted and fun, they also require a lot of physical exertion in doing the Yoga asanas.