Baptiste's Journey into Power sequence and why it's so powerful

"Yoga is not a practice of perfection. It is a practice of balance" - Baron Baptiste.

Baptiste created a 90-minute sequence called 'Journey into Power' and it offers the perfect balance of 'sthira sukha' - strength and ease. It is a holistic, dynamic sequence consisting of 53 asanas linked together by connective momentum. The sequence is built on five pillars: Drishti (your gaze and focus), Ujayi (breath), Bandhas (energetic locks in the body), Tapas (heat and inner fire), and Vinyasa (flow). The student is challenged to find their 'edge' and push beyond it, using their Drishti and Ujayi breath to find ease in the discomfort. It is a powerful sequence which builds strength and flexibility in all areas of the body, and can be fully modified to make it accessible to everyone.

My 200 hour yoga teacher training with The House of Yoga focused on Baptiste power yoga, and I fell in love with it. You could practice this flow every single day and do it differently - by taking different modifications, by challenging yourself in different ways or by really honing in one of the five pillars during your practice. It is a sequence which makes you feel so strong, so energised, and so calm all at the same time.

What I particularly love is that Journey into Power is made up of 11 sections or series, each with a different purpose, and you can take the principles of these sections and apply them to any sequence to ensure you're giving your yogi students a truly holistic, full body experience.

The sections and their purposes are:

1. Integration: to settle the yogi into the present moment, connecting the mind, body and breath through a series of slowly held asanas.
   

2. Awakening: the five Sun Salutation As and 5 Sun Salutation Bs really gets the heart pumping and energy flowing, drawing the yogi's focus inward.

   
   

3. Vitality: continues to build heat in the body, and the many twisting asanas purify and lengthen the body to allow the energy to flow freely, vitalising the yogi.

   
   

4. Equanimity: aims to cultivate mental stability, focus the yogi's drishti and build resilience (emotionally and mentally) in balancing postures where focus is key and our ego may be challenged. This section empowers students to stay grounded and respond to the wobbles with composure and ease.

   
   

5. Grounding: offers stability after the balancing postures of the previous sequence, bringing the yogi further into the present moment.

   
   

6. Igniting: to strengthen the back and open the heart in various backbends. This section builds physical strength and encourages the yogi to open their hearts, opening up the emotional body cultivating a deeper connection to the self. Emotions brought to the surface can be released to purify the body and heart.

   
   

7. Stability: to stabilise the core after the backbend series, and to build strength in the core which supports free flowing movement of the entire body.

   
   

8. Opening: long holds of hip openers in this sequence encourage the yogi to find their edge and find stillness and ease in potentially challenging postures and to welcome the discomfort. Hip openers can be extremely beneficial for releasing stored emotions as trauma is primarily stored in our hip flexor muscles. You have to feel to heal!

   
   

9. Release: aims to slow the heart rate down and come to find stillness, releasing the tension in all the muscles of the body which have worked hard throughout the practice.

   
   

10. Rejuvenation: this section focuses on inversions which slow the heart rate, detoxify the body, aid digestion and circulation, and increase focus.

    
    

11. Deep Rest: the culmination of the practice. After grounding into the present, strengthening and detoxifying the body and releasing some stored emotions throughout the practice, the yogi can now come to find stillness and peace.

    
    

    What I ultimately LOVE about this sequence is that it is so thoughtfully put together to create a complete mind-body-soul experience for yogis who practice it, and so many benefits of yoga asana can be experienced in this one flow. It is such a grounding sequence that really does help to still the mind and bring the focus inward.

    
    

    The principles of Journey into Power are my go-to for inspiration when creating class plans, and in my own self practice too. You can find Baptiste's Journey into Power sequence on YouTube if you fancy trying it for yourself, and of course you can come and experience the benefits of the flow with me in one of my vinyasa classes!