The most common style in Western studios. Breath-synchronized movement. Flexible sequencing. The style most likely to have drifted from its roots and the most important one to understand in that context.

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If Hatha is about holding a pose until it's perfected, Vinyasa is about the space between poses. This is yoga as continuous flow, where breath and movement are tightly synchronized and the transitions matter just as much as the postures themselves.

Like Hatha, Vinyasa is a broad category that contains a lot of variation underneath it. Ashtanga, in fact, is technically a subcategory of Vinyasa, just with a fixed sequence instead of Vinyasa's more flexible, creative approach to building a class. No two Vinyasa classes have to look the same, which is part of why it's become one of the most popular styles in Western studios.

The pace tends to be quicker, the sequencing more varied teacher to teacher, and the overall feel closer to a moving workout than a meditative hold. That's exactly what draws a lot of practitioners to it for fitness purposes, while still keeping the breath-driven foundation that ties it back to its yogic roots.