vinyasa

do you guys take the 5 breaths in down dog during vinyasas?

only for surya A & B; not in any of the following vinyasa.

I have only been practising for a short time, but from memory no, two deep
breaths.

Yes, in my class my teacher has us do 5 full ujjayi breaths.

According to John Scott, you are Not supposed to
stay for 5 breaths in Downward Dog when doing vinyasa:
you just enter Down Dog with an exhalation, then jump
out of it with an inhalation. See pages 70-71 of
Scott's book "Ashtanga Yoga". It's only in the Sun
Salutes that you breath in & out 5 times when staying in
Downward-facing Dog.

Goodness. That is wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong. Only exhale downdog, then jump
through.
FBL

Does anyone know why the Downward facing Dog is held for five breaths in
Surynamaskar-A & B? Just curious...

That's a good question. No one has ever told me
the specific reason for the 5 breaths in surya a&b
downdog. However, it seems to me that in my own practice,
the added time in these first 10 ardo mukhas is
necessary for extending into this posture. All my
connective tissue tends to travel/melt quite a distance in
this initial warm-up phase of the practice, and I
don't think the effect would be nearly as great if
there were no 5 breath hiatus between these vinyasa.

Why 5 breaths in Downward Dog when doing the Sun
Salutes?

2 reasons come to my mind:

1. Downward Dog
is one of the most beneficial postures you can do in
hatha yoga.

2. In the Astanga Primary Series at
least (that's the only one I practise), Downward Dog as
an ASANA is not done anywhere in the sequence: it's
just a vinyasa link between the postures, which you
are not supposed to hold. That means the Sun Salutes
are the only place where you can stay in Down Dog for
a longer time.

Originally Posted by tbh333 do you guys take the 5 breaths in down dog during vinyasas?