1. SwáSthya Yôga is rooted in Sámkhya. Sámkhya is an ancient Indian theoretical philosophy. It is extremely technical, dynamic and adopts a naturalistic perspective of the practice. Mysticism and spiritualism is not compatible with Sámkhya. The line of Sámkhya adopted by SwáSthya Yôga is Niríshwarasámkhya.
2. SwáSthya Yôga is Tantric. Tantra is an ancient Indian behavioral philosophy. It is matriarchal, sensorial and non-repressive. Non-repressive means a philosophy that does not prohibit, and instead contributes to the liberation from repression in all its forms. It guides, but does not repress. Sensorial means that it respects and values the body, its beauty, its health, its senses and its pleasure. Therefore, you have complete freedom. You may eat what you like and do what you like. Nevertheless, there are recommendations with respect to each of these topics and you can follow them if you choose. As you progress and cultivate healthy habits, your instructor will teach you more advanced techniques. The line of Tantra adopted by SwáSthya Yôga is Dakshinacharatántrika.
3. Our way of performing the techniques is different from modern forms of Yôga. In the past few centuries, poor methods of performing body techniques have become popular, using stinted, isolated positions and repetitive gymnastics-style movements. SwáSthya Yôga, on the other hand, is founded on the most ancient lineage and harmoniously synchronizes the body techniques (ásanas), each ásana gracefully sprouting from the previous ásana through conscious transitions, allowing a true choreography of corporal techniques to emerge. No other form of Yôga possesses this characteristic. SwáSthya reintroduced choreography in the 1960’s.
4. SwáSthya is the only Yôga that has general rules of execution. In other words, it is the only one that offers self-dependence to those who practice. In other types of Yôga, the instructor has to explain the execution of each technique: how to breath, how long to hold a position, how many times to repeat it, where to focus one’s awareness, etc. If the instructor explains ten exercises, the students would not know how to do the eleventh. On the other hand, if general rules are employed, the practitioner need not depend on the instructor.