Different Styles of Yoga

You finally decided to do yoga but after searching google you are confused. You didn't even know there were so many varieties of yoga.

Yoga develops strength and balance, increases flexibility, all yoga styles create a feeling of lightness, comfort, and relaxation, but to get the most benefit and pleasure, you need to find a yoga style that suits you.

Nobody came to the first yoga class that could practice advanced yoga poses.

If you're already strength training, your best bet will probably be a style of yoga that focuses more on flexibility. This way you can balance your fitness routine, maybe try yin or hatha yoga. If you have a disability or a chronic illness, you can try Iyengar yoga or one-on-one sessions with a teacher where you can focus on your harmony and unique needs. For those who are relatively healthy and want to be challenged, the ashtanga vinyasa or vinyasa flow can be a good choice.

A guide to the most common yoga styles

1. Hatha Yoga

The majority of studios will have a hatha yoga class on their schedule. The most famous of the yogas taught in the United States is hatha yoga. Hatha yoga typically refers to a class where you explore holding postures and working with the breath to help you feel more relaxed and more centered in your mind, body, and spirit.

2. Vinyasa Yoga

This is a dynamic and ever-flowing form of yoga that is literally a moving meditation. Instructors choreograph a series of yoga poses where every move is linked to your breathing and create a pumping playlist that gets your heart rate up. A good app for people who love to move. Practitioners should have some yoga experience as they do not linger in every pose during Vinyasa. It can be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with the basics. In most classes, practitioners don't linger long in each pose and the pace can be fast. Teachers often pump the music by matching the beats with the sequences of the poses.

3. Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini yoga is a completely different style of yoga that you don't normally see when you go to a yoga class. For an experienced yogi who has never done a Kundalini style, he may still feel lost in a Kundalini class, that's how different they are!

Kundalini is a spiritual style of yoga taught around chanting and meditation. Kundalini means "a spiritual energy or life force located at the base of the spine," and classes try to awaken this energy throughout practice, often spoken of as a snake.

These classes are great for anyone seeking greater spiritual depth in their yoga practice. Practitioners feel a very tangible shift of energy at the end of these classes, something not normally felt in other styles of yoga. It is not recommended for beginners as it can be physically demanding unless the practitioner has a much higher level of strength than other types of fitness.

4. Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga is a meditative practice in which accessories such as blocks, straps, sandbags, pillows, and blankets are used to encourage the passive release of mind and body tension. This style works to passively release deep tension without active stretching.

It may feel like you're not doing much in a restorative yoga class. Gentle, slow-moving practice with longer grips allows your body to experience deeper relaxation by giving your parasympathetic nervous system a chance. You will also use various accessories such as blankets, pillows, and yoga blocks to fully support your body in each pose.

5. Iyengar Yoga

Here, you will be meticulous about precision and detail, as well as the alignment of your body in each pose. From yoga blocks and blankets to straps or a drawstring wall, accessories will be your new best friend and help you work through a safe and effective range of motion. Unlike Vinyasa, each posture is held for a certain amount of time. If you're new to Iyengar, it's good to start with a first-level class to familiarize yourself with the technique, even if you've practiced other types of yoga.

Get ready to learn tons of information in an Iyengar yoga class. Unlike other classes, this type of yoga does not flow from one pose to the next. Instead, you'll dive into the details of each yoga posture, using accessories like blocks, straps, blankets, chairs, and even a rope wall to understand structure and alignment. This is a good approach, especially if you're working with pain (especially back pain) or other medical issues. It's also a nice introduction to individual yoga poses for those who are new to the practice or haven't been active for a while.

6. Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga is for the rule-follower who wants a dynamic, athletic practice. A classic style and a series of dramas. It's good for people who like to do the same thing over and over. Like Vinyasa, you'll synchronize the movement with your breathing as you move from pose to pose to build internal heat. There are two types of Ashtanga classrooms: A teacher guides students through the row in led classrooms. In Mysore classes, you progress through the series on your own as a way to build your personal practice.

7. Bikram Yoga

Bikram yoga is a special style of heated yoga. These classes work with 26 special postures in a room heated to 104 degrees. Bikram classes are more Hatha style than vinyasa style and can be incredibly challenging due to the heat.

If you're looking for a great workout or detox for your body, this style of yoga is perfect. But not recommended for beginners.

8. Hot Yoga

Hot yoga is similar to Bikram yoga, it is practiced in a heated room but teachers are not limited to the 26 pose Bikram sequence. While the heat will make you feel like you can go deeper in some poses compared to an unheated class, it can be easy to overstretch, so don't go beyond your capacity.

9. Yin Yoga

Yin yoga is a practice that focuses on stretching to strengthen and lengthen your connective tissues (especially the fascia). The poses are held for 3-5 minutes each. Work with the energy meridians in your body and develop active stretching in your connective tissues to increase strength and flexibility, improve joint mobility, improve posture, and relieve trauma from the body.

10. Aerial Yoga

Aerial yoga is a special style of yoga that uses silk suspended from the ceiling to support or deepen yoga poses. According to Yogapedia, “Airline yoga is a form of yoga that uses a hammock or yoga swing to allow students to perform postures that they wouldn't normally try on a yoga mat.”

In this lesson you will probably be turned inside out, hanging upside down in silk, which can be a really enjoyable experience but also terrifying if it's your first time! Some studios have a basic weather knowledge class or a weather 101 class that is great for beginners.

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