What Type of Yoga is Right for You?

by the Staff of Yoga.com

You may have heard about the healing and spiritual benefits of yoga, and perhaps you want to try it. How do you get started? A first thing you might do is to let friends know that you are seeking a yoga class and see what you find out via word of mouth.

Below is a list of some different types of yoga you may discover in your community. Finding a teacher with experience, and one you feel a connection with is a place to begin. Often, you can try out a class the first time for free.  If you are wanting to start very slowly, go for an easy, gentle, or restorative class.  Svaroopa Yoga and Iyengar Yoga are style to seek if you are worried about some physical problem. Find a very experienced teacher who has dealt with students with your problem, such as a bad back. Ashtanga and Power Yoga have been curative for athletes, runners and people with other injuries.  Practicing power yoga has helped my computer wrist pain go away. Do yoga very mindfully to make sure you don't make any problem worse.

If you want a vigorous practice with an intense workout, try Bikram, ashtanga, or power yoga. You will move from pose to pose continuously and are likely to feel great afterward, if this is the style you seek. A certified Iyengar teacher will guide you into the details of poses, probably starting with standing poses which are considered the foundation of a yoga practice.  The class is a learning experience and not as much of a workout, though it can be very challenging to do Iyengar Yoga. Mats are used in almost all yoga classes to prevent slipping, but Iyengar Style uses many other props like straps and blocks to assist the student.

A good teacher will adapt poses to all bodies in the class so that each feels like they are having individual attention. Look for a responsive teacher who looks at bodies and makes helpful suggestions about which way to move. Don't ever feel you need to be doing the perfect pose and that there is judgement if your pose is corrected. Take it humbly as learning, and know that each body is different with some folks having ease at some poses and difficulty with others. Each person has some things they are better at. Yoga is never a competition, but a time for going inward to learn what the body is saying.

If you like chanting, try Kundalini or Sivananda Yoga. Kundalini has a focus on the breath, and is a moving, somewhat energetic practice.

Some yoga classes may have a meditation period at the end. Yoga was originally designed as a means to calm the body and prepare for meditation. Many teachers like to have a time at the end of the class for everyone to do savasana or corpse pose. You will lie on your back and breath mindfully in a totally relaxed but aware state and feel the wonderful effects of doing yoga. Go ahead and experiment, and go to different classes and try different yoga videos to get the flavor of styles you might want to try. Regularly practicing will make you fall in love with yoga and the benefits on your body, mind, and spirit.

Ashtanga or astanga yoga as taught by K. Pattabhi Jois is becoming more popular, as are other types of yoga. Expect the teacher to move the students through a sequence of poses which are followed in daily practice, with the same series until it is mastered to some degree. Then the student moves on to practice another series of poses which are more difficult. The series of poses (asanas) is called a vinyasa. A vinyasa involves weaving in a combination of standing, seated, backbends, inversions, balancing, and twisting poses into sun salutation poses which include a standing forward bend, upward dog, downward dog, and other poses. There is a focus on breath and focal point of the eyes as one does a specific prescribed series of poses, moving one to another. Sometimes a room is heated as one does ashtanga, which causes the muscles to be very flexible.

"After ashtanga I feel strong and because of the breath-posture link, the class has a quicker flow (than Bikram Yoga.)"

Bikram Yoga originates from Bikram Choudhury. His system has 26 postures, which are practiced in a regular sequence in a heated room. Bikram Yoga requires certainlevel of fitness and is vigorous.  The Bikram series is warms and stretches muscles, ligaments and tendons in the order in which they should be stretched. This yoga has been helpful in removing symptoms of disease and chronic pain in the body, which seems to work if the practitioner keeps up a regular practice.

"I think after a Bikram class i feel 'lighter' and it's a slower practice than the ashtanga classes I have attended."

Integral Yoga includes postures, breathing techniques, deep relaxation, and meditation as the core of the practice. The purpose of yoga is to be to be easeful, peaceful and useful.  Integral Yoga is the system utilized by Dr. Dean Ornish, MD, in his program for reversing heart disease.  In a typical class, you gently perform (without strain) a series of postures (asanas), breathing practices, deep relaxation and meditation.

Iyengar Yoga is meditation in action .  Benefits include toning muscles, reducing tension, easing chronic pain. When we strengthen weak areas of ourselves and open and stretch tight ones, our body comes to a greater balance and freedom. Iyengar is the most widely recognized approach to Hatha Yoga, was created by B. K. S. Iyengar. Iyengar yoga is characterized by attention to detail within poses and the aid of various props, such as cushions, benches, wood blocks, straps, and even sand bags. The props assist all sorts of people in doing yoga, and disabled people have been helped by yoga with the genious of Mr. Iyengar.  There are therapuetic applications to Iyengar Yoga.  Studying Iyengar Yoga will give you a good knowledge of classic yoga poses so that whatever other style you study, you will have the background details of how to do each posture. The teacher focuses on alignment and inner awareness.  Awareness starts with the body and expands to other parts of the self as one practices.

"Because you hold the pose for a long time you can feel your body adjust into the pose. The class is a slow pace with focus on correct positioning. After the class, you will feel feel stronger and stretched and  more centered."

Kripalu Yoga starts with the first stage, postural alignment and coordination of breath and movement are emphasized, and the postures are held a short time. The student progresses to the second stage with meditation included  and postures held for longer periods. Finally, the practice of asanas becomes a spontaneous "meditation in motion," sort of a divine dance.  Dynamic, yet gentle yoga postures and conscious breathing you will touch the peace and tranquility that lies within.  The essence of Kripalu Yoga is experienced through a meditative continuous flow of postures fo gentle yet dynamic yoga.  A typical class includes meditation and centering, breathing, warm up movements to heat up and prepare for poses, yoga postures, guided posture flows and relaxation.

Kundalini Yoga is done to awaken the kundalini energy in the spine by with poses, breath control, chanting, and meditation. There is a focus on the breath of fire, and movement within the prescribes sets of poses (called Kriyas). Kundalini Yoga has been successful in helping people deal with addiction, and many find it a natural way of getting high just by breathing and doing the poses.  Kundalini Yoga does not rely on difficult poses. As taught by Yogi Bhajan, it consists of postures (Asanas) combined with special breathing (Pranayama), hand and finger gestures (Mudras), body locks (Bhandas), chanting (Mantras) and Meditation.   In a typical class, expect precise movements, postures, sounds and breathing that activate different parts of the body and brain to produce specific results.

Power Yoga means ashtanga to some teachers such as Beryl Bender Birch, and others have combined elements of Viniyoga (adapting to one's personal needs), Iyengar (precise alignment), Bikram (hot room, classical poses in a certain sequence), and ashtanga (vinyasa flow yoga). In practice, power yoga often seems like ashtanga but without the special sequence that is followed every time. A teacher makes up a sequence, weaving up dog and down dog plus sun salutation asanas with other types of poses. The practice of Power Yoga is vigorous, and one is likely to work up a sweat. Sometimes Power Yoga is done in a heated room which makes for soft, flexible muscles and helps prevent injury.

Sivananda Yoga has a series of 12 poses, with the Sun Salutation, breathing exercises, relaxation, and mantra chanting as the basis.  These are the elements in a typical class:

Svaroopa Yoga supports you in Svaroopa® Yoga poses which promote healing, while you relax into a deeply peaceful state of mind. Much healing can occur when you are supported in a yoga pose more comfortably than you could create for yourself.   Specialized adjustments are applied in this therapeutic form of yoga which moves slowly and gently with great awareness.  Yoga Journal says “This is a consciousness-oriented yoga that also promotes healing and transformation… New students find this a very approachable style, often beginning in chair asanas that are comfortable and have a deep healing effect.”

Viniyoga addresses the specific needs of those present.  Viniyoga moves at the pace chosen by the individuals with a focus on breathing in conjunction with poses.   Viniyoga is used to adapt the poses to the body and is useful for pregnant women.  Viniyoga encourages students to practice each asana according to their individual needs and capabilities.  Meditation, chanting, prayer, and ritual may be included in the practice of Viniyoga.

There are other forms of yoga, often called hatha yoga which is the physical posture doing kind of yoga. Apologies for not  mentioning all that you might come across. See our other pages on other wonderful forms of yoga.

Enjoy the journey of transformation which begins on the mat as you move into your first yoga postures!