Yoga, meaning “union”, is a healthy practice designed to achieve mind and body alignment. Its benefits range from physical to emotional, and despite having existed since ancient times, the practice remains relevant.
Today, practitioners use yoga as a therapeutic path to physical and psychological issues. The best part is you can practice it from the comfort of your home, schedule private classes, or join other yogis on an immersive yoga retreat.
In traditional Eastern cultures, the foundation of yoga was engraved in religion and how it can guide you toward the path of enlightenment. Today, however, different types of yoga have been created to cater to different philosophies and approaches to modern health concerns.
Physical therapists, for instance, use different yoga types – each with its unique postures and breathing exercises – to ease back pain, relieve stress, enable weight loss, or reduce belly fat.
Are you enthusiastic about yoga? In the US alone, over 25 million adults practice yoga. The physical practice alone represents one of the eight limbs that describe the path to enlightenment. However, most yoga studios have introduced meditation and detoxification into their programs to make yoga more holistic.
Are you looking to reap the health benefits of yoga but are wondering what type is right for you? Here is a complete guide to the different types of yoga.
What Are The Different Types Of Yoga?
Hatha Yoga
Alongside Vinyasa, Hatha yoga is one of the most popular types of yoga and is essentially what most Western practitioners do today. The physical exercises comprise a series of easy-to-perform, gentle sequences, and are often accompanied by meditation.
The hundreds of postures involved in this type of yoga are designed to channel positive energies from concentration points in the body to achieve a perfect state of balance and harmony.
Its poses (asanas) are comparatively easy but are designed to challenge your endurance, strength, and flexibility. Experts say Hatha yoga promotes agility, youthfulness, inner peace, muscle tone, and weight loss.
Furthermore, the emphasis on breathing exercises (pranayama) and mindful meditation make relaxation a key aspect of Hatha yoga.
Ashtanga Yoga
Also dubbed the yoga form of weight loss, Ashtanga is an offshoot of Patanjali’s original yoga. The word “ashtanga” means eight in Sanskrit. The practice was founded on eight pillars, which practitioners should adhere to the latter while on their path to achieving a sense of pure consciousness.
The sessions feature similar postures that are performed in sequence. Research indicates that Ashtanga yoga is best for upper and lower back pains, stress relief, and fat loss. The pillars involved are practiced in sequence, and include:
- Principles.
- Personal discipline.
- Asana and postures.
- Pranayama (breathing exercises).
- Withdrawal.
- Concentration.
- Meditation.
- Salvation.
Vinyasa Yoga
Also referred to as “Flow” yoga, Vinyasa is a type of yoga that varies between breathing techniques and movements to replicate the flow of life. To simulate this flow, a yogi practicing Vinyasa may start with the Child’s Pose, go through all the sequences of intermediate postures, and end the flow with the Death Pose.
Ashtanga is another type of yoga with a similar approach to Vinyasa. The difference between the two is that the postures in Vinyasa vary depending on the instructor, while Ashtanga yoga sessions use a specified pattern of postures.
Due to the number of postures involved, Vinyasa yoga is usually fast-paced and can be physically challenging. The breathing exercises too, are synchronized in a way to make you feel like your breath is moving your body.
The execution makes it an ideal choice for anxiety and depression relief, and it can also be modified to aid sleep and lower blood pressure.
Kundalini Yoga
Also referred to as the “Yoga of Awareness”, Kundalini yoga used repetitive postures that are designed to awaken the spiritual energy believed to reside at the base of the spine. This primal energy – often likened to a coiled serpent – will arise from your spine during Kundalini yoga and feed into your spirituality.
Its execution begins with a mantra, followed by breathing exercises, a sequence of postures, chanting, and mindful meditation.
For many, this yoga type acts as a form of spiritual practice, but if you don’t buy into this religious philosophy, the mantra chanting is good for anxiety, depression, and stress relief, and can boost your cognitive function.
Iyengar Yoga
Named after B.K.S. Iyengar (one of the pioneer instructors), this type of yoga is unique in that its sessions are focused primarily on posture and body alignment.
The poses can both be simple and complex. For those that are difficult to pull off, however, practitioners are allowed to use supportive tools such as belts and yoga blocks.
Its core benefits include improved muscle tone, calmness of the mind, pain relief, muscle strength, improved posture, and flexibility. Some studies have indicated that Iyengar yoga can be used progressively to cure musculoskeletal disorders, severe back pains, and other spinal disabilities.
Bikram Yoga
Created by Bikram Choudhury, Bikram yoga is done in a temperature-controlled room, usually heated to 105 degrees. Sessions typically involve a series of 26 unchanged postures performed in a sequence. The 105-degree heat is designed to allow practitioners to detox and get rid of toxins by shedding sweat.
Due to the difficulty involved in performing yoga under such conditions, practitioners are challenged to take breaks in between poses, drink plenty of water for hydration, and generally be patient with Bikram yoga.
Hot Yoga
Unlike Bikram yoga which is done specifically in a room heated to 105 degrees, Hot yoga is typically any form of yoga that is practiced in a room heated between 95 and 100 degrees.
The thought process behind the heat is that warm muscles are easy to flex, and are great for boosting flexibility and range of motion.
Final Thoughts On Different Types of Yoga
Unlike conventional forms of exercise, yoga enthusiasts consider this practice as a way of life. Yoga has become popular over the years, and this popularity stems from its therapeutic ability to enhance physical and emotional well-being.
Depending on your wellness goals, you can find a specific type of yoga that is suited to your needs.
The key benefits include improved circulation, stamina, muscle strength, weight loss, better sleep cycles, stress and pain relief, improved focus, and concentration.
