Today we are exploring different kinds of yoga styles. There are various yoga types that are aimed at improving your balance and strength, and that can help remove tension from your body. Yoga is also excellent for calming your mind and helping you relax. No matter which style of yoga you choose, it can increase your flexibility, balance, and strength. Here are some yoga styles that you may not be aware of.
13 Different Kinds of Yoga Styles
Challenging Yoga Styles
1. Ashtanga
Ashtanga involves an ongoing series of yoga poses. With this yoga style, special breathing techniques are used for focusing the mind and regulating the flow of breath throughout the body.
2. Bikram
With Bikram, you are doing a sequence of twenty-six poses in a room that is above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It is essential to check with your doctor before doing this type of yoga style, especially if you have diabetes or hypertension.
3. Vinyasa Flow or Power Yoga
This is a more athletic type of yoga style and is based on the sequence of poses performed with Ashtanga. Vinyasa is effective for building upper-body strength and it helps with balance and flexibility. Basically, it flows from one pose to the next. This type of yoga is suitable for those who are a bit more experienced or have been practicing yoga for a while.
4. Jivamukti
Jivamukti is a combination of physical yoga (Vinyasa) and spiritual or ethical parts of ancient yoga texts like veganism, nonviolence, and chanting.
Gentle To Challenging Yoga Styles
5. Couples Yoga
Couples yoga is suitable for two people or couples to assist with building their connection and trust. For instance, you can do it with your partner, child, or friend. You can mirror their movements, or they can assist you with deep stretching or improving balance.
Gentle Yoga Styles
6. Hatha
Hatha focuses more on the physical form of yoga as opposed to breathing exercises. This type of yoga is a good fit for beginners that want to learn the basic yoga poses.
7. Anusara
This is a more contemporary yoga style that begins with chanting and ends with quiet meditation. There are over 250 poses, however, yoga teachers can do their own styles too.
8. Iyengar
Iyengar is slow-paced and detail-orientated, an excellent yoga style for beginners. You can use props like blocks, pillow bolsters, or belts to get your alignment correct. Similar yoga styles are Viniyoga and Anusara.
9. Restorative
With this yoga style most of the poses are done on the floor with chairs, blocks, bolsters, or blankets as supportive aids. It is designed to take care of your spirit, body, and mind.
10. Kripalu
Kripalu starts with doing slow movements and slowly progressing with three levels to attain a deeper mind-body awareness.
11. Kundalini
This is a more philosophical and spiritual yoga style and includes breathing techniques, yoga postures, and meditation.
12. Sivananda
This yoga style involves thirteen poses and lying down in between different poses. It is easily adaptable to individuals with different physical abilities.
13. Viniyoga
With Viniyoga you emphasize on how your breath travels through your body, affecting each pose. The deep, long stretches are perfect for beginners or those who are recovering from injury and are more focused on relaxation, body awareness, and being flexible.
Which Yoga Style is Best For You?
To get the most benefit from a yoga style, it’s best to choose one that matches your personality, fitness level, and goals for practicing yoga. You can try different teachers and classes to see what works best for you.
Also, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you doing yoga to attain a better mind-body connection while getting into shape? Then a more challenging style like Power yoga, Bikram, or Ashtanga would be best. You might have to do a few beginner classes at first to get used to the poses and move more fluently through them.
- Do you have a medical condition, injury, or any other limitations? Then it’s best to start with slower classes that emphasize on alignment like Viniyoga or Kripalu.
- Are spiritual and meditative journeys part of your yoga goals? Then you can try styles that involve chanting, philosophic parts, and meditation, such as Kundalini yoga.
Before you start a new fitness program or exercise, it’s best to check with your physician first, especially if you have certain medical conditions or are older. I hope you have found my post about 13 kinds of yoga styles useful and inspirational.
Sending you much love, light, and yoga-minded vibes!
Anthea