types of yoga

to get started on your individual yoga quest, it is helpful to begin with a list that clearly prioritizes what needs you want to fulfill: are you looking to sweat your way into a lean form, or does a gentler, more meditative approach sound more appealing?

There's a great deal of crossover among the various yoga schools, and there's even a diversity in teaching approaches within each discipline. We highly recommend attending several different types of classes so you can quickly discover which one matches your needs and takes you where you want to get.

The following are some of the most common Hatha Yoga types:

Vigorous Vinyasas: Vinyasa-style yoga combines a series of flowing postures with rhythmic breathing for an intense body-mind workout: Ashtanga Yoga, Power Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, Kali Ray TriYoga are all vigorous, being Ashtanga and Power the most intense. They all have series of flows and poses, combined with breathing exercises. They work great for Kapha and Vata types.

Attention to Detail: Iyengar and Anusara are the perfectionist yogas, where poses are held for longer periods of time so the practitioners can pay close attention to the precise muscular and skeletal alignment this system demands. It is customary to use props to aid in the achievement of the pose. The use of props will facilitate the physical transition that everyone faces when first starts practicing Yoga. We highly recommend the use of props. We recommend to have a good quality mat, one or two cork blocks and a strap.

Healing: Integrative Yoga Therapy, Viniyoga, Svarropa, Bikram, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. All these types of Yoga have healing capabilities and have been developed with that particular idea in mind. These types of Yoga work with all the Doshas.

Ease into Enlightenment: Sivananda, Integral, Ananda, Kundalini, ISHTA, Kripaly, Anusara, Tibetan, Yin Yoga, Hatha. These types are more meditative, they work on awakening the source of energy that exists in all of us and then connect it to the ultimate source. These are the more spiritual practices of Yoga. These practices work best for Pittas and Vatas. It is important to remark that Yoga in itself is a Spiritual Practice and that it was developed with that in mind.

It is more important the approach of the teacher and the student than the type of yoga in this case.

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