Can someone give me a breakdown of the different types of yoga?
I don’t know much about any of it, but am interested. I’ve heared of hatha yoga, but I know there are many different forms or types of it. Can someone break this down for me a little bit, and explain what each includes?
Categories: Yoga Types
I’m definitely not an expert, but the types I know of are Hatha, Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Bikram. Hatha is more about individual strength and flexibility poses, while Ashtanga focuses on series of poses that flow from one to the next, possibly more spiritual. Bikram is where the room is very hot and you get very flexible. Not really sure of the tenets of Iyengar, all I know is that it was founded by the yogi B.K.S. Iyengar.
I personally practice vinyasa, which is based in hatha, but focuses on the flow from one asana into another. There is also a lot of pranayama (breath work), and the asanas chosen are often designed to create heat in the body. It can be pretty sweaty stuff.
I also like Anusara yoga. It’s sort of a new style, but the one or two classes I’ve attended, it was quite beautiful – they talk a lot about the inner goodness of humans.