Finding the Right Yoga Style for You
Everything feels stressful these days, and you might be looking for a way to de-stress and perhaps you have landed on yoga—great! However, when you start looking into it, you might feel overwhelmed by all the different styles. What is the difference between kundalini yoga and Bikram yoga, and which one is right for you? Luckily, we have compiled a handy cheat sheet of a few popular styles for you to get you started.*
• Ashtanga: This is the modern version of classic Indian yoga and is named for the eight limbs of yoga. It focuses on elements like vinyasa, the alignment of breath and movement, and bandhas, or muscle contractions. It follows a basic sequence of an opening sequence, a main series of poses, a back-bending sequence, inverted poses, and finally concludes with savasana, or corpse pose.
• Bikram: Also known as hot yoga, Bikram yoga is practiced in special studio that is heated to 104℉ with 40% humidity. Each session is 90 minutes long and follows the same 26 pose series, including two breathing exercises. The idea behind the hot studio is that by sweating, your body releases extra toxins while you exercise. However, that means practitioners need to be very aware of hydration! Also, please do not try this one on your own; this is one that needs to be performed under supervision in a specialized studio—do not attempt to transform your bedroom into a sauna!
• Jivamukti: This style of yoga focuses on an all-encompassing practice, including spiritual, physical, and ethical components, making it more of a lifestyle practice in addition to physical fitness. “Jivamukti” means “liberation while living” and ascribes to five main tenants: Sanskrit scripture, devotion to humility, non-violence, meditation, and chanting (most commonly the word “om” during the yoga practice).
• Kundalini: Kundalini yoga focuses on awakening kundalini, or circular, energy within the body. It does this through breathing, meditation, chanting, and poses. Kundalini yoga is often referred to as “the yoga of awareness” because it seeks to cultivate not only a physical practice, but an authenticity in practitioners to cultivate compassion and truth.
• Restorative: Restorative yoga is exactly what it sounds like: yoga to restore the practitioner. It includes a lot of props such as blocks, straps, and blankets to help practitioners achieve the poses. In using modifiers and props, people who do restorative yoga are often able to stay in poses longer to achieve the maximum benefits. Think of it as kind of a reset button for your body and mind.
• Yin: This is a slow-paced style of yoga that focuses primarily on meditative breathing while practitioners hold poses for longer than they would in other styles. Yin yoga also incorporates the Taoist ideas of yin and yang, opposite and complementary aspects of nature.
There are even more yoga styles out there, but these are a few to help get you started. We highly recommend visiting a yoga studio and seeking proper instruction before you start practicing on your own at home; while yoga can be a wonderful solitary practice, a certified instructor can adjust your alignment and ensure you’re performing the poses correctly to avoid injury. If you are unable to go to a studio due to a need to quarantine, many instructors are offering online classes, both for a group or individual lessons, so look around and find a solution that works for you. Happy yoga, and namaste!
*Bod•ē Pro recommends following a healthy approach to weight loss by consulting with your physician or health care professional prior to starting any new exercise or diet plan.