What yoga should I practice? …

There is so much yoga choice today  – many types, styles and teachers.  And despite what some might say, there isn’t one type, style or teacher that is superior to others.  Yoga is simply packaged and delivered in different ways.

Traditionally yoga was practiced to help control and calm the mind in order to practice meditation.  The yoga poses, breath and concentration practices were introduced to help begin this process.  Similarly today, we practice yoga to strengthen and free the body and breath to allow our mind to calm and focus.  Which is why we can feel great after attending a yoga class.

We might also attend for other reasons such as to help relieve back pain, to relax in general, or to feel fitter and healthier.

Different styles of yoga have developed over the years and this is still evolving today.  Each yoga teacher will bring their own “vibe” or “flavour” to the class and will appeal to different people.

Essentially most yoga is a form of hatha yoga.  Hatha translates as “force”.  This doesn’t mean we have to practice with force, instead this relates to energy and how through the practice of yoga we balance energy and in turn our energy is elevated to experience peace.

Today most yoga classes are either a slower based hatha class where we pause for longer in the poses or a moving based hatha yoga class where we flow between each of the poses – called a “flow “or “vinyasa” class.

Sometimes yoga is named after a person such as Iyengar yoga, a popular teacher from Pune in India or Scaravelli yoga, a popular teacher from the West.  Or the yoga might have a name that relates to yoga such as Jivamukti yoga, meaning “liberation whilst living”.  All yoga classes will have similarities but poses may be taught in different ways and have different focus areas.  Again, a different “flavour” with each type, style or teacher.

Some believe that we should stick with one teacher and one type of yoga. There are obvious advantages to this as we can watch our own progresión in one discipline. And when we are a beginner – staying with one teacher or practice can prevent confusion.

As we become more experienced, exploring different types of yoga can give us the opportunity to learn new things and help our awareness deepen. Even after practising yoga for 30 years, I love exploring yoga in new ways - we never stop learning. I also enjoy teaching different styles as I’ve found one style doesn’t always fit all.

If I were to list all the different types and styles of yoga today and give a description of each they would go over many pages.  Instead, I’ll explain in more detail the three types of yoga offered at The Yoga Den. 

A general hatha class

If new to yoga, often a general hatha class can be a good place to begin as we practice in a slower way giving us time to explore how our body moves into the poses, how we hold the poses and how to come out of the poses.  

We begin lying down and the class includes time to centre, a short breathing practice, a sequence of yoga poses or a staged approach to one main pose, a concentration practice and a guided relaxation.

In time, we begin to feel stronger and more open in our body. In addition, if we are less free at the joints, our range of movement can increase so we find we can move more freely. If over-free at the joints - we learn to strengthen to support the joints.

We also become more familiar with yoga terms, how to use yoga props and become more aware of the breath.  Each week there is a different light philosophy theme based on one of the classic yoga texts.

Vinyasa hatha flow

A dynamic form of hatha yoga. Vinyasa means to move in a special way. We spend time at the beginning of the class to become consciously aware of the breath and how to move with awareness before the sequence begins. 

This class can feel more dynamic as the class is based around sun salutations where we move from standing to a high plank to a low plank (like lowering in a press up) and into a back bend (or front lengthening pose) before moving to down dog (the classic upside down V shaped pose) and into a pose or sequence of poses.  Modifications are offered throughout and options to lighten. To really enjoy the class, we need to be able to move from standing to sitting with ease and have a fairly good range of movement at our joints – wrists, hips and shoulders in the main.

Music is played throughout the class and each mini sequence will relate to each track.  A different physical focus is included each week with a light yoga philosophy theme.  The class includes a short concentration practice and a guided relaxation.

Ashtanga

Ashtanga is also a dynamic form of hatha yoga. - a vinyasa based class. We begin standing to connect to the body and breath.  There are two types:-

Ashtanga Led

A led class where you are guided through the Ashtanga sequence including sun salutations, standing poses, balancing poses and some of the seated poses.  This class also includes a short seated concentration and time to lie down and let the body take rest. Each week there will be a different focus area.

We include modifications and options to lighten. The postures are the same each week. This means we can notice how our practice transforms over time.  This can also help us to learn the sequence as it will become more familiar every time we come to the class.

Ashtanga Assisted Self Practice

In this class we move at our own pace with guidance from the teacher.  We can attend as a beginner and learn the sequence or we can attend with more experience.  It can be like having a one to one in a group setting as we move with our own breath and each pose can be tailored for where we are right now.  If used to being guided in a class, it can feel unusual to begin with as we are taking responsibility for learning the sequence.  But it doesn’t matter how long this takes.  There is lots of help throughout and can feel like a special environment sharing a space while practising in our own unique way. We have a ready-made practice to take with us and practice on our own.

It is good to find a class or classes that feel right for you.  I always say not to be put off if one style, type or teacher doesn’t work for you.  Keep exploring … yoga can be for all!

If the times and classes don’t suit at the Yoga Den let me know as I know a lot of local teachers that I can refer you to.  I’m always happy to chat anything through.  Do get it touch.

Book your class at the Yoga Den