YOGA STYLES

Yoga has evolved over the centuries resulting in many different strands and styles. Nearly all styles are rooted in Hatha yoga, which focuses on developing control of the body through Asanas or postures. It is a common misconception that you need to be flexible to do yoga. Yoga helps you to become flexible, so the more inflexible you are, the more benefit you will gain from it.

No style of yoga is better than another. It is simply a matter of personal preference. The realisation of how we are now and what we want to get out of yoga is important when trying to make the most informed choice from the many disciplines available. This is true no matter how experienced we are.

Every style of yoga will incorporate a Yin and Yang (relaxing and dynamic) approach to varying degrees. Styles which are predominately Yang are active, dynamic and energetic eg. Bikram, Jivamukti and Astanga. Styles which are more Yin focused are by comparison more passive, receptive and internal eg. Samadhi yoga, Viniyoga and Sahaja yoga. Styles such as Hatha and Sivananda yoga use a more balanced combination of the two. These blends of both Yin and Yang doctrines compliment one another in a way best suited to individual practitioners.

Below are descriptions for the most popular yoga styles. Understanding what each style has to offer and what we would like from our practise, at any level, will help to ensure we are practising in the right way for how we are today.

Astanga Yoga

This style of yoga is physically demanding and appeals to those who are already yoga practitioners. Created by Pattabhi Jois, who studied under T Krishnamacharya at the first Hatha Yoga school in the 1920s, Astanga involves working through demanding Vinyasas (a series of postures) with loud Ujjayi breathing, moving from one pose to another to build strength, stamina and flexibility.

The purpose of Vinyasa is to create heat in the body, which leads to purification through increased circulation and sweating. It also improves flexibility, which allows the student to practice advanced Asanas (poses) without risk of injury.

Some people refer to Astanga yoga as Power Yoga, and it is not recommended for beginners.

Bikram Yoga

This is a series of 26 set asanas developed in California by Bikram Choudry. Bringing yoga to the warm climates of Los Angeles gave Bikram yoga the nickname ‘hot yoga’ due to the postures being performed in a minimum temperature of 40°C.

Performing energetic asanas and Pranayama in a hot room like this encourages practitioners to sweat considerably, removing toxins from the body. It is advisable before and after practise to drink lots of water to avoid dehydration.

Bikram yoga is beneficial in promoting better sleep patterns, improves cardiac and pulmonary functions, and helps the body’s natural processes of digestion and metabolism. However, if you are pregnant it is advisable to not perform Bikram yoga as it raises the body core temperature and can result in the body becoming overheated.

Hatha Yoga

This style of yoga is also known as Hatha Vidya and was created by Yogi Swatmarama in the 15th century in India.

Now extremely popular in the West, Hatha yoga balances the mind and body through a combination of Asanas (physical postures), Pranayama (controlled breathing) and meditation. The Asanas teach balance, poise and strength to improve the body’s physical health, while Pranayama and meditation clear the mind in pursuit of enlightenment.

Hatha yoga helps with strength, flexibility and relaxation. Some of the Asanas also benefit internal organs and can have a positive affect on certain ailments such as Diabetes, Arthritis and Hypertension, amongst other things. Equally, Pranayama can help alleviate Asthma and Bronchitis, and is a great way to relieve stress, anxiety and depression.

Iyengar Yoga

Another student to come from T Krishnamacharya’s school was B K S Iyengar. He developed Iyengar yoga, which is known for its use of props, such as belts and blocks, to aid the performance of Asanas (postures).

Iyengar yoga emphasizes the development of strength, stamina, balance and flexibility, as well as concentration and meditation.  By using props Iyengar is a good choice for beginners who can use the blocks, straps, benches or other aids to hold asanas more easily than they might without them. These props also allow ill or tired students to participate in yoga with less muscular effort.

Standing postures play an important part in Iyengar yoga. These asanas help increase strength in the legs, increase vitality, and improve circulation, coordination and balance. 

Unlike some other styles of yoga that encourage students to quietly follow the teacher when doing asanas, Iyengar Yoga classes are extremely verbal and instructional, and errors are actively corrected.

Jivamukti Yoga

A Sanskrit word meaning "liberation while living," it was created as a style by David Life and Sharon Gannon who co-founded the Jivamukti Yoga Centre in New York City. It is a stimulating practice that leads to spiritual awareness; the ultimate goal is simply liberation.

Sessions can be very physically intense. Sessions will have a theme, which is complimented with music, Pranayama, Sanskrit chanting and readings. The energetic postures, combined with the deep connection to yogas ancient spiritual roots, give Jivamukti a distinctive style that gives it considerable popularity in the west. The classes teach five fundamentals that make up the source of Jivamukti. These are: scripture, bhakti (devotion), ahimsa (non-violence), nada yoga (listening), and meditation.

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini yoga was first brought to the west by Yogi Bhajan in 1969 and is sometimes referred to as the “mother yoga” because it incorporates elements that are found in all other styles of yoga.

From the Sanskrit word “kundal” which means the curl of “the lock of hair of the beloved”. It is a poetic way of describing the flow of energy and consciousness that already exists within each one of us. Kundalini yoga is the awakening of this energy, or the self, through breath (pranayam), yoga postures (asanas), sound, chanting (mantra) and meditation. It is designed to provide you with the experience of your highest consciousness through the raising of your Kundalini.

Kundalini Yoga is a potent and effective system of self-transformation and personal development. Kundalini Yoga stimulates individual growth through systematic techniques that strengthen the nervous system and balance the glandular system (the guardians of health), for increased stability and vitality.

Power Yoga

Power yoga is a vigorous western approach to Ashtanga yoga which found popularity in the west in the 1990s, introduced by followers of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. The term Power Yoga coined by renowned Ashtanga Yogi Beryl ‘Bender’ Birch.

Power yoga is directed at creating the highest level of energy, vitality and freedom. Practitioners are encouraged to work with themselves, not against themselves. By working hard sensitively, we create an environment that's healing and that honours the individual.

Unlike Ashtanga, Power Yoga does not follow a set series of poses. Therefore, any Power Yoga class can vary widely from the next. What they have in common is an emphasis on strength and flexibility. The benefits gained from Power yoga include: body detoxification through perspiration, improved clarity or mind, and it increases strength, stamina and flexibility.

Sahaja Yoga

This is a unique approach to meditation that allows self-realization and awareness. An inner transformation occurs through this realization, bringing balance within you.

Sahaja yoga emerged in India and then England, created by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in 1970. The techniques needed to practice Sahaja Yoga are made obtainable free of charge to those interested, and the principles and philosophies upon which it is based go back in Asia for millennia.

The practitioner sits, palms held upwards, before a candle in front of a picture of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. Pranayama are performed, and the meditation can be done with either music playing or in silence.

Through the meditation and realization, Sahaja yoga is very good for treating conditions like epilepsy, high blood pressure, depression and asthma.

Samadhi Yoga

Samadhi is the last of the eight limbs of yoga. In Sanskrit Samadhi means ‘super consciousness.’ It is the final goal of deep meditation, where the meditator achieves the state of being at one with the object of the meditation. They become ‘absorbed’ and truly spiritually awake.

To achieve this state of absorption, you must experience prior limbs of yoga. The sixth limb of yoga, Dharana; concentration, is focusing the mind on one thought for twelve seconds. The seventh limb of yoga, Dhyana; meditation, is the same as twelve dharanas, two and a half minutes. Samadhi is equal to twelve dhyanas, approximately half an hour.

Samadhi yoga classes are often taught using a Viniyoga (flowing) style or combining aspects from other disciplines.

Scaravelli Yoga

Vanda Scaravelli, an Italian who was instructed by Desikachar and BKS Iyengar, revealed this style. She developed a gentler, more feminine mode, designed to work with the natural body movements in relation to gravity.

Holistic in approach, Scaravelli yoga encourages inner movement that, combined with Pranayama and meditation, naturally unfolds outwards. Letting go of the weight of the body so it falls to the ground allows the spine to feel lighter and unfold. Your legs connect you to the earth, routing you in place.

Typical Scaravelli classes are small and friendly in nature, providing a relaxed atmosphere that allows students to progress comfortably, and also develop their home practice.

Sivananda Yoga

Swami Vishnu-devananda brought this popular style to the west in 1957 at the request of Yogi Swami Sivananda. Sivananda is a form of hatha yoga that aims to preserve the health and wellbeing of the practitioner, revitalising body and mind by impeding natural decline and naturally taming the body's processes.

Sivananda yoga emphasises relaxation and Pranayama. Swami Vishnu-devananda distilled the complex philosophies of yoga into five key points:

• Breathing (Pranayama)
• Exercise (Asanas)
• Relaxation (Savasana)
• Diet (Vegetarian)
• Meditation and positive thinking (Dhyana and Vedanta)

Classes will last around 90 minutes and are flexible. Typically, practitioners rest in the Corpse Pose, Savasana, before beginning with Kapalabhati, front brain cleaning breath. Anuloma Viloma, alternate nostril breathing, may also be included, before a set of twelve asanas.

Viniyoga

Viniyoga is an ancient Sanskrit term that implies differentiation, adaptation, and appropriate application. It is a very diverse, flowing style of yoga combining fluid movement and breath.

Viniyoga differs from other yoga styles in that it is not just about ‘repetition and stay’. In viniyoga practitioners move from a starting position into the posture and out of it. The approach uses repetition in and out plus preparation and also compensation for extended periods of staying in the posture.

Repetition has both a muscular skeletal and neuromuscular benefit. When moving into a posture the “agonist” muscles of the body contract and their “antagonist” muscles stretch. When moving out of a posture the “antagonist” muscles contract and the ‘agonist’ muscles stretch. This creates the alternation of contraction and stretching of core muscles, leading to the increase in circulation to the muscles and creating new and improved neuromuscular patterns.

Vinyasa

“Breath-synchronised movement” is the meaning of the Sanskrit word vinyasa. Vinyasa classes involve moving fluidly from one posture to the next in conjunction with synchronised inhalation and exhalation. This fluid movement, also know as Vinyasa Flow, almost takes the form of a dance and can generate intense internal heat and a cleansing sweat that purifies organs and muscles alike. It improves inner calm and focus, helps circulation and cardiovascular efficiency.

Vinyasa is also used to describe a sequence of postures, generally in Ashtanga. A Cat-Cow Stretch is an example of a very simple Vinyasa, because the spine is arched on an inhale and rounded on an exhale. A Sun Salutation sequence is an example of a more complex Vinyasa.