Yoga has many different forms. Some versions are better suited to certain individuals than others. It comes down to your own personal choice at the end of the day, which type of Yoga you prefer.

There is a main thread to all types of Yoga. All the many styles of yoga will invariably aim to bring about a serene feeling as well as achieving an overall balance in the mind and body. In the majority of cases, Yoga will also help you to increase flexibility and improve fitness levels at the same time.

What many individuals view as the most extreme type of yoga is Bikram yoga where the routines are performed in heated rooms. For some people this can add strain to their exercises and for that reason there are lots of people who believe that performing under those conditions is detrimental to your well being. I personally feel you either like the Bikram style of Yoga or you don’t. The people that use the Bikram hot yoga style tend to be very passionate about its benefits and argue that the heat aids to its effectiveness.

The most common variety of yoga that you will find used in the majority of centers across your land is Hatha Yoga. This is probably the best sort of yoga for you to pick if you haven’t done any variety of this exercise in the past. It will demonstrate to you all the central types of poses that will also be applicable to various other forms of yoga if you intend to move into these other types at a later date. It is terrific for people who haven’t done any exercise previously and for older people as all the movements are unhurried and reposeful and will assist in helping you to acquire more flexibleness without concern for injury.

One step up from Hatha Yoga is Vinyasa yoga which is performed at a quicker tempo and focuses a lot on breathing during the movements. The stretches that are used in Vinyasa yoga are more sophisticated than those in Hatha yoga and are possibly not quite as suitable for a novice.

Ashtanga Yoga which is sometimes referred to as Power Yoga and is regarded as the preferred option of athletes. Ashtanga yoga is light on meditation but  is big on developing strength and stamina. The poses are more demanding than those performed in other styles, and students tend to move more quickly from one pose to another in an effort to build strength and flexibility. This style is fitting for anyone in reasonable physical shape but should be avoided by those who are new to exercise. Even the “beginners” routines are a physically demanding workout. Ashtanga yoga starts by taking the students through a warming up of the body to “activate” the muscles.

Kundalini Yoga, incorporates mantras (chanting), meditations, visualizations, and guided relaxation. It focuses on healing and “cleansing” the mind, body, and emotions. Kundalini yoga is designed to actuate the kundalini vitality in the spine. This is achieved with poses, breath control, chanting, and meditation. Kundalini yoga is beneficial in dealing with addictions, and many people find it to be a relaxed way of releasing endorphins just by breathing and doing the poses.

There are numerous different variations of yoga apart from these that I just mentioned however they all feature the same philosophy of getting the mind and body to operate as one to bring about a harmony in your lifestyle.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 12:00 pm and is filed under General Yoga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.