It's the start of a new year, and lots of people are trying yoga on for size as part of their new year's resolutions! It can be a little stressful, though, trying to figure out which yoga class is for you. Over the centuries since yoga emerged in India and made its way slowly to the U.S. lots of different styles and traditions have sprung up. There are also different "branded" yoga styles that have been developed fairly recently and consist of a unique style of teaching or sequencing the poses. So as a brand-new-to-yoga student, how do you figure out which style is the best fit for you?
Well, you could try a lot of trial and error. The best way to figure out which of the styles you like best is to actually try them in your body and reflect on how it makes you feel!
But, in case you want a little help guiding that process, I've included my tips on what some of the different styles are all about.
Due to length, I’m posting this one in several parts. Check back next week for three more styles! In the meantime, maybe try one of the ones I’ve described here, and comment with your thoughts!
Hatha yoga is often beginner-friendly, and moves at a calm pace. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
1. Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga is a really broad, general term encompassing all the yoga you do with your body. Technically, all the styles on this list are Hatha Yoga. It's meant as a contrast to different yoga practices that don't involve poses or movement of the body, and instead focus on meditation, breath work, and devotional practice.
However, when you see "Hatha Yoga" listed on a studio schedule, you can normally expect a fairly slow class that is focused on body position and alignment. It's not uncommon in these classes to hold poses for a while. You'll do standing and seated postures, and will also be taught to focus on your breath as you hold each pose.
You might love Hatha Yoga if: you like detailed instruction on how your body should look in each pose, you want lots of time to get in and out of each pose, you want a slower pace in general.
You might not love Hatha Yoga if: you get bored or tired holding one shape for too long, you crave a faster pace and physical exertion, you love to do yoga with fun and energetic music (Hatha classes normally have relaxing spa-like tunes, if any)
2. Ashtanga Yoga
Ashtanga is one of those ancient practices handed down the line for generations. In it's most rigorous incarnation, it's meant to be practiced every day in the early morning at your own pace with only your breath or a teacher to guide and offer suggestions. Classes like this are called "Mysore" classes, named for the place in India where the practice originated. It is not a reference to how sore you will be after the class. The alternative to Mysore Ashtanga is a "led" Ashtanga class. In these classes the instructor guides the whole class through the same sequence at once. Less personalized, but more in line with what you might expect from a western yoga class.
In either case, you will do the same sequence of poses in the same order each time. Although most of the poses are appropriate for beginners, some of them get a little pretzel-y towards the end. At the start of class you will do 10 sun salutations (think burpees but for yoga) to warm up, and in between many postures you'll do a mini-sun salutation called a "vinyasa". This makes the class pretty physically exhausting, since you can do the equivalent of up to 76 push-ups in each class.
You might love Ashtanga Yoga if: You have a lot of energy and enjoy moving a lot in your yoga practice, you thrive on structure, you like to see your progress clearly over time (since the sequence is always the same it's easy to see your gains), you want a physical challenge, you're into the tradition and history of yoga.
You might not love Ashtanga Yoga if: You get bored doing the same thing every time you workout, you crave an easy-going pace, you experience a lot of self-judgement if you can't nail a pose the first time, you have no desire to build your upper body strength, thank you very much.
Ashtanga follows a set sequence of postures, and can be done in a group or in a more personalized mysore-style practice. Photo by Artem Bali on Unsplash
3. Yin Yoga
Yin is the opposite of Yang. Where yang yoga styles are characterized by lots of movement and strenuous activity, yin is slow, quiet, and very supportive. It's meant to work the ligaments and connective tissues in your body that can't actually stretch. So, instead of quickly moving from pose to pose, in yin yoga you can hold a pose for anywhere from 2-10 minutes. It's encouraged to support your body with lots of props so as not to over-stress the joints and ligaments, but it's not a "restorative" class. Although, it can be very relaxing.
In yin classes the room is normally cool, so you may want to wear warm fuzzy socks and a cozy sweater. Many classes will also provide blankets and lovely pillows called "bolsters". The goal is to get your body into the "goldie-locks" version of the pose, where it's not too easy but not too hard, and support it there with your props, so you can focus on breathing and releasing tension and maybe slowly getting deeper into the shape over time. Almost all of the poses in yin yoga are seated or reclined.
You might love Yin Yoga if: You enjoy being swaddled in warm cozy clothes and blankets, you stress about getting into and out of poses quickly, you love the idea of chilling in a dim, cool space for an hour or so at the end of the day to relax, you want to make long-term sustainable gains in flexibility and joint mobility.
You might not love Yin Yoga if: You need movement or music to keep your mind from wandering, you have a lot of excess energy to burn off, quiet makes you uncomfortable.
I recommend Yin Yoga for: cross-training for any intense physical exercise like running, tennis, martial arts. Actually, Yin Yoga was developed by a martial artist to help with developing flexibility and range of motion!
I’ll be back next week with a few more styles! In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your experiences with yoga of any kind! You can comment here, or message me on instagram @megangillman.