Yoga is a South Asian spiritual practice involving body movement, breathing exercises, and meditation. In the US, most yoga classes focus on the asana, or body movement, aspect of yoga. Here are five types of yoga you can try, depending on whether you want to increase your flexibility or reduce anxiety. But instead of holding still in poses, you 'flow,' between poses in continuous movement, says Arundhati Baitmangalkarlead teacher and founder of the Aham Yoga studio. Moving fluidly from one pose to another helps you sync up your breath with your movement — creating a calming effect, says Baitmangalkar. In fact, many people find this style of yoga to be a kind of moving meditation, says Jesal Parikhyoga teacher and founder of Yogawalla. In a small studypeople with depression had significantly decreased symptoms after doing vinyasa yoga twice per week for two months. Vinyasa yoga may also be a good option if you're looking to build up your endurance. It's often taught in a strong and athletic way, creating a sweat-inducing, cardiovascular effect, says Parikh.
Yoga has come a long way in the past few years. You might have even heard about — or tried — some of the more modern and unusual iterations of the ancient practice: hip-hop yoga, HIIT yoga, and naked yoga…just to name a few. Yoga practice is thousands of years old. However, it only arrived in the US in the late s and only firmly took root within the last few decades.
T he myriad benefits of yoga — including lower blood pressure, increased strength and bone density and reduced anxiety — should be enough to get anyone on the mat. However, as a yoga teacher I meet many people who hesitate to embrace this ancient form of fitness due to some pervasive myths. Yoga is too slow and boring; it's practised in stuffy, incense-filled rooms — or in 90C heat; it's just for girls and people who are into chanting. And — most misguided of all — yoga is only for the flexible. The truth is that there is a class to suit you whatever your body type or temperament.
Should you try Ashtanga or Iyengar? The array of options can be enough to scare newbies off the mat for good. Different types of yoga might be best for different people. So with all the choices out there, where do you start? In many studios, hatha classes are considered a gentler form of yoga. Best for: Beginners.