Find Your Yoga Style

A classical style of gentle Hatha Yoga that uses breathing and postures accompanied by silent, positive affirmations to awaken, experience, and begin to control the subtle energies within us. Ananda yoga is a relatively gentle, inward experience, not an athletic or aerobic practice. It was developed by Swami Kriyananda.

Anusara (a-nu-SAR-a) means "following your heart," or "to move with the current of divine will." It is a style of yoga developed by John Friend, whose main Hatha influence was B.K.S. Iyengar. Anusara Yoga is described as heart-oriented, spiritually inspiring, yet grounded in a deep knowledge of outer- and inner-body alignment.

Often called Power Yoga, Ashtanga was first developed by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and is an aerobic, muscle-shaping, mind-sculpting, physically demanding workout. Students move through a set series of flows, moving from one posture to another to build strength, flexibility, and stamina. Ashtanga often appeals to athletes and those who enjoy high-energy exercise.

Founder Bikram Choudhury's yoga is hot and consists of a series of 26 asanas (each held for at least 10 seconds) and two pranayamas, sometimes twice. The series is designed to warm and stretch muscles, ligaments, and tendons in a naturally progressive order.

Combines the activities of Body-Mind Centering and yoga poses through the conscious embodiment of the student's cells, tissues, body systems, and developmental patterns. Proponents of Body-Mind Centering believe that when students initiate poses in this embodied way, they execute each pose as an expression of his or her present state of being.

Eclectic (Classical) Hatha Yoga

Rooted in the Eight-Fold Path of Yoga taught by Patanjali and the Yoga Sutra. On this path, Hatha Yoga is used to prepare for the higher spiritual practices of Raja Yoga. Sometimes called Classical Yoga.

Forrest Yoga

Forrest Yoga (trademark), developed by Ana Forrest, is a style of Hatha Yoga focused on developing strength, awakening the senses, and becoming connected with one’s deep core.
Asanas are practiced in vigorous sequences, and poses are often held for prolonged periods of time to encourage sweating. Deep and proper breathing is an important part of asana practice.

Gentle / Restorative Yoga

Gentle Yoga is a general term used to describe slower paced Hatha Yoga practice. Deep and smooth breathing is also emphasized.Gentle Yoga has been used (where appropriate) for physical rehabilitation, arthritis, for patients confined to a bed, and for individuals with low energy levels.

Emphasize breathing and meditation as well as postures. Swami Satchidananda, who led the crowds at the original Woodstock festival in an opening chant of "Om," developed Integral Yoga. It is the style used by Dr. Dean Ornish in his groundbreaking work on reversing heart disease.

ISHTA—Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda— is a joyful, beginner-friendly mix of 15 kinds of yoga, including athletic Ashtanga, flowing Viniyoga, and precise Iyengar, combined with Tantric meditation techniques and ayurvedic practices to rebalance one's life. It was developed by Alan Finger and his father Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger.

Emphasizes posture and the development of balance and alignment. To support students' explorations of postures, Iyengar yoga makes use of a wide variety of props: belts, blocks, pillows, and balls. Iyengar is one of the most widely practiced yoga techniques in the West. It was developed in India by B.K.S. Iyengar and responds to individuals with varying limitations and capacities for accomplishing postures. Iyengar Yoga is noted for great attention to detail and the precise alignment of postures.

Kripalu Yoga puts great emphasis on the mechanics of yoga—proper breath and alignment—as well as on the inner, spiritual dimensions of yoga practice. Students are encouraged to honor "the wisdom of the body" and to work according to the limits of their individual flexibility and strength. There are three stages in Kripalu yoga. Stage one focuses on learning the postures and exploring your body's abilities. Stage two involves holding the postures for an extended time, developing concentration and inner awareness. Stage three is called "Meditation in Motion," in which movement from one posture to another arises unconsciously and spontaneously. Kripalu yoga was developed by Yogi Amrit Desai, who was inspired by his guru, Swami Kripalvanandaji, a Kundalini Yoga master from India.

Kundalini Yoga in the tradition of Yogi Bhajan, who brought the style to the West in 1969, focuses on the controlled release of kundalini energy, thought to reside at the base of the spine. This style of yoga pays particular attention to breathwork, which aims to get energy moving quickly, but it also involves classic poses, coordination of breath and movement, and meditation.

The focus of Natural Yoga, developed by Dinabandhu and Ila Sarley, is to learn to use the practice of yoga not only as a physical discipline to tone the body and calm the mind, but also as a personal spiritual practice. Natural Yoga is the practice of awakening, attuning to, and being guided by the natural intelligence or life force within us.

Nidra Yoga

Sometimes Yoga Nidra is inaccurately used to describe a variety of relaxation practices. However, to properly practice traditional Yoga Nidra (‘Yogic Sleep’) the empty mind must enter a state of conscious deep sleep (also called the ‘Forth State’). One is fully aware of one's own pure Awareness but nothing else. There are no thoughts and no worldly impressions.

Partner Yoga is an interactive yoga practice in which the students may be long-term committed partners or newly met attendees at a partner yoga workshop. Asanas in partner yoga are generally familiar yoga postures performed, perhaps with adaptations, together by two people. Partners may differ in size, shape, strength, flexibility, and experience. Partner Yoga emphasizes building trust in and sensitivity to relationship while exploring the balance, centeredness, and healing qualities of yoga practice.

Power Yoga uncovers the root causes of stress and provides the means to conquer it, demonstrates the value of exercise and attitude, and harnesses the power of discipline and inner balance. It is a muscle-shaping, mind-sculpting workout that crosses all borders and appeals to any person who has the desire for true and permanent change in his or her body and life.

This is a gentle, calming, therapeutic kind of yoga that uses props to support the body to deepen the benefits of the poses. It is a soothing and nurturing practice that promotes the effects of conscious relaxation.

Sivananda, one of the world's largest schools of yoga, is very supportive to beginners. Developed by Swami Vishnu-Devananda and named for his teacher, Swami Sivananda, Sivananda Yoga follows a set structure that includes breathing, classic asanas, and relaxation, as well as principles of diet and positive thinking. The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, written by Swami Vishnu-Devananda and first published in 1960, was one of the first, and continues to be one of the best, introductions to yoga available.

Svaroopa is not an athletic endeavor, but a development of consciousness using the body as a tool. Developed by Y.E.S. founder, Rama Berch, Svaroopa Yoga teaches significantly different ways of doing familiar poses; it emphasizes opening the spine by beginning at the base of the spine and progressing through each spinal area in turn. Each pose integrates the foundational principles of asana, anatomy, and yoga philosophy, and develops the transcendent inner experience, called svaroopa. This is a consciousness-oriented yoga that also promotes healing and transformation.

Viniyoga is not so much a name of a yoga style as it is a methodology for developing a personal practice using asanas, pranayama, meditation, ritual, and prayer. Viniyoga, which was developed by Krishnamacharya and is carried on by his son, T.K.V. Desikachar, respects individual needs and capabilities. Key characteristics of the asana practice are the careful integration of the flow of breath with movement of the spine and thoughtful sequencing of asanas. Function is stressed over form.

Resources: The Omega Institute, Rhineback, NY

The International Yoga Centers Directory