Yoga today is presented in many different directions and colors. And although it is essentially more than just practicing postures. For many people, the yoga path begins with learning and practicing postures or asanas. The benefits are widely known today that yoga can help you find a healthy balance between body and mind. However, due to the wide range of yoga schools, courses, books, and Youtube videos available, it can be easy for a beginner to lose track of what is going on. There are many different yoga styles available today. I list my most favorite yoga styles I tried in my life and I explain them in detail below.
Hatha Yoga
There are many different yoga styles, but hardly any is as well known as Hatha Yoga. It is one of the first yoga styles that I tried in my life being 18 years old in Lithuania. Ha-Tha stands for the connection and balance between the sun (action/activity) and the moon (mindfulness/looking at oneself), which aims to bring the body and breath under control. Mainly Asanas (body exercises) and Pranayama (breath exercises) are taught… This style includes the sun salutation, the cobra, and other such exercises that are classically associated with yoga in Western society.
Hatha Yoga for beginners
Unlike many other styles, teachers do not give physical corrections. The role of the teacher is to give direction and encourage students to create the poses themselves. Hatha yoga is good for beginners, as there are exercises for all levels of fitness and age. Of course, beginners should not immediately try more difficult exercises such as the crow, but basically, anyone can start with Hatha-Yoga. The yoga poses are usually held longer than in most ‘dynamic’ styles and are therefore more of a ‘calm’ style.
Hot Yoga
Hot Yoga is a collective term for all other intensive and dynamic yoga classes that are practiced in a room with at least 35 degrees to simulate the climate in India as well as possible. A lesson lasts about one and a half hours, during which the same fixed series of 26 yoga postures are normally performed dynamically twice. It is a very intense and dynamic style where you sweat a lot and eliminate many toxins in the body. The heat in the room combined with the intensity of the exercises makes this form very demanding and therefore not suitable for everyone. People with high blood pressure or heart problems, for example, should be careful with this type of yoga.
I’ve been practicing hot yoga for at least 5 years in Berlin and I highly recommend it for those who want to get fast results on their bodies and for those who like extreme intensity and a feeling to be born again.
Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga is a very quiet, passive style of yoga. You practice it without muscle tension and mainly in a sitting or lying position. The Yin Yoga effect in its definition is characterized by a long holding of the Asanas. You stay in one position for about three to five minutes. In this way, you achieve a gentle but effective stretching without any pressure to perform. You stretch muscles, ligaments, and tendons very thoroughly. The long holding also involves the deeper-lying connective tissue and can help very well against back pain too. You achieve higher freedom of movement, suppleness of the joints, and become soft and flexible.
Yin yoga postures
The desired Yin Yoga effect lies in absolute relaxation. You let your breath flow freely and feel inside yourself. Because Yin Yoga only uses particularly gentle postures, the total number of possible exercises is smaller compared to other yoga styles.
In Yin Yoga, yoga help tools such as a yoga wheel, yoga bolster, or yoga block are often used to help hold the positions.
Usually, I recommend Yin Yoga for beginners or for those who prefer a slow, calming flow. After the Yin Yoga session, you will feel deep relaxation, bliss, and inner peace.
Yantra Yoga
The Tibetan yoga of movement includes physical movements, breathing, and concentration exercises. It improves the physical and mental condition of each individual by harmonizing the body, energy, and mind. Yantra Yoga is a complete spiritual path to integrate the profound essence of the Dzogchen teachings into the three points of the existence of body, energy, and mind.
Since I remember myself, I’ve been always attracted to Tibetan culture, it’s traditions, and aesthetics. Years passed and I discovered Yantra Yoga after reading a book about Dzogchen practice. And this is how I joined the Berlin Dzogchen Community and started practicing with them.
What is Yantra Yoga?
Yantra Yoga, also called Yoga of Movement, is a system of Tibetan Yoga with a long tradition. It is based on the text “The union of sun and moon”.
In the practice of Yantra Yoga, you use body, voice, and mind: With your body, you take up positions and perform movements, your “voice” is dedicated to various pranayamas or breathing exercises, and your mind is used for concentration or visualization with the aim of moving beyond judgments and discursive thoughts, which is called contemplation. When you use all three aspects of the existence – body, voice, and mind – together, you have the opportunity to reach a real understanding, real knowledge of your original state – your true nature. This is the true meaning of the term Yoga in Yantra Yoga.
In Yantra Yoga, the practitioner connects the positions and movements of his body with the breath. In this way his energy is coordinated and harmonized, the mind relaxes and finds natural balance. In this way, the practitioner creates the basis for reaching the state of contemplation.
Acro Yoga
Acroyoga is not a purely spiritual form of Yoga. Acrobatics, dancing lightness, elements of Thai massage, breathing techniques, and forms of Yoga exercises: In acro yoga, you’ll find a bit of everything. Through the partner exercises, you learn to get involved with the other person and thus gain more trust in your partner, but also in yourself.
In Acroyoga you literally take off! Because at the center of this yoga style is the element of flying. Acro comes from Greek and means something like “high, sublime”. So you float above your partner, the base.
About 4 years ago I had my first contact with acro yoga (+ partner acrobatics) through physiotherapy practice for my lower back pain. My physiotherapy coach was a master of it and explained and showed the basics of acro yoga. It left a lasting impression on me. Since that first time, my physiotherapy sessions were based on learning and practicing acro yoga and it really reduced my back pain at that time. This style is also recommended as couples therapy as a way to trust each other through the balance and move. It creates closeness & trust, trains strength & balance, and simply makes you happy!
Vinyasa Yoga
Vinyasa Yoga is a modern, dynamic, and body-focused yoga style. Breathing and movement should be coordinated in such a way that a meditative state of mind results. Vinyasa Flow Yoga is strongly inspired by Ashtanga and Power Yoga as a yoga style. As with these two dynamic forms, the teacher guides you from one pose to the next without stopping in between to discuss the subtleties of each posture. The difference, however, is that vinyasa has no fixed rows and with new creativity new combinations and sequences of postures are created.
Vinyasa yoga sequences
A Vinyasa sequence is composed of different yoga postures and small sequences that train holistically or specific parts of the body. For example, the sessions are inspired by the evening and morning, by the rhythm of certain music, by the sun and moon, and even by the movements you make.
In Vinyasa Yoga, the focus of attention is on breathing (Pranayama) and movement. The rule of thumb is “one breath, one movement“. By means of a flowing connection of the individual yoga postures (asanas) and the coordinated breathing, a meditative state emerges from the movement. A Vinyasa sequence flows actively, body-centered and therefore provides a lot of fire.
Lately, I’m discovering more and more interesting, progressive vinyasa styles and sequences that make my body stretch easier and help me go in the postures lighter than usual.
Other yoga styles
Apart from all the above-mentioned yoga styles, I must mention Pilates, even if it’s not a style of yoga. But it lays very close to it and it’s extremely helpful for people with back problems and wrong body posture.
Pilates
Pilates is a figure-shaping total body workout in which not individual muscles are addressed in isolation, but entire muscle chains. It combines strength with flexibility in a unique way. Muscles are stretched, the body’s center and the whole body silhouette are tightened. It leads to a better posture and balance and harmonizes movement sequences in everyday life as well as when practicing other sports.
My yoga training
Since 2 years ago I stopped going to the yoga studios and started practicing yoga at home by combining all the styles I know and tried in my 16 years of experience. My usual practice lasts for about an hour. I start with breathing exercises, then warming-up my body in a style of yantra yoga and continue with a sun salutation sequence from hatha yoga. Later I combine various postures from different styles for a full-body workout. Usually, it is a mix of Pilates, Hatha Yoga, and Vinyasa.
If you haven’t tried yoga before, it is highly recommended to learn it with a professional teacher in order to avoid possible damages to your body.
Tell me about your experiences! Which styles of yoga you have tried and which ones are your favorite?
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