Primer on styles of yoga

There is a yoga style for everyone

I'm excited to share that I've been invited to teach a class at the Yoga Expo Global Conference! Over the weekend of March 13/14, the Yoga Expo will offer over 80 live yoga classes and workshops from teachers worldwide. This conference is usually held at the Broward Convention Center in Ft. Lauderdale and attended by over 2,000 yogis. This year, the Yoga Expo is offered virtually, making it super convenient to attend (and to teach).

The Yoga Expo is a great way to sample different yoga styles and teachers. You can hop in and out of over 80 live yoga classes and workshops. On Saturday afternoon, I'll teach a "Beginner Yoga for Women over 45" class.

What amazes me when looking at the Yoga Expo schedule is the huge variety of yoga offerings. Some of these are yoga styles I've never heard of, such as Trap Yoga, Himalayan Kriya Yoga, or Aerial Mukti Yoga. It reinforces my belief that there is a yoga style for everyone. It's also a reminder to explore different styles of yoga and different types of yoga teachers to find the style and teacher that resonates with you. If you've taken a yoga class once before but walked away thinking "this yoga thing isn't for me", you might want to sample different styles and different teachers.

Every Sunday morning, I teach a virtual Vinyasa-style yoga class. What is Vinyasa style? Vinyasa is a flowing sequence of yoga poses coordinated with the movements of the breath. I teach a slow-flowing version of vinyasa, focusing on moving deliberately and connecting with our bodies rather than getting an aerobic workout.

My students often describe my teaching style as having clear and highly descriptive verbal cues, easy-to-follow demonstrations, and being clear of woo-woo and pixie dust. If you expect a spiritual discussion about yoga philosophy in my classes, you may look elsewhere. Most of my yoga students are high-achieving professionals, mostly in their 50s and 60s, who want to spend time with me and the community of fellow students to de-stress, become more flexible, and get out of their heads (at least temporarily).

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of yoga styles being offered, you're not alone. When I started practicing yoga, I certainly was confused. Let me highlight some of the more popular yoga styles aside from Vinyasa yoga:
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Ashtanga yoga. Ashtanga yoga is a dynamic, strong, and highly structured vinyasa-style of yoga. There are six Ashtanga yoga pose series and each student must master every pose of the first series before moving onto the second series.
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Hatha yoga. Hatha yoga has a gentler and slower pace. It's therefore also suitable for beginners. It incorporates yoga poses and breathing exercises. Poses can be held longer, making this a more relaxing option. It's quite similar to vinyasa yoga.
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Kundalini yoga. This relaxing form of yoga incorporates poses, breathing exercises, meditation, and mantra recitation. It's a very spiritual practice. Movements generally focus on the spine and belly areas. It includes slow breathing and meditation to create positive energy throughout the body.
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Power yoga. This style became very popular in the US in the 1990s. It's an intensely rigorous yoga style focused on fitness and providing an aerobic workout. It's usually based on Ashtanga yoga. This type of yoga is often offered at gyms and is considered the furthest away from the spiritual yoga teachings from India.
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Hot yoga or Bikram yoga. Hot yoga is any yoga in a heated room (95-108 degrees). It's a vigorous style of yoga and causes heavy sweating, elevating the heart rate more than other types of yoga. Bikram yoga is a type of hot yoga where students work through 26 yoga poses and several breathing exercises. Given founder Bikram Choudhury's recent legal troubles, many yoga studios have dropped the name Bikram and renamed those classes to hot yoga.
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Yin yoga is a very slow (but not necessarily gentle) style of yoga that targets the deep connective tissues. It is categorized as a passive form of yoga instead of an active one. Yin yoga students use a variety of poses that are done in sitting or lying positions. Poses are held for as long as three to five minutes and can result in intense sensations.
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Restorative yoga. Restorative yoga is one of the most relaxing and calming forms of yoga. I refer to it as "yoga for the nervous system." All poses are done lying or sitting on the ground and held for several minutes. Typical poses may include gentle twisting and bending forwards or backward while sitting or lying. Unlike other forms of yoga, this style uses many props, including pillows and foam blocks, to support the body and allow for total relaxation and deeper stretches.
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Best,
Christine

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