More Than Stretching: An Overview of the Different Types of Yoga

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different types of yoga

How do you respond to stress?

Chances are you have an acute stress response, otherwise known as a fight or flight reaction. In a series of chain reactions, your heart, breathing, and blood pressure all begin to increase.

Luckily, studies show you can train your brain to respond to stress with a relaxation response instead of an acute stress response. How is this possible?

Meditation, breathwork, and different types of yoga can all help rewire your brain. However, you’ll have to be careful to choose the right type of yoga practice for your skill and fitness level and you can also search for a yoga teacher near me as per your requirements, to get regular advice on ways to improve your yoga postures.

Read on to find out what yoga style is right for you!

Bikram Yoga

Try turning up the heat with a Bikram yoga session. When it comes to learning different types of yoga, there’s nothing quite like a 90 minute Bikram class in a heated room.

Along with the room being hot, the humidity is also set at 40% to help mimic the climate of India. Once inside the studio, you’ll notice that the room has carpets and the walls are lined with mirrors.

The soft carpet will be easier on your joints than the hardwood floors other yoga practices use. Unlike other yoga classes, the instructor won’t be adjusting or correcting the students.

Instead, you’re expected to adjust yourself. There are 26 different poses and they all take place in a specific sequence.

You might hear someone refer to hot yoga as a Bikram class, however, they’re two different types of yoga. Hot yoga classes don’t use the same poses or follow the same sequence as Bikram classes do.

Aerial Yoga Practice

Uplift your spirit by taking an aerial yoga class! One of the best parts about aerial yoga is that you don’t need any previous yoga experience. It’s common for yoga studios to offer classes just for first-timers.

During the class, you’ll learn how to properly use the silk wraps to support your body for different positions. Have fun defying gravity as you try out different yoga poses and inversions with your feet off the ground!

Aerial yoga is a great class for people who need a low impact exercise. For instance, if you have knee problems, an aerial class is easy on the joints.

Finally, if you’re new to yoga, talking an aerial class will help normal mat poses become easier to master. After all, if you can do a pose hanging in the air, what’s to stop you from doing it on the ground?

Beginners Yoga

You’ll be happy to know that even introductory yoga sessions can yield impressive health benefits. Here are a few different health benefits of yoga:

  • More flexibility
  • Weight loss
  • Injury protection
  • Balanced metabolism
  • Muscle tone and strength
  • Increased energy

You can also use yoga for recovery from some type of addiction. If you’re brand new to yoga, we suggest finding a beginner’s class for your first experience. Yoga is all about aligning your body and finding balance. The slow pace of a beginner’s class will help you absorb the information. As you continue to build your knowledge of different poses, you’ll have a strong foundation to grow from.

Power Yoga

Are you ready for a challenge? Power yoga is a wonderful way to push yourself past whatever it is that might be limiting you.

Whether you need to infuse your week with positive energy, or you’re trying to burn a ton of calories, power yoga can help. During the class, you’ll be constantly moving as you quickly take on new poses.

Power yoga has a fast pace and the main goal is to build strength. The teacher will interact with the students, making sure their posture is right for each pose.

The teacher will also have the freedom of switching things up. Instead of following a set of predetermined poses like in Bikram, power yoga is all about variety.

Chair Yoga

Chair yoga is a great choice for anyone who’s having difficulty with their strength, flexibility, or balance. Every year three million adults suffer serious injuries from falling.

Thankfully, by regularly practicing chair yoga, you can start to rebuild your balance, making falls less likely. Derived from traditional forms of yoga, the main difference with chair yoga is that you’ll use a chair for support. As you begin to familiarize yourself with different poses, you can rely on the chair less and less.

Finally, chair yoga is also a prime choice for people who sit all day for work. By learning a few chair poses, you can incorporate mini yoga sessions into your workday without ever having to leave your desk.

Hatha Yoga

Are you looking for the ultimate zen experience? Hatha yoga is the type of yoga people usually think of when they think of taking a yoga class. During a Hatha class, you’ll move slowly through a variety of poses, while also focusing on your breath.

Hatha classes also have dedicated a portion of the class for stillness and meditation. While all of the different types of yoga will make you feel great, Hatha classes have a particularly calming effect. If you’ve had an especially stressful week, a 90 minute Hatha session will help melt the tension out of your mind and body.

Vinyasa Yoga

Be like a peaceful river, flowing from one pose to the next with a vinyasa yoga class. Often called “flow yoga”, vinyasa yoga involves smoothly transitioning into new poses while also focusing on your breath.

While vinyasa is similar to power yoga, they’re not the same type of practice. Vinyasa yoga tends to be more physically demanding and intense. The pace of the class can either be slow or fast depending on the teacher’s preference.

Explore the Different Types of Yoga

What type of yoga style sounds right for you? Are you leaning towards taking an intense, fast-paced class? Or are you ready to go with the flow in a more meditative environment?

While it’s great to read about the different types of yoga, nothing compares to gaining first-hand yoga experience. So go ahead and start looking for a yoga class near you today!

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