How to Choose the Right Yoga Style and Online Resource for Your Goals
There are numerous different styles of yoga, from Hatha to Kundalini. Each practice has its own focus, whether that’s on the breath (pranayama), holding or connecting yoga poses (asanas), or experiencing spiritual awareness. But with so many styles of yoga, it can be hard to know which practice you will enjoy or which will help you reach your personal goals.
To help you decide which style of yoga you should choose, check out these popular yoga practices, what they involve, and the benefits of each.
Hatha Yoga
“Hatha” is a Sanskrit word that has two meanings in English:
According toEkhartYoga, Hatha yoga involves practicing slow movements, asanas (yoga postures), and pranayama (breathing techniques). Much of the esoteric methods are overlooked in favor of the physical practices when it comes to modern-day Hatha yoga adaptations.
If you’ve taken a yoga class before, you may be familiar with the names of some of the traditional Hatha yoga poses, including Shavasana (“Corpse Pose”) and Padmasana (“Lotus Pose”).
Practicing Hatha Yoga on YouTube
Hatha yoga is great for balance, strength training, and flexibility. Traditionally, Hatha yoga is also recognized for its healing benefits. If you want touse YouTube to learn the basics of asanas and pranayama, Hatha yoga is a great place to start your yoga journey.
Yoga With Adrieneis a popular YouTube channel that’s been offering free yoga videos since 2012. Adriene Mishler—the channel’s host and yoga teacher—offers yoga tutorials based on Hatha yoga. Her videos are accessible, suitable for all levels, and come with a level of Texan charm and humor from Adriene herself.
Vinyasa Yoga
In Sanskrit, Vinyasa translates to “To place” (“nyasa”) “in a special way” (“Vi”). Vinyasa yoga is about moving with intention and using the breath to experience a dynamic practice. The idea is to have a continuous flow between asanas, providing a vigorous workout.
Practicing Vinyasa Yoga With Online Videos
If you’re after a yoga practice that will work up a sweat, Vinyasa yoga is the one for you. The flow created by connecting individual poses is also great for cardiovascular health and can help improve your strength, flexibility, and balance.
Available online as well as in app form,YogaWorksoffers Vinyasa yoga practices alongside other popular styles such as Iyengar and Yin (more on these later).
YogaWorks offers a library of on-demand videos to follow as well as live yoga classes. you could easily find Vinyasa yoga videos using theSearchtab within the app, or by visiting the On Demand Library on the website and filtering the results byYoga Style > Vinyasa.
you’re able to explore content on the YogaWorks app before starting your free trial to confirm it’s right for you.
Download:YogaWorks forAndroid|iOS(Free, subscription available)
Iyengar Yoga
Named after Indian yoga teacher and author,B.K.S. Iyengar, Iyengar yoga concentrates on body alignment, timing, and the breath. With its roots in Hatha yoga, Iyengar yoga is a focused and precise practice that often calls for yoga aids (blocks, straps, chairs, etc.) to help achieve proper alignment. These props also help beginners access poses as they start their Iyengar yoga practice.
Practicing Iyengar Yoga With Apps
Aside from the physical benefits of Iyengar yoga (strength conditioning, improving flexibility, etc.), the precision and focus on body alignment strengthen the mind as well as the body. It’s great for practicing mindfulness and improving self-awareness and concentration, which can encourage a feeling of clarity and calmness.
The Gotta Yoga app offers a variety of yoga styles including Iyengar, Hatha, Yin, and Ashtanga, and is a great way to get started with the practice. To find Iyengar yoga content, navigate to theSearchtab, tap onStyles, and thenIyengarto bring up classes and programs that are based on Iyengar yoga. The paid subscription offers live yoga classes via Zoom and a wider variety of yoga content.
Download:Gotta Yoga forAndroid|iOS(Free, subscription available)
Yin yoga is a passive practice and is based on the Taoist concept of yin and yang. It’s a slow, contemplative, and meditative style of yoga practice. Asanas are held for a long period of time (sometimes up to five minutes), and there is a focus on the deep tissues of your body, rather than working the muscles as is found in Yang practices, such as Vinyasa yoga.
Unlike other styles of yoga, Yin yoga doesn’t aim for goals such as improved flexibility or stronger muscles. Instead, practicing Yin is about releasing tensions, relaxing, and promoting a calm mind.
Practicing Yin Yoga With Apps
If you want to relieve tension (in both the body and the mind), stretch, and relax, you should try Yin yoga. It’s a great practice to reduce stress and anxiety, improve mobility, circulation, and flexibility, andenjoy yoga without any focus on weight loss.
You can practice Yin yoga with the help of the free Yoga | Down Dog app, which allows you to fully personalize your yoga program. You can select Yin yoga as your preferred practice style and customize other preferences including yoga teacher voice, level, the pace of practice, time spent in Savasana, and optional music.
Download:Yoga | Down Dog forAndroid|iOS(Free, subscription available)
Kundalini Yoga
In Sanskrit, Kundalini means “coiled,” “twisted,” or “circular.” It’s thought that there is a dormant energy coiled at the base of the spine, and practicing Kundalini yoga is a way of releasing and harnessing this energy.
In Kundalini yoga, this energy is awakened and transported through the chakras of the body by practicing asanas, pranayama (specifically theUjjayibreath), chanting (mantras), and meditation. It’s a highly spiritual and energetic type of yoga practice.
Practicing Kundalini Yoga With Apps
While it can be a more challenging form of yoga practice, Kundalini yoga is good for increasing energy and vitality, reducing stress, improving spiritual well-being and awareness, and improving cognitive function. As with other types of yoga, it also benefits the body by promoting flexibility, strength, and balance.
To get started with Kundalini yoga, try the Glo | Yoga and Meditation app. With its free trial, you can access over 4,000 on-demand yoga classes, which include other styles of yoga (Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin, etc.) as well as live classes. You can customize your yoga content on Glo by selecting Kundalini during set-up. Otherwise, navigate to theSearchtab and scroll down to findExplore Kundalini.
Download:Glo | Yoga and Meditation forAndroid|iOS(Subscription required, free trial available)
Find the Right Yoga Style for Your Personal Goals
Thanks to the various yoga styles available, there is a practice suitable for everyone. To find a yoga style that suits you, think about your goals and what you want to achieve from your practice. Whether you want to improve your flexibility, heighten your spiritual awareness, or simply get stronger, there is a yoga practice that caters to you.
Working from home can cause a lot of strain physically and mentally. These yoga poses will ensure your body and mind stays active and healthy.
These plugins will make you wonder why you used Photoshop in the first place.
Taming data is easier than it looks.
You don’t need to fork out for expensive hardware to run an AI on your PC.
I found my TV was always listening—so I shut it down.
Revolutionize your driving experience with these game-changing CarPlay additions.
