Y is for Yoga Styles, Part 1

Written by: Carole Schor on August 9, 2011.

Yoga for Natural Health

It used to be that when you took a Yoga class, it meant Hatha Yoga and you did a series of stretches and poses, and then at the end you closed your eyes and laid there silently still.

Then the world of yoga changed. And now there are different forms and different teachers and different temperatures and different goals. It gets so confusing!!!!!! Here is a breakdown of the various types of yoga styles – and You get to choose!

Hatha Yoga for Natural Health

Hatha Yoga – Still the same after all these years. It’s slow-paced, gentle, and composed of the basic yoga poses. Hatha Yoga generally refers to the postures, or physical yoga movement, one of the eight limbs of traditional yoga practice.

Vinyasa Flow Postures

Vinyasa- Vinyasa means breath-synchronized movement and is more of an active style yoga combined with breathing techniques. A series of Sun Salutations is done, combining the breath with the movement. Following the flow of the Sun Salutations is a more vigorous series of poses or stretches.

Ashtanga Series

Ashtanga – Ashtanga is also called Flow Yoga or Power Yoga. It is a fast-paced, intense style of yoga with a standard series of poses done in a certain order each time. Ashtanga yoga is physically demanding and flows from one movement to the other without stopping.