Choosing a yoga class can seem quite daunting. There’s just so much choice out there. Different styles, different teachers, different vibes. My advice would be to give them a whirl. After all, you don’t know what you like until you try it.
Here’s a quick rundown of the main yoga styles, followed by an explanation of what I teach at the RenewMe classes.
Hatha Yoga – The most popular form of yoga in the West, Hatha is great for beginners. Meaning ‘Sun and Moon’, Hatha is the starting point for all other yoga styles, offering a general grounding in ‘physical’ yoga. With breath work, relaxation and poses (known as Asanas) bound together into a sequence, Hatha classes are great fun but are typically slower, and less challenging than some of the other styles which grew out of it.
Sivananda Yoga – A traditional Hatha-based yoga, which incorporates breathing, exercise, relaxation and stillness, nutrition, meditation, and positive thinking.
Ashtanga Yoga – A flowing and physically demanding practice with poses in a set sequence. Founded by Sri Pattabhi Joi, Ashtanga yoga helps to build strength and stamina.
Vinyasa Flow Yoga – Focuses on moving elegantly from one Ashtanga pose to another in one flowing and continuous sequence. The poses may be held for varying times and are choreographed together so sequences incorporate variety.
Iyengar Yoga – Founded by BKS Iyengar – this style is all about finding the correct alignment of the body through small, precise movements using yoga supports such as bricks, bolsters and chairs. Poses are held for a long time and can be very therapeutic if dealing with injuries or conditions.
Anusara Yoga – Created by John Friend and based on Iyengar principles, Anusara focuses alignment on the ‘spirals’ within the body. Aiming to bring about stability and softness, it encourages you to find joy and grace in your practice by connecting more strongly with the mind, body and heart.
Kundalini Yoga – Has a strong spiritual aspect. Kundalini uses chanting, mantras and a strong focus on breathing practices. These are designed to release the ‘energetic coil’ or ‘Kundalini’ in the lower body, encouraging it to ascend up towards the crown.
Restorative/Yin Yoga – A slow-paced class with fewer poses held for longer periods of time – often between 2 to 5 minutes. Yoga supports are often used to encourage a meditative or inward-turning practice. The body is encouraged to relax deeply.
Bikram/Hot Yoga – As its name suggests, the class is held in a sauna-like room which encourages the body to sweat and detoxify. Bikram has set poses that are followed in a set sequence, while Hot Yoga may offer a little more variety.
Non-Physical Yoga
Many yoga classes incorporate some aspects of non-physical yoga too – which are essentially the spiritual and moral foundations of the yogic life. You’ll find some styles and some teachers will major on this more than others. There are basically four kinds of non-physical yoga:
Raja Yoga (Meditation – liberation through self-knowledge and control)
Jnana Yoga (Wisdom – the path of self-realisation)
Bhakti Yoga (Devotion – living with love and compassion)
Karma Yoga (Action – providing unconditional and unselfish service to others)
RenewME Classes
Having trained in and experienced many yoga styles, my teaching is built around the aspects I love the most: the spirit and spirals of Anusara; the resting and stillness of Sivananda; the dynamic strength of Ashtanga; the flow of Vinyasa and the softness and surrender of Restorative/yin yoga. I combine these to offer variety, challenge and introspection in your practice.