What Type Of Yoga Is Right For You?
March 2, 2009 by admin
Filed under Featured Articles, Types of Yoga
So, you’re ready to take the plunge and start practicing yoga. But, beyond that, you’re stumped.
It’s true, there are so many different types of yoga, and although they’re all based on the same poses, their approaches are all different.
In deciding which type of yoga to try, you need to take several things into account; your likes, your dislikes, you personality, and your physical condition.
Here’s a guide to help you decide which type of yoga is right for you. If you are:
A Beginner, you’ve never tried yoga and want to see what it’s all about while taking it slow, you should try-
Hatha
Integral
Kripalu
Injured, meaning you have an injury or condition that may need special attention, you should try-
Iyengar
Mellow
A traditionalist, meaning you like the old traditions and the fact that yoga was all discovered by an Indian guru, you should try-
Ashtanga
Iyengar
Integral
Kripalu
Kundalini
A spiritual Seeker, meaning you’ll put up with the physical if you must, but are more interested in hearing some uplifting teachings and getting in touch with your spiritual side, you should try-
Anusara
Jivamukti
Kundalini
Meticulous, meaning you appreciate a more precise instruction, you should try-
Anusara
Iyengar
Self-motivated, meaning you like to learn how to do it and then be on your own, you should try-
Ashtanga
Singer
A Free Spirit, meaning you like all sorts of different experiences, you should try-
Vinyasa
A “Type A” Personality (anal), meaning you need to know exactly what you should expect and precisely how long you will be doing it, you should try-
Ashtanga
Bikram
A Gym Enthusiast, meaning you only feel that you got something out of it if you’re hot and sweaty, you should try-
Bikram/Hot
Power Yoga
Vinyasa
A Gymnast, meaning you enjoy being bent like a pretzel, you should try
Ashtanga
Forrest
A Participator, meaning, for the purposes of this article, that you enjoy chanting with a classroom of people, you should try-
Jivamukti
Kundalini
April 5th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Yeah! You are right. Everyone must take care before going to yoga. It means … first realize your health and stamina to apply yoga on yourself. Thanks for important and informative article. I think, it is just not an article but also the warm up before moving towards yoga.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:01 am
What a great roundup! I’ve never seen the types of yoga broken down by personality type and it makes a great deal of sense to take that approach since the varied forms have such substantial differences among them. I’m going to look into Kundalini!
May 6th, 2009 at 1:31 am
LOL, I didn’t know I was a “type A” personality (anal)!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
I’ve recently started to practice Astanga yoda and I love it! I would recommend anyone to try yoga, you can notice a difference in your body after only a few sessions!
May 20th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Wow! I didn’t realize that there are so many different types of Yoga. I found the list very helpful, but it would be nice also to add a little about the technique or the focus of the technique. Also, you could put a link right next to the different types of yoga to help the reader to expand their own knowledge easily.
I really enjoyed the video clip of laughter yoga. It really brought some joy into my day seeing all those lovely faces.:-D
thanks for your helpful post
July 21st, 2009 at 10:38 am
Hi, yes great summary, I am a big fan of the Jivamukti method, it is a vigorous practise. Classes include Vinyasa, hands-on adjustments, breathing, meditation, chanting with very inspiring teachers.
But just found out about KALARI YOGA, which is not part of the list yet. I am going to try it out this week and will keep you updated, how it was and which category it falls into.
Kalari Yoga is a mystical tantric form of Yoga which evolved from Vadakkan Sampradayam (Northern Style Kalarippayat) and cannot be seperated from Kalarippayat. According to legend its purpose in the practice was to combine the advantages of Hatha Yoga with those of Kalarippayat to enhance the physical and spiritual growth of the Kalari-warriors of medieval Kerala.