What are the different types of yoga and what do they mean?
Yoga has been a popular form of exercise in the United States since the 1980s. For thousands of years, it has been an important discipline in Hinduism, Jainism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Buddhism.
The purpose of Yoga is to transform your mind and body. It is a spiritual, mental, and physical practice that goes all the way back to ‘pre-vedic’ Indian practices and traditions. Records going all the way back to 400CE show that early philosophy and abstemious practices were being utilized by people of that time period. Meaning, people would go beyond themselves in order to achieve inner tranquility.
By the 1980s, people in the western world began using yoga as a physical exercise. Through the years, the philosophy of yoga has never changed:
- Humans exist based on three bodies (casual, physical, and subtle).
- Humans also exist on five sheets (food sheet, mind sheet, bliss, intellect, and prana-breath).
In yoga, energy flows through various channels of energy. This energy becomes more populated in chakras.
There are several different types of yoga. The three most popular forms of yoga are:
- Vinyasa yoga
- Hatha yoga
- Anusara yoga
Vinyasa Yoga
In vinyasa yoga, movement becomes one with the breath. Also called “flow yoga,” movements become synchronized and become a fluid dance. Each pose and movement is synchronized with the breath. A yoga expert will instruct you to move from one pose to another pose via an inhale and exhale of the breath.
Some of the poses that you will be introduced to include:
- The cat-cow stretch
- Sun salutation
- Plank
- Chaturanga
- Upward facing dog
Hatha Yoga
Hatha yoga uses gentle and basic movements, in which there are no fluid movements between the poses. This class is mainly a stretching period with breathing exercises and seated meditation. If you are just beginning yoga, hatha yoga would be a great class to start off with.
Anusara Yoga
Anusara yoga was founded in 1997 by John Friend, an American yogi. Anusara means “flowing with grace,” and it is quite popular in America.
Anusara yoga is a philosophy that instills in us that ‘every being is good.’
In this class of yoga, you are taught to open your heart and adhere to the five Universal Principals of Alignment.
The Universal Principals of Alignment are:
- Opening to grace and then setting the foundation.
- Utilizing muscular energy.
- Accessing the inner spiral (expanding spiral).
- Accessing the outer spiral (contracting spiral).
- Accessing your organic energy.
Anusara yoga is a very positive experience. However it is not an easy practice. Anusara uses a lot of the vinyasa principles and also entails the universal principles of alignment.
If you are looking to better your spiritual and physical well-being, anusara yoga is definitely for you.
