“The most popular yoga” – When you try yoga for the first or second time, you may be wondering which type of yoga will best suit your needs. Well, this article might be able to help you choose or even try all the movements as part of your “yoga journey.” The following is a review of the popular yoga styles that you may often hear or encounter at the yoga studio in your area.
The most popular yoga according to your needs.
The term yoga comes from the Sanskrit “yuj,” which means the union of the body with the consciousness in mind. You will do physical exercises, breathing, relaxation, and meditation when doing yoga. This condition aims to develop harmony between body, mind, and the surrounding environment.
The various benefits of yoga have been felt for centuries by multiple groups. Yoga is also growing thanks to the influence of numerous cultures. As a result, various popular yoga movements have been created, such as the following.
1. Hatha yoga
Most of the common types of yoga that you do today are included in Hatha yoga. It is because the basic movements of yoga usually focus on aligning physical exercise with breathing.
If you have heard of Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Power yoga, these yoga styles can also be included as Hatha yoga. Although it is possible in practice, the tempo or pace of Hatha yoga will feel calmer or slower.
Hatha yoga is suitable for those who have just started trying yoga classes. Doing Hatha yoga exercises will allow you to recognize basic postures and recognize the names of yoga poses or movements more easily. Moreover, you can also deepen each yoga pose better because of the calm tempo.
2. Vinyasa yoga
This type of yoga usually flows dynamically and requires coordination between the body, posture, and breath. Vinyasa yoga usually has a faster tempo and freestyle and aka does not have a standard sequence as long as you follow the practice.
However, your yoga teacher or instructor usually guides the class from start to finish with a specific purpose. For example, in today’s session to strengthen the arm muscles, in the next session, focus on the backbend, or in one session, you get a helpful pose for all parts of your body.
Vinyasa yoga is suitable for those who like spontaneity and dynamic and don’t really like routine. You will always feel surprised at each Vinyasa yoga class session because of the different sets of postures.
Several types of yoga are included in the Vinyasa yoga category because they have dynamic movements and connect posture and breath movements. The types of yoga movements include Ashtanga, Jivamukti, Baptiste, and Power yoga.
3. Ashtanga yoga
Rather than Hatha yoga, which tends to be slow, Ashtanga yoga is a dynamic, intense, and often very athletic type of yoga. In Ashtanga yoga, there is a series of poses that you must follow, which are commonly referred to as the Ashtanga series.
There are two methods of practising Ashtanga yoga: Led Class with a teacher or instructor guide and Mysore. You will practice by following a series of postures, for example, the Primary series, without a teacher’s guidance. However, the yoga teacher will remain in the room to observe and help adjust yoga postures for beginners.
Ashtanga yoga practice requires a lot of dedication, so it’s great if you want to experience the immediate benefits of practising yoga, both physically and mentally.
Ashtanga yoga is suitable for those with a committed and dedicated personality, especially if you are also an athletic person. The movement is also quite challenging, so it may suit those who often exercise.
4. Iyengar yoga
This type of yoga focuses on the precision of posture and pays great attention to the body’s anatomy in detail. Often you will be in one pose for a long time. Then there will also usually be some modification of the posture using assistive devices, such as blocks, straps, or wall ropes.
This type of yoga movement is very systematic and usually aims to increase body strength, flexibility, and stability. Iyengar yoga can also be helpful as a therapy to treat certain body conditions.
Iyengar yoga is suitable for those who like to do things in detail or want to do therapy to help overcome their health conditions.
5. Hot yoga
You will practice yoga in a heated room when doing Hot yoga. One of the most popular is Bikram yoga, which is yoga you do in a hot room at around 42 Celsius with a series of 26 fixed postures.
If you often travel or travel and want to practice yoga on the sidelines of the trip, you can practice Bikram yoga in a hot room situation and the same set of postures.
Hot yoga is suitable for those who want to enjoy the sensation of sweat pouring while exercising. The hot room temperature seems to provide a detox effect beneficial for body health.
This movement can also make your body more flexible when doing a series of 26 Bikram yoga postures. It often makes you want to get back to regular yoga practice to increase your body’s strength and flexibility.
Apart from Bikram yoga, there are several other types of yoga that you can also do by practising in a hot room. Examples are Hot Ashtanga, Forrest yoga, Baptiste yoga, Core Power Yoga, and Hot Barre yoga.
6. Kundalini yoga
This type of yoga combines physical and spiritual elements, body postures with dynamic breathing techniques, meditation, and mantras (chanting), which aims to increase body vitality and self-consciousness.
Kundalini yoga is suitable for those who like meditation activities and want to explore more about your energy, intuition, and thoughts or to know yourself deeper spiritually.
7. Prenatal yoga
Primarily to support pregnancy, this type of yoga can help mothers-to-be physically and mentally. Usually, prenatal or pregnancy yoga focuses on practising breathing, the hip area, and restorative poses that are useful for restoring energy when you feel tired due to hormonal changes in the body.
For pregnant women, regularly practising this type of yoga will make the body stronger, stay active during pregnancy, and benefit the unborn baby. In addition to practising alone while pregnant, there is also a studio that offers Prenatal yoga classes for you and your partner. You can practice with your partner and share knowledge and support in the birth process.
Prenatal yoga is suitable for pregnant women, even if you have never done yoga or exercised before pregnancy. It is because Prenatal yoga is specially prepared for the condition of you who have two bodies.
8. Yin yoga
While all of the above yogas are mostly dynamic exercises, Yin yoga focuses more on passive activities. This exercise allows you to be in one pose for about 3-5 minutes, with various postures, such as a sitting position, gentle twist, or lying down.
This yoga method can also help train your meditative side. In addition, Yin yoga is perfect for health because it aims to provide stretch to the bones and joints and the layers of your body’s tissue, known as the fascia.
Yin yoga is suitable for those with a calm personality, even those who are very active, dynamic, and often busy with ongoing work. Yin yoga is also helpful for restoring energy, and this yoga can improve the quality of your sleep. Your body will be much more relaxed during practice, and your breathing will be of higher quality.
There are many other types of yoga that you can learn more about. However, it seems that there are already many alternative options that you can consider from some of the most popular types of yoga movements.
As a suggestion, practice different types of yoga with other teachers or instructors. It can give you a better understanding of which one you like best or one that fits your needs and routine.
Doing several different types of yoga usually is also good for your health. As a result, your practice can be more diverse and colourful.
