YOGA Schools : Overview of Yoga Styles
At Each Yoga School a Different Style
Surely you’ve already seen some great contortionist postures with one leg behind your head?
Obviously as 99.99% of people do not have this degree of flexibility, we say, “ Ooh there! Yoga is not for me . “
Yet there are so many different yoga schools. So much that we can easily get lost!
This disadvantage generates a positive element: everyone can find shoe to his feet!
I focus in this article on yoga schools that teach yoga postures, called asanas , in Sanskrit. Some (not all!) Also teach pranayama and meditation.
So, how do you navigate between vinyasa , sivananda , hatha , bikram , kundalini , iyengar yoga and so many more?
Decryption elements.
The school of dynamic YOGA
There are yoga schools that offer very dynamic styles: they move, they sweat, they inspire the most athletic, young people, and those who want to do physical exercise at the same time as yoga.
This is for example:
- ashtanga
- vinyasa
- bikram
I will detail these yogas in a future article, but already there, I give you a taste!
Ashtanga yoga: a very codified style
It rests on a fixed frame of postures repeated one after another, with the emphasis on the breath. It gives a lot of flexibility and endurance.
Some Ashtanga yoga teachers do not have the science of alignment, and their students may wear prematurely joints and force on their tendons and ligaments.
But fortunately, many Ashtanga teachers now know better than before the art of placing their students properly. This avoids many injuries. If done well, this practice gives a lot of tone and strength.
Vinyasa: a sequence of free postures
The vinyasa is also based on a sequence of postures, but free this time, with a pronounced accent on a good breathing,
so there is an infinity of possible variations. It is therefore a yoga often accessible to a greater number of people than ashtanga. But make no mistake, the vinyasa can be just as intense as the ashtanga!
Everything depends on the mood of the teacher, and especially the level of his students obviously! The teacher needs to have a good sense of alignment and take the time to adjust his students. Otherwise, beware of long-term injury.
This yoga school also gives a lot of endurance and flexibility.
This style allows creatives to find their account and create their own series of yoga postures!
Bikram Yoga:
I was very hesitant to tell you about it, especially because of the very controversial personality of its founder.
Indeed, Bikram is a guru in the bad sense of the word who is currently pursued for several sexual assaults and rapes on his students.
I mention it because in a few years this style has become unavoidable in the world of yoga.
It is a yoga school based on the sequence of 26 repeated postures in the same order.
The Bikram, a yoga that is practiced in a room heated to 40 ° c.
Yes, 40 degrees, you heard me well. That’s a lot, I grant you, but according to its founder it thoroughly detoxifies the body.
Be careful with the heart for an intensive course!
This practice attracts fans, real fans.
To make Bikram safely, be aligned
Indeed, there is a tendency to greatly over-stretch the tendons and ligaments out, unlike muscles, ligaments and tendons are not made to stretch at this point.
I also advise to have strong notions of alignment, because the teachers, if they have only this training Bikram, are not trained to that.
BIkram can also be called Hot Yoga
Due to the disgrace of M Bikram and his legal troubles, a number of teachers turned their room into “hot yoga” to stand out from him.
You will find there the same practice, the rapes in less.
I am, of course, ironic; Indeed, the Bikram teachers who always claim him, and whom I know, are good people: we must ignore Bikram’s personality, and only take his teaching, they say.
But what do you want it to be beyond me that someone continues to follow a yoga teacher who has clearly abused his power and whose statements about women leave me panting, even desperate.
Iyengar Yoga School
In a really intense but less restless register, we have the Iyengar Yoga.
This style of yoga is accessible to all, and therefore also to those who have forgotten to play sports since high school, and who are over 25 years and a half!
Iyengar Yoga is also very suitable for those who have health concerns such as back, joints and whatnot.
I have a long experience of this yoga because I specialized there for 12 years.
Let’s be clear: for teachers, it’s a commitment that does not tolerate freedom!
Indeed, a certified Iyengar teacher does not have the right to teach anything else if he wants to retain the right to use the name yoga Iyengar.
Certainly, it is a very beautiful yoga, by its science of alignment, and the infinite possibilities of composing a yoga session: several hundreds of postures can be taught theoretically.
I say theoretically, because in practice, basic postures come back a lot!
This is quite normal, however, as only advanced and trained practitioners can perform the most complex postures.
Iyengar yoga: a dynamic but static style
Static because, most of the time, without a series of postures.
So yoga Iyengar is based on precision, but develops less endurance and flexibility than yoga schools with sequences of postures.
At Iyengar School, we do not teach meditation. More aptly, meditation is done only through postures. Some teachers have been taught in the style of Iyengar Yoga School, and use the term “yoga and alignment”.
Hatha Yoga: a softer yoga
For lovers of a little sweetness, far from the rigors of Iyengar yoga and the physical demands of Asthtanga and Vinyasa, hatha yoga can be a source of joy !. “
Hatha “is a generic term, so in theory all yogas based on postural practice fall into the category of Hatha yoga. But in practice, hatha yoga professors generally teach a fairly gentle yoga style.
Sivananda Yoga: for lovers of a calm yoga
With its famous series of 12 basic postures, Sivananda yoga is a style of hatha yoga that is suitable for lovers of calm yoga.
I myself started with Sivananda yoga. I experienced the great benefits of this simple and gentle series that brings relaxation to the whole body.
It’s a bit like being in your yoga bubble. The indications are quite similar among all the teachers, who give a rhythm to the series that the accustomed students know by heart.
But beware, teachers are not trained to be precise, they have no concept of alignment, so it is better not to try to go too far in the postures.
Kundalini Yoga: a more spiritual yoga
No, it’s not over!
Kundalini yoga focuses on kundalini climbs, so prana, energy, and spiritual opening.
It is a yoga that seems soft in its postures, but in fact we keep a lot of time.
Accessible to most, because everyone goes at their own pace, kundalini yoga asks to develop the love of surpassing oneself!
After several minutes the arms raised and stretched over the head, it is necessary … it does not look like anything, but try!
In search of ecstasy but … attention!
At the end of a well conducted session, we really expect a kind of ecstasy. However I do not recommend it to people suffering from back, knees etc, …
Indeed, teachers have no notion of postural precision, and the emphasis is on the rise of energy and spirituality. The well-being of the physical body is not the priority. Many teachers simply encourage people to overcome physical pain.
To conclude on dynamic yoga schools
In summary, nowadays, there are many different yoga schools.
You know what ? The best judge of what is good for you, well it is yourself! So try classes, internships, and what really makes the difference is the yoga teachers you will meet.
Beyond the techniques, beyond his teaching experience, it is also the personality of the yoga teacher and his humanity that will feed you.
I will speak in future articles of goat yoga, yoga with goats. if it exists! ; stiletto yoga (stilletto means heels in English); or even beer yoga … .ah yes, it exists too!
If this article has allowed you to see more clearly, just make you want to start in one of the yoga schools, tell us in the comments, and share the page in your social networks 😉
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