Home | Events | Find Yoga | Podcasts | Yoga Styles | Reading | Links | Donation | Board of Directors | Contact Us | Yoga Styles Ananda: Emphasis on Meditation This gentle yoga combines breath awareness, affirmations, and yoga postures to move from body awareness through energy awareness to, finally, silent, inner awareness. The use of affirmations while in the asanas is a distinct feature of ananda yoga. This yoga style was developed by an American named Donald J. Walters, known as Swami Kriyananda. He devoted 45 years of his life to studying the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. Anusara: Heart-oriented Founded by John Friend in 1997, anusara yoga integrates the celebration of the heart, universal principles of alignment, and balanced energetic action in the performance of asana. Anusara (pronounced ah-new-SAR-ah) means following your heart. In this school of yoga, each students abilities and limitations are deeply respected and honored. Ashtanga: The Power of yoga For those who want a serious workout, ashtanga yoga offers a fast-paced series of sequential poses beginning with sun salutations. Students move from one posture to another in a continual flow and link movements to breath. This physically demanding yoga was developed by K. Pattabhi Jois to build strength, flexibility, and stamina. Power yoga, made popular by Beryl Bender Birch, is based on ashtanga. Best for: Sculpting your upper body. A standardized sequence of athletic poses that connects movements with the breath. Try: "Ashtanga Yoga" (DVD set at www.yogasuperstore.com). Bikram: Turning up the heat Bikram Choudhury, known as the yoga teacher to the stars, developed this hot yoga practice. Be prepared to sweat in this one. The bikram class turns up the room temperature to anywhere from 85 degrees to 100 degrees. In this hot and steamy environment, students perform, always in the same order, 26 poses designed to cleanse the body from the inside out. This is a vigorous workout. Best For: working up a sweat. A series of 26 poses practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees to increase flexibility. Try: "Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class" (CD at www.bikramyoga.com). Hatha: Best for Beginners Although it's the umbrella term for all physical yoga, it is often used as a name for beginners classes that include basic poses, breath work and meditation. Try: Yoga Zone's "Introduction to Yoga" DVD Integral: The healing power of relaxation This school of yoga is associated with two prominent figures: developer Swami Satchidananda, the man who taught the crowds at Woodstock to chant om for peace, and his student, Dr. Dean Ornish, who uses integral yoga as part of his treatment of heart patients. Integral yoga places almost as much emphasis on pranayama (control of breath) and meditation as it does on postures. Iyengar: Symmetry and alignment B.K.S. Iyengar developed this yoga style, which stresses understanding the body and how it works. Students focus on symmetry and alignment, using props such as straps, blankets, wooden blocks, and chairs to achieve postures. Each pose is held for a longer amount of time than in most other yoga styles. Teachers of this discipline must go through an intense, long, and rigorous training program. Best for: Perfecting your form. This practice emphasizes precise alignment and develops strength and flexibility. Try: "Yoga for Beginners" with Patricia Walden (DVD at www.yoga.com). Kripalu: The yoga of consciousness Kripalu emphasizes proper breath, alignment, coordinating breath and movement, and honoring the wisdom of the body. Developed by Yogi Amrit Desai, kripalu takes the student through three stages beginning with the steady practice of postures (stage one), then holding the postures longer and developing concentration and inner awareness (stage two), and finally surrendering to the bodys own wisdom (stage three). Ultimately kripalu leads to the experience of meditation-in-motion actually doing postures spontaneously and unconsciously. Kriya: The yoga of Self Realization Kriya Yoga consists of a vast array of teachings with varied approaches to it. A process beginning with self-introspection through breath control. By cultivating the three qualities of light, vibration, and sound synchronously with concentration, posture, and breathing through application of a series of techniques, a seeker is able to penetrate the deepest levels of the unconscious mind. Kundalini: Awakening energy Once a guarded secret in India, kundalini yoga arrived in the West in 1969, when Sikh Yogi Bhajan challenged tradition and began to teach it publicly. This practice is designed to awaken kundalini energy, which is stored at the base of the spine and often depicted as a coiled snake. Kundalini mixes chanting, breathing practices, and yoga exercises. The emphasis is not on asana, but rather on chanting and breathing. Kundalini should always be taught by a teacher who practices and understands this powerful yoga. Nithya Yoga: Created by Paramahamsa Nithyananda who aims to create a blissful society of people living enlightenment on planet Earth through dissemination of yoga, healing and meditation. The style blends a contemporary dynamic meditation called Nithya Dhyaan, asanas, pranayama, mudra and gratitude relaxation that also incorporates Patanjalis Eight Limbs of Yoga, from Yamas to Samadhi. For more info click here. Sivananda: Encouraging a Healthy lifestyle Sivananda yoga offers a gentle approach, which takes the student through the twelve sun salutation postures and incorporates chanting, meditation, and deep relaxation in each session. Teachers encourage students to embrace a healthy lifestyle that includes a vegetarian diet and positive thinking with meditation. This style of yoga was founded by Swami Vishnu-devananda, who published in 1960 one of the classics of yogic literature, The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga. Svaroopa Yoga Developed by Rama Berch, Svaroopa Yoga teaches significantly different ways of doing familiar poses, emphasizing the opening of the spine by beginning at the tailbone and progressing through each spinal area in turn. Every pose integrates the foundational principles of asana, anatomy and yoga philosophy, and emphasizes the development of transcendent inner experience, which is called svaroopa by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. This is a consciousness-oriented yoga that also promotes healing and transformation. Svaroopa is not an athletic endeavor, but a development of consciousness using the body as a tool. Tantra: Sensual spirituality Perhaps the most misunderstood yoga style, tantra is not about sexual indulgence. Rather, it is about discovering and stimulating sensual spirituality. This yoga works with the highly charged kundalini energy and, therefore, should always be guided and taught by a teacher. Tantra teaches practitioners how to use this energy for sexual pleasure, for bringing joy and wholeness to everyday life, and for aiding in spiritual evolution. Tantra yoga includes visualization, chanting, asana, and strong breathing practices. Trul Khor: Tibetan Yoga Trul khor improves physical health and reduces the meditator's obstacles of drowsiness, agitation, and dullness. By working at the physical, energetic, and mental levels, trul khor supports the practitioner in spontaneously experiencing the natural state during formal meditation and during the stresses of daily life. While some of these exercises are vigorous, they are adaptable for people at various levels of fitness. Trul khor is a wonderful support for all spiritual practitioners, not just for those with an interest in physical yogas. Viniyoga: Gentle flow This gentle form of flow yoga places great emphasis on the breath and coordinating breath with movement. Viniyogas flowing movement or vinyasa is similar to ashtangas dynamic series of poses, but is performed at a greatly reduced pace and stress level. Poses and flows are chosen to suit the students abilities. It teaches the yoga student how to apply the tools of yoga asana, chanting, pranayama (control of breath), and meditation in individual practice. Developed by T.K.V. Desikachar, the son of Krishnamacharya (teacher to some of the great yoga instructors including Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois), viniyoga places less stress on joints and knees since postures are done with slightly bent knees. Viniyoga is considered excellent for beginners, and is increasingly being used in therapeutic environments. Best for: Busting stress. Props such as bolsters and blankets support your body for relaxation.Try: "Yoga for Wellness: Healing with the Timeless Teachings of Viniyoga" by Gary Kraftsow (Book at www.viniyoga.com). Vinyasa: Best for Raising your heart rate This steady stream of flowing movements coordinated with the breath doesn't stop until the final resting pose.Try: "Sun Salutations: Awakening the Flow" (DVD at www.soundstrue.com). Yoga For Peace, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Yogic Principles, Philosophy & Practice. Namaste' Friends of Yoga For Peace Subscribe to Natural Awakenings Learn how you can be a Friend of Yoga For Peace here Quick Links What's Your Dosha? Free PDF Download DailyOM delivered to your email every day Yoga Teacher's Association Of Houston