How to Choose a Yoga Style for Yourself

This article is for adults choosing yoga for themselves. Below is how the popular styles differ, how to pick one to suit your goals and fitness, and what our course offers.

Popular Styles

• Hatha yoga is the umbrella term for branches that work with the body and the breath; almost all modern styles come from it.
• Iyengar Yoga pays close attention to detail, precision and correct body alignment in each pose and often uses straps, blocks and blankets, which makes it suitable for beginners, older people and those with physical limits.
• Ashtanga yoga is an energetic style that links breath and movement, with poses joined by flowing transitions.
• Vinyasa means a smooth transition between poses in time with the breath, and the word also names whole flowing styles.
• Yin yoga is a slow style with poses held for a long time, five minutes or more for experienced practitioners.

Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, who founded Ashtanga, both studied under Krishnamacharya, the subject of Krishnamacharya: The Teacher Behind Modern Yoga.

How to Choose

• Your goal. If you want calm and stretching, look at slow styles; for effort and pace, try Ashtanga or vinyasa; if precision and safety matter most, consider Iyengar.
• Your fitness. Beginners do best where every pose is explained and can be made easier with blocks and straps.
• Your health. If you have a medical condition or an injury, talk to a doctor first and let the teacher know.
• Try it. One or two lessons in different styles will tell you more than any description.

Yoga in Our Course

Our course introduces asanas, breathing exercises and meditation, for adults and for children from age 8. No single style is imposed: in the first lesson, you and the teacher talk about your experience and goals, and the teacher picks exercises and a pace to match your fitness and how you feel, offering an easier version when needed. Our teachers hold university degrees and yoga certificates. Lessons for children are covered in Yoga for Kids: Tips for Beginners and Parents.

Our Yoga Course

In our yoga course, students learn the basic asanas, breathing exercises and meditation, build strength and flexibility, and practice focusing on movement and breath. Lessons are open to students from age 8. A trial lesson costs $8: it is individual and lasts 45 minutes. More about the course is on the Yoga page.