We’re in a yoga age, and it often seems like there’s a new yoga offering popping up online every hour! While this is good for choice, it does make it confusing and hard to find a yoga style that suits you.
"As a yoga teacher, I constantly come across students who have spent years trying to find a style that ‘speaks’ to them. I have also met students who tried a class once, hated it, and never went back, " says Martine Allars, a yoga teacher at elixr.
The best way to explain yoga is to frame it like this: Yoga in the west, certainly from a posture (asana) point of view, is a huge buffet of choice. You can choose something slow moving like Yin (six minute holds and up) or Restoration (gentle postures and sequences) to calm your nervous system.
You could pick Bikram or a heated Power studio class for a session that will make you sweat or if you want something breath and chant orientated, then Kundalini could be your fix. "In your first year of yoga, it’s a good idea to try lots of classes and styles. Eventually, you’ll find a type, time, and teacher that will be a perfect fit, " says Martine. Keep in mind that with COVID-19, many Bikram / hot yoga studios are closed or experiencing restrictions on numbers, but this doesn't mean you can't try an online class to see if it works for you.
Here are Martine's top tips to help you find the right yoga style for you:
1. If you are goal-focused and like to sweat it out, Bikram, Power, Ashtanga and Vinyasa would be a good fit.
2. If you are more mellow and like things to move a little slower, then try Hatha, Restoration and Yin. Yoga wall which uses straps to suspend you off the floor is great for helping you find the right alignment so you can work on your flexibility.
3. If you want more of a spiritual focus, then Kundalini, meditation and philosophy are good choices.
4. If you like things done step by step and want a thorough understanding of your practice, you can’t go wrong with Iyengar.
Once you find a style you like, stick with it. As international yoga teacher Richard Freeman says, pick a road and stay on it. Results come from digging deeper, the real yoga only begins the moment you are challenged.
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