5 Most Popular Yoga Types in India To Practice

Yoga is an ancient practice which has its origin in India. Yoga works on strong principles which combines body postures, breathing techniques, spiritual awakening and strengthening to deliver a great healing experience to a human body as well as mind. Yoga is very subtle and practicing it requires almost no props and its benefits are of the highest level. It is as good as or in fact more powerful that various other options available out there to achieve fitness and well-being. Unlike other fitness activities where the focus is more on achieving a desired physical outlook, Yoga is something which helps an individual physically as well as mentally and spiritually. Daily Yoga practicing improves a lot of things in human like, fitness, flexibility, spiritual awakening, control, better breathing, etc. Like many things, Yoga is also segregated into various types based on the main USP practiced in it. Here are Top 5 Types of Yoga Practiced majorly –

1. Hatha Yoga –

First things first, “Hatha” means “Force” in Sanskrit language and also if broken into two “Ha” means Sun and “Tha” means Moon and together it signifies the union of sun and moon forces or energies within the body. Hath yoga is a very traditional and classic Indian Yoga practice which focuses more on holding poses and postures along with skilled breathing to enhance the strength, balance and flexibility of the body. Here the aim is to balance the energies within the body via yoga postures and techniques to make the body feel spiritually energetic. Hatha Yoga is also said to be the one which lays basic foundation and readies an individual’s body to move towards advanced yoga.

2. Vinyasa Yoga –

Vinyasa yoga which is also known as Flow yoga is an extremely interesting style of yoga practice which has pose movements in sequence with breathing as another connecting point. Looking at this you will feel that there is a rhythmic flow to this style making it more appealing to practice. Unlike many other Yoga styles, Vinyasa yoga demands a bit extra energy from the body as it is a continuous form of yoga set. So if someone is looking for a workout style Yoga, then Vinyasa is the one that they should try. Vinyasa in its very early days was signified as sequence of consciousness where external body movements while doing the yoga kind of signifies how the person thinks and feel internally.

3. Ashtanga Yoga –

Ashtanga Yoga is very similar to Vinyasa yoga but here the main differentiating point is that in Ashtanga yoga, there are a fixed set of postures and its sequence is predetermined and that has to be followed in that order, whereas in Vinyasa yoga there is slight flexibility in the overall process and sequence. Ashtanga yoga requires more stamina and stability from the practitioner as compared to Vinyasa yoga. In Sanskrit, Ashtanga when broken into two means “Ashta” is 8 and “Anga” is limb or body part, so it is also known as eight-limbed yoga. These eight are –

• Yama (Moral Restraints)
• Niyama (Observances)
• Asana (Postures)
• Pranayama (Breath Control)
• Pratyahara (Withdrawal of the Senses)
• Dharana (Concentration)
• Dhyana (Meditation)
• Samadhi (Union)

4. Iyengar Yoga –

Iyengar yoga was developed by B.K.S Iyengar and hence you know why the name. Iyengar yoga is designed for all body types, ages and the main USP in it that here props are used to achieve and hold certain postures. Props are used to so that the body can achieve effective alignments with their support and use. Since there is support involved here, poses and postures are held for longer periods as compared to various other yoga styles. Iyengar yoga boosts energy and tries to improve postural or structural problems of the body. Respecting the fact that all bodies are different and have their own set of strength and weaknesses and hence props like blocks, belts, blankets, chairs, wall etc. are used to help each one.

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5. Restorative and Yin Yoga –

Yin yoga is more focused on stretching connective tissues with an aim to improve flexibility, make tissues more healthy and ultimately improve joint health. In Yin yoga, stretched poses and postures are achieved and held between 2 to 7 minutes based on the flexibility and capacity of the practitioner. Yin yoga helps to achieve emotional steadiness by releasing trauma and stress, reducing anxiety and promotes healthy joints. On the other hand, Restorative yoga evolved from the teachings of Iyengar yoga and here as well props are used for support. Restorative yoga focuses on restoring or you can say healing of the body by its poses and postures.

So yes, starting to do yoga is the key and after knowing these important types of yogas and its uniqueness you should not hesitate a bit and start right away for a lengthy period as benefits of yoga are the best achieved with time.