If you’ve been wanting to try a yoga class, but haven’t taken the plunge because you don’t know a Hatha Yoga class from a Kundalini from a Vinyasa, below is a description of the nine most popular classes.
But, first, a tiny bit of background on yoga.
Ninety-nine percent of the yoga classes offered at your local studio will be asana (physical exercise) classes. All the different class names (see below) are simply different styles of practicing the same basic 80-100 positions (aka asanas, poses, or postures).
Just for the record, though, you should know that asana practice is just one segment of a larger Yoga teaching that comprises a group of eight different mind-body practices. They are known as the eight limbs of yoga and were developed in India to enhance a practitioner’s physical, spiritual, and mental development.
To start taking yoga classes, you don’t have to know a thing about the other seven limbs of yoga that comprise the whole, esoteric system. But FYI, they include standards for developing such characteristics as ethical behavior; self-discipline; physical wellness/asana; proper breathing; inward focus; concentration; meditation; and — the ultimate goal of the practice — the union of mind, body, and spirit in enlightenment. (In Sanskrit, these are called, respectively: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhahran, Dhyana, and Samadhi.)
But, again, it is the asanas (postures, or poses) that comprise the majority of what you’ll do in a class — combined with a focus on your in breath and out breath. The focus on breathing — which you don’t have to worry about and will become second nature as you go along — is one of the biggest things that differentiates yoga from other exercise.
All About the Different Yoga Classes
Note: Along with choosing a first class that’s recommended for beginners (below), it’s always a big help if you can also find a class in that particular style, that’s designated as a Beginners class. You can’t always find that, but if you can, start there.
Hatha
Hatha is a general term for asana practice. At most yoga studios, a Hatha class will be a good introductory class for those new to yoga. The instructor will talk you into the pose, which will be held for a few moments, before moving on to the next. Hatha is both good for a beginner and also fine for more experienced students. While a beginner will be starting to find the mechanics and alignment of a pose, working into it and building flexibility and strength, a more experienced student will take the pose further toward its full expression. And both will be doing yoga, and reaping its benefits. Here are photos of 11 basic Hatha yoga poses.
Iyengar
Iyengar is a yoga style that emphasizes extremely precise alignment in poses. It is excellent for a beginner because correct alignment in poses is what makes the pose work for you and optimizes its benefits. Alignment means that you learn which parts of your body – in a particular pose – are stretching, or contracted, or lifted, or twisted, or rotated inward or outward. All these actions happen at the same time, by different parts of your body, in a single pose. Iyengar gives you a solid foundation that will serve you in classes where the poses flow swiftly into one another.
Vinyasa or Flow
Vinyasa Flow style yoga classes are based on moving from one pose to another in a flowing action, with a special emphasis on synchronizing your breath with your movement. Generally, when you do a movement that contracts your body in on itself (like bending forward), you exhale, and when you lift or arch your spine in a back-bendy, expansive direction, you inhale. Flow sequences can be long. Or, they can be as short and simple as the popular warm-up flow called Cat-Cow. You start Cat-Cow on all fours (aka tabletop), then alternate arching your back and looking upward, then contracting your back, like an angry cat, while inhaling and exhaling respectively. Here’s a minute long video of cat-cow.
Power Yoga
These classes are fast moving Vinyasa Flow classes that are often performed in heated rooms. They are good for very fit people who have already mastered the alignment of the basic poses in Hatha or Iyengar classes, so that when they fly from pose to pose, they’re maintaining the inner work of the postures properly.
Hot Yoga
Ashtanga
These yoga classes practice a strict series of the same poses performed sequentially in a fast moving, strenuous Vinyasa Flow with synchronized breath. Ashtanga has a primary, intermediate, and advanced series. Ashtanga is extremely strenuous and is good for those who have developed a very strong foundation in yoga and are extremely fit. Hot and Power yoga take much of their style from Ashtanga.
Restorative
Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga is similar to restorative, but generally fewer props are used. Poses are held for several minutes at a time, and the goal is to melt into the pose — right at the edge of comfort and discomfort. Yin Yoga increases flexibility, steadies the mind, and loosens fascia – the connective tissue that surrounds joints. A Yin class should be okay for a beginner, but always make sure to tell the teacher that you’re new.
Kundalini
Kundalini Yoga classes consist of movements that are often different from the regular canon of basic yoga poses. Classes combine chanting, breathing, and doing specific kriyas, which are a series of movements. They are designed to balance your internal organs, strengthen your nervous system, calm the mind, and heighten spiritual development. Depending on the teacher and what the student wants, a Kundalini class could be a good place for a beginner, although it will seem more esoteric or confusing than a Hatha or Iyengar class.
Final Words
I highly recommend starting with a Beginners Hatha or Iyengar class, if you can find one. If not, then a Slow Flow, Yin Yoga, or a Restorative class could work. It all depends on the teacher and how he or she works. Always tell the instructor, before class, that you’re just starting out.
Getting detailed instruction in the fundamental poses as you start your yoga practice, will set you up with a strong, solid foundation that will stay with you in any type of yoga class you take.
Now, go do it! Aside from my family and friends, my yoga practice is the best thing in my life!
