Thinking about adding yoga to your fitness regime? If yes, then many thoughts must be flashing through your mind regarding the style of yoga that would suit you best. Well, any style of yoga can help you improve your flexibility, mood, strength, and balance, but to get the most out of your Yoga Classes, choosing the style that suits your fitness level and temperament, works to your best advantage.
In this era, there are numerous styles of yoga practiced all over the world. Out of all yoga styles, Hatha Yoga is most commonly practiced today, as opposed to other forms such as Bhakti yoga, Tantra yoga, Jnana yoga, Kundalini Yoga or Acro Yoga. We should keep in mind that all yoga styles are essentially a combination of three important factors ; namely, breathing, posture, and meditation. Hatha Yoga mainly focuses on the poses and within the domain of Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga is an even stronger physical practice using a special breathing technique to control the breath through the body and focus the mind.
Whether you are a beginner or a regular yoga practitioner, choosing a yoga style depends on what your health goals are. Each person’s body reacts differently to different yoga styles. People with heart diseases should not practice any style that puts pressure on the cardiovascular system. On the other hand, people who are constantly depressed should perform yoga that calms their minds. Some people are flexible since birth while some are prone to injuries even when they stretch their muscles. So it is advisable that people find a style that best matches their needs and one should always be wary of engaging in our chosen practice with precaution to prevent any harm.
Before you make a decision, trying a few commonly practiced styles of yoga such as a few popular schools of Hatha yoga ( Iyengar yoga, Bikram yoga, Integral yoga and so on ) will tell you a lot about your fitness level. Select one, stay with it, and when you feel that you have gained a reasonable understanding of one style of yoga, you can try a different style. But, again, almost all yoga styles help you improve strength, balance, flexibility, blood circulation, help in weight loss, cure chronic diseases, relieve stress and bring you closer to self-awareness.
A sensible approach could be to ask an experienced yoga teacher about the style that would suit your body type, or conversely one that may have adverse effects on your body (in case you have a chronic disease or injury). The infographic below illustrates 7 yoga styles, for you to choose from, which would best suit you.
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