How to Pick Yoga or a Yoga Class That's Right for You

For those of us trying to live a more healthy lifestyle, become more physically active or improve our overall physical fitness, taking a YOGA class might be a great solution to this! Yoga is yoga, right? Not hardly. Read on to discover which type of yoga exercise is right for you, your body, and what level of fitness you are trying to achieve!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a yoga mat
• lose or comfortable clothing
• a good yoga studio
• possibly blocks and a strap
• know your physical limitations to prevent injury

1. 
    

   Iyengar Yoga: This style of yoga is very demanding to the muscles and tends to push the body to extreme measures. Expect to hold poses and yoga postures for extensive amounts of time. Iyengar yoga instructors tend to press their class to understand proper body alignment and the body's anatomy. This style of yoga is less aerobic than other styles and demands a great degree of flexibility and proper body posture.

2. 
    

   Anusara Yoga: Anusara yoga focuses on maintaining body alignment and 'self discovery'. This style tends to be more 'uplifting' to participants as they enjoy the light-hearted approach paird with the physical discipline involved in the classes.

3. 
    

   Integral, Sivananda and Kripalu Yoga: These types of yoga are more focused on pairing meditation and 'inner journeys' with the yoga poses and physical movements. These types of yoga are good for stress relief and clearing the mind as 'breath control' is a major factor in these classes.

4. 
    

   Bikram or Ashtanga Yoga: These yoga classes are more specific with their poses and postures and many enjoy them because the exercise routines are very rhythmic in nature. This type of yoga is very aerobic and Bikram Yoga is traditionally taught in a very warm room to add warmth and generate better flexibility of the muscles.

Tips & Warnings

• before beginning any exercise or yoga program; speak to your regular physician about health conditions or risks associated with that plan
• drink plenty of water before, during and after all exercise or yoga classes to avoid dehydration
• Make sure to stretch muscles properly before and after exercise to avoid soreness and strain

[sanderdoe]

on 4/14/2009 Great article and excellent tips on how to pick a yoga class that's right for you. 5*

[sonni57]

on 4/13/2009 Good tips on how to choose the right yoga class.