Which Yoga Style to Choose According to Our Needs?

Which Yoga Style to Choose According to Our Needs?

Yoga, this ancestral discipline, born 5000 years ago in India, is of considerable interest in recent years among Westerners. In France, yoga is more than ever the discipline of the moment (Hatha Yoga being the most practiced yoga style).

The positives of this recrudescence? The ease, wherever you are - even in small towns - to find courses and to have the choice between this or that style of yoga.

The negative points? We hear about everything and anything. We forget a little the origins

philosophies of this discipline, and the teacher's teachers are not necessarily trained in recognized schools.

For a novice who decides to get into yoga, there may be something to lose ... Even me, as a yoga teacher (Hatha yoga more precisely), I have already taken classes in schools where the style of yoga yoga was sometimes not even specified ... As a student, we have the right to be informed about the discipline we are learning.

The worry is that a lot of classes work asanas (postures), and that's it ... But asanas are just one tool among many. We also find meditation, mantras, mudras, pranayama, etc ... And when we want to do yoga, it is not necessarily only this aspect that we want to work.

"Yoga is revealed when the flow of breath stops ..." - Abhinavagupta

Which style of yoga to choose according to our desires and our needs?

Several parameters are to be observed. I have to consider my age. My psychological and physical condition of the moment. At what time of day I can / want to take my class - my energy will be different at 8am, noon or 9pm.

To enlighten you a little and give you an idea of the 4 main styles of yoga that can be found, here is a little overview of the courses I have already tested and what I thought.

This Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is one of the traditional yoga. This yoga dates back to the 6th century (approximately). He deals mainly with the physical body. He uses the asanas (postures). Pranayama (control of vital energy by different breaths). Nidra yoga (deep relaxation). The chakras (energy centers). Bandhas (locks of prana in the body). The mudras (sacred gestures of the fingers).

This yoga style is good for ...

People who want to work on their physical strength and flexibility, all in awareness, at a slow / moderate pace. Ideal for people who are starting yoga, or who have injuries. The further the person is, the more posture they will hold. One takes the time to place one's body well and breathing is at the center of the movement.

What I thought of this yoga ...

This is the yoga to which I am trained as a teacher. I like it because it uses several tools. I do my movements slowly and in full consciousness. I have the feeling of being fully in the moment and having the time to go after each movement. I like the meditative aspect of staying several breaths in each posture. I like doing this yoga in the morning. It tones and awakens the body gently.

Yin Yoga

Yin is connected with expiration, letting go. In this yoga, one favors yin asanas, that is to say rather passive postures, where the stretching is done with the relaxation of the body, without forcing.

This yoga style is good for ...

People wishing to relax, soothe their mind, work smoothly with the relaxation of the body. It is a very beneficial yoga for people who are stressed and anxious by nature. This yoga is gentle, slow. It allows the mind to relax. The postures are held for several minutes.

What I thought of this yoga

I practice it rather in the evening, a moment of the day where I tend to be a little more anxious. When the day's work is over and the thoughts turn a little too much in my head ... I find that this yoga prepares my body and my mind to sleep, by its gentle stretching. He invites the breathing to take up more space, and the thoughts to dissipate. It gives way to letting go. It promotes the feeling of being here and now, simply.

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga yoga consists of 6 series of asanas. We start with the first, the simplest, before going to the other series. The order of the asanas is precise. It's a dynamic yoga. Breathing is important.

This yoga style is good for ...

People who like familiarity and want to find the same routine for each class. People wishing to work especially the physical body and breathing.

What I thought of this yoga

Since postures always follow each other in the same order and we always work the same asanas, we can see our progress and focus on the body. Our mind, after a while, knows the sequences by heart. It also allows you to practice at home, since you end up memorizing the series.

Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa means in Sanskrit the synchronization of the movement on the breath. It is a sequence of dynamic postures, synchronized with our breathing. The sequence of asanas is done in a free order.

This yoga style is good for ...

People looking to break their routine and to physically burn themselves. We move on a fluid and continuous rhythm.

What I thought of this yoga ...

We are fully in the moment, because there is no routine, it is the teacher who decides the order of postures according to his desires and the feeling of his students. Personally, it's not my favorite yoga because sometimes the pace is too fast for my taste. I feel that I have to "run" to keep pace with the class. I personally find that this yoga is more for people who have been practicing yoga for at least a year.

In conclusion…

Beyond the style of yoga you choose, we must not forget that the choice of his teacher and just as important. For me, a good teacher is someone who practices regularly and continues to learn. A good teacher will also be someone who will seek to apply the values ​​of yoga in his daily life. Benevolence, work on oneself, free oneself from negative thoughts, from one's ego ... Also he will have to be attentive and attentive to the needs of his students.