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Yoga Basics: Your guide to the Practice of Yoga

Peter Crump asked:


Although Yoga is extremely well known as a health and relaxation and entertaining discipline, it is not so well known that there are quite a number of different types of Yoga. And for anyone considering taking up Yoga it is important to understand these different Yoga types. All Yoga styles will work well as a general health and fitness discipline, but you may want to investigate the different disciplines of Yoga if you are intending to be more involved in your Yoga.

So before taking your first Yoga class find out a bit about what style of Yoga it teaches. There are in fact many different styles, some similar to others, but there are not so many well known and fashionable styles of Yoga.

Bikram Yoga, or what is known as Hot Yoga, in certainly a well known and modern style of Yoga, and popular now. It is a style of Yoga developed by Bikram Choudhury and has some detractors. As Yoga involves various routines and body postures, and this style is no different in that respect. There are a series of 26 poses in the normal Bikram Yoga routine. They are performed in an extremely hot room and this is thought to improve the relaxation effect of the routines and to help cleanse the body.

Another very popular style of Yoga is Hatha Yoga. This is one of the most likely forms of Yoga that you will come across if you are looking for Yoga classes. It includes many of the basic Yoga poses which are used in many of the Yoga styles. These are performed in an extremely slow way, and this style is therefore not extremely strenuous. Hatha is therefore a good Yoga style for those who are new to Yoga, or for those who are less flexible.

Another extremely well known form of Yoga is Vinyasa Yoga. This is also one of the most likely forms of Yoga that would be offered by the more common Yoga classes. It is a style founded on a series of stretches known as the Sun Salutations. As with many Yoga styles it incorporates and emphasis the importance of controlled breathing and adherents attempt to synchronise their breathing with each of the movements. It can be faster than Hatha Yoga and often requires a more advanced degree of fitness and flexibility than Hatha Yoga.

There are many other forms of Yoga, however if you are a Yoga beginner then these are some of the most common forms that you will encounter if you are looking for Yoga classes.

Whatever style you ultimately choose, Yoga is a discipline that has many advantages to your physical and mental health. It is fun and satisfying, and if you are considering taking up Yoga you will not be disappointed. Give it a go.

Seth Daugherty asked:


Yoga is synonymous with fitness. This is because yoga is interested in a holistic outlook on the entire body and how fitness should be incorporated into exercise. This is because yoga is about, mind, body and spirit, but yoga is also synonymous with health and fitness.

Anyone who has been taking yoga classes for any amount of time will probably tell you they feel much more fit then they did before taking yoga classes. This is because of the holistic ideals behind yoga and how the holistic side of yoga actually creates a fit body from head to toe.

- Yoga Fitness:

Fitness yoga is the discipline of strength training through core exercises. This can range from focusing on very specific parts of the body or focusing on a more holistic approach that includes the entire mind and body. Either way will get you fit, and it is probably good to have a combination of the two if you are serious about using yoga postures to keep fit.

- Power Yoga:

Power yoga definitely belongs in the fit category of yoga practice. Power yoga is a form of yoga that uses the yoga body postures, but in an accelerated succession of these postures. This will allow the body to strengthen very quickly, and stay very fit, but as you might have guessed, this type of yoga takes time and practice to master. This is because there are many yoga positions that must be mastered so you can do the yoga poses in a smooth succession.

- Staying Fit with Breathing:

One of the key features of yoga, whether it is yoga for meditation, strength or fitness or all three, is that yoga is about breathing. That is to say you need to breath properly while completing the different yoga poses. This is an added benefit to staying fit with yoga, because yoga will actually help you to breath more properly while doing other exercises as well, and will remind you to breath properly throughout the entire day, promoting fitness.

- Some of the Different Types of Yoga Fitness Include:

- Ashtanga Yoga is a type of yoga that means eight limbs. It is a quick paced yoga style, and is one of the more intense types of yoga. It is based on a progressive set of sequences of asanas which are synchronized with proper breathing. This is one of the more physically demanding types of yoga available.

- Power Yoga is seen as a western interpretation of yoga and is based on Ashtanga yoga. It also involves a series of poses in succession of each other.

- Vinyasa Yoga, which means breath synchronized movement is another intense type of yoga that is fast paced with an emphasis on breathing techniques. This type of yoga may begin with sun salutations and then might move to intense stretching exercises.

- Bikram Yoga is also known as hot yoga and is practiced in 105 degree heated rooms. Typically, this yoga session includes 26 different poses and is often practiced with a Bikram Yoga class. The hot temperatures will loosen muscles and there would obviously be profuse sweating as well. Some of the appeal to this type of yoga is the idea that it also cleanses the body due to the intense perspiration in the 105 degree temperature room.

- In Conclusion:

There are a lot of different types of yoga out there, and for fitness, there is no shortage of yoga styles that will suite your needs. We recommend trying them all out, and then deciding which one is best for you. Remember that yoga will provide an overall fitness that is hard to match with other types of fitness exercises.