It is becoming that time of year when the weather outside is forcing us to find ways to include fitness into our lives inside. For some of us going to the gym to sweat for a few hours will do the trick. While others need more direction and structure so they tend to look at what classes are offered to help them with their exercising needs. Yoga and the many different types it offers is a growing way to find what you are looking for. With yoga teacher training growing all over the world you can find a class that works at a slow pace to something in a heated room that is going to burn your calories!

Types of Yoga

There are so many different kinds of yoga today and each one offers its own health benefits and styles. The best thing to do is think about your fitness level and what it is you wish to accomplish with adding yoga exercises into your life. Once you have that answer you can look for a strong yoga teacher that will help you explore all that yoga has to offer. Also make sure that your instructor has gone through a good yoga certification so that they know how to add modifications safely into your workout.

Yoga teacher training will take the journey through all the various types of yoga. It can be confusing at first which type of yoga it is that you are looking to try. There are so many to choose from that you need to be sure your first class is not above your yoga teaching fitness level. Here are some of the common choices to consider for your first yoga experience:

• Hatha Yoga- This style of yoga tends to be at a slower pace and a more gentle form of yoga. This is a fantastic place to start if you are a beginner and need to learn the basics of what yoga has to offer. This style will teach you the different poses while still bringing your body, mind and spirit together.
• Ashtanga Yoga-This style of yoga is a faster moving pace and focuses on sequences of asanas, or poses, while synchronizing your breath. This style moves from one pose directly into the next which will improve your stamina along with your strength and flexibility. Going from one pose directly into another will help relax your body because your focus is on the pose and breathing and not outside forces or worry.
• Iyengar Yoga-This style is also perfect for beginners or those that have not had fitness in their lives for some time. Iyengar focuses on your body form and that it is in correct alignment. It is a softer and more classical style of yoga that uses props like straps, blocks, chairs, and pillows to help with the lack of flexibility or to modify a pose for anyone suffering from a previous injury. The props will help align your body into the correct pose.
• Vinyasa Yoga-This style of yoga is a faster paced yoga with a strong focus on your breathing. The series tends to begin with sun salutations and will then move on towards intense stretching. During this style of yoga the each pose will be balanced with another counter pose.
• Bikram Yoga-This style also known as “Hot Yoga” is practiced while being in a temperature controlled room heated up to 105 degrees with forty percent humidity. A typical yoga routine will use 26 poses and two types of breath control while allowing for the heated room to warm the muscles and give the body more flexibility. This type of yoga will allow your body to sweat and release the body of toxins. Your body will have better circulation and allow your blood to flow.

Just do it!

There are so many different types of yoga and the best way to start out is to find a style that suits you. Yoga teacher training tends to give an overall training approach so if you find an instructor that you like ask what other styles they practice. You do not have to go away on a yoga vacation to find a way to add yoga into your lifestyle. However, with the yoga that yoga is showing over the last decade there are many yoga retreats that offer classes with certified instructors that can show the difference of each style and how to modify it to maximize your benefits. There is no written rule anywhere that states that you have to just do one style. Mix it up…stop being a couch potato and begin yoga!