STYLES OF YOGA
Building a safe and sustainably practice can depend on having a knowledgeable, accessible, and enjoyable understanding of Yoga basics – both the physical practice and the ideas behind that. Beginner’s classes are often only 60 minutes, and include lots of time to play with small shapes that become the building blocks of a more integrated practice.
Beginners
Chair
The Chair is a prop that gives tremendous support in opening the hips, supporting balance, and exploring shapes that might elude us without the chair’s stabilizing presence.
Elders
There’s a fair amount of ageism in the yoga community – but here, we look at the gifts of yoga (for body, mind, breath) to help us sustain harmonious wellbeing through practices that are sensitive to our changing, and amazing, bodies, and incorporate elements of all appropriate yoga styles.
Hatha is the Mother of most modern, Western Yoga. Neither flowing nor stationary, this meditative practice includes longer holds in postures and a powerful focus on breath-work.
Hatha
Meditation
Everyone can learn to separate themselves from thoughts and impulses as a pathway to cultivating quiet, calm, and joyfulness. Meditation can be accessible and – wait for it – fun. No, really!
Pranyama
We all breathe, thankfully, but learning breath control, and how that can support our wellbeing, can be fascinating and liberating. Pranyama can be part of a meditation practice, used to help address emotional disruption and trauma, and can simply add quality to daily life.
Restorative
When there’s no whirlpool or masseuse available, a dose of restorative yoga can be just the thing for deep, Deep, DEEP self-care. This is a very sedentary practice, relying on a wealth of cozy props – blankets, bolsters, pillows – to help us surrender into special postures and, for just a while, true peace.
Slow Flow
Similar to Vinyasa, Slow Flow intentionally looks at the transitional spaces in a yoga practice, drawing awareness to the strengths and limitations inherent to ingrained movement patterns.
Vinyasa Flow
A Vinyasa Flow class typically links breath and movement and, as the name suggests, involves continuous movement from shape to shape throughout much of the practice. When people think of modern yoga (Warrior Poses, Sun Salutations), this is often what they have in mind.
Yin
A largely still practice that involves holding specific shapes for more time than in a Flow class, allowing for exploration and opening of Fascia, Ligament, Tendon, Joint, and Bone.