You’ve decided to finally start doing yoga — but after Googling classes in your area, your head is spinning. Should you try Ashtanga or Iyengar? And what’s the difference between hot yoga and Vinyasa? The array of options can be enough to scare newbies off the mat for good.

 

1. Hatha Yoga 

It’s all about the basics in these slower moving classes that require you to hold each pose for a few breaths. In many studios, hatha classes are considered a gentler form of yoga. However, the Sanskrit term “hatha” actually refers to any yoga that teaches physical postures.

 

2. Vinyasa Yoga

Get your flow on in this dynamic practice that links movement and breath together in a dance-like way. In most classes, you linger for a shorter time and transition effortlessly from pose to pose.

 

3. Yin Yoga

If you want to calm and balance your body and mind, this is where you’ll find your zen. This is the opposite of a faster moving practice like Vinyasa Flow, Yin yoga poses are held for several minutes at a time. This meditative practice is designed to target your deeper connective tissues and fascia, restoring length and elasticity. You’ll use props so your body can release into the posture instead of actively flexing or engaging the muscles. Like meditation, it may make you feel antsy at first, but stick with it for a few classes and its restorative powers might have you hooked.

 

4. Aerial Yoga

You use hammocks which allows you to go deeper into  stretches. It's great fun to find your inner child again and just let go. It is an alternative way of doing yoga and is an excellent way to invert safely  if you so wish to. It is excellent for decompressing the spine and inversions are particularly good for mental health, stress release, heart and lung, health. 

 

5. Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra literally means yogic sleep, it is where you lie down in a wakeful sleep. It is an ancient technique where the practitioner helps you into a  deep states of conscious relaxation. It is a systematic practice of moving awareness from our external world to the inner world. It brings us to a state of deep sleep where our senses, intellect, and mind relax. An hour Yoga Nidra is the equavalent of 4 hours of sleep. It is excellent for Post Traumatic Stress, Insomnia, and Healing