Anusara Yoga

meaning: “flowing with Grace,” “flowing with Nature,” “following your heart.”

Founded by John Friend in 1997, Anusara yoga is a school of hatha yoga which unifies a life-affirming Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness with Universal Principles of Alignment. Anusara yoga’s remarkable growth is due in large part to its uplifting philosophy, epitomized by a “celebration of the heart” that looks for the good in all people and all things.

Power Yoga

Also called Power Flow, is a modern day name for a past-faced, active yoga class. It has its roots in Ashtanga Yoga. Often Power Yoga incorporates many Sun Salutations and Vinyasas. These can elevate the heart rate and generate heat in the body. Over the past five years, Power Yoga has grown in popularity, especially as people are turning to yoga as a form of cardiovascular exercise as well as it’s many other benefits. Baron Baptiste is credited as being one of the main founders of Power Yoga. If you do take lots of power yoga classes, it is good to also round it out with some slower paced, more restorative classes.

Power Yoga should be avoided by the following people:

  • Those new to yoga. It will likely move too quickly and will be hard to keep up. Those who do not know any of the yoga poses or alignment principles should avoid power yoga as their first introduction to yoga as it might lead to injury.
  • Those in poor physical health as well as those who suffer from high blood pressure or heart issues.
  • Seniors
  • Those with injuries

Restorative Yoga

Great for any age, slower paced and gentle!

While yoga in itself focuses on muscles and proper muscle alignment, restorative yoga is all about restful postures and is designed to “re-boot” your nervous system and balance out your body.  Your muscles are to remain quiet in the restorative method.  Practicing this form of yoga will give immediate results by lowering your blood pressure and heart rate, loosen up joints and ease bones.   Restorative Yoga will help to keep your endocrine system in check and even boost the immune system.

Restorative Yoga is a wonderful way to close out your day and can be helpful in reducing insomnia as it is very relaxing for the body as well as the mind. All poses aim to reduce stress and they are all practiced using props such as a bolster or rolled blanket, blocks, cushions, a wall, a chair, yoga straps, eye pillows, etc.   The idea is comfort and relaxation and staying in a pose for many minutes.  Therefore props aid in making you comfortable and to be able to hold the position for any length of time.

Vinyasa Yoga

meaning: “Breath-Synchronized Movement ”

There can be a lot of variety in a Vinyasa yoga class but almost all classes will include Sun Salutations (a series of postures performed in a single, graceful flow. Each movement is coordinated with the breath). The class may be fast or slow, include chanting, or be very alignment-orientated, depending on the individual teacher.

There is no one single philosophy teachers must follow leaving it’s exploration open to each student’s individual personalities. This technique is sometimes also called Vinyasa Flow or just Flow, because of the smooth way the poses run together and become like a dance. The purpose of Vinyasa yoga is to create heat in the body, which in turns leads to purification through increased circulation and sweating. It also improves flexibility as well as the strength of tendons and hard tissues, allowing the student to practice advanced poses or asanas without the risk of injury.

Yin Yoga:

Suitable for almost all levels of students, Yin Yoga is a perfect complement to the dynamic and muscular (yang) styles of yoga that emphasize internal heat, and the lengthening and contracting of our muscles. Yin Yoga generally targets the connective tissues of the hips, pelvis, and lower spine.

This type of yoga has the same goals and objectives as any other school of yoga; however, it directs the stimulation normally created in the asana portion of the practice deeper than the superficial or muscular tissues (which we are calling the yang tissues). Yin Yoga targets the connective tissues, such as the ligaments, bones, and even the joints of the body that normally are not exercised very much in a more active style of asana practice. While initially this style of yoga can seem quite boring, passive, or soft, yin practice can be quite challenging due to the long duration of the poses. Remaining in the postures anywhere from one to twenty minutes! Yin and yang tissues respond quite differently to being exercised. You need to experience this to really know what Yin Yoga is all about. After you have experienced it, even just once, you will realize that you have been doing only half of the asana practice.