Finding the right yoga style

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 | By Lucia Cockcroft, editor, online yoga magazine Yoga Abode

In the stress-filled world of recruitment, managing talent and employee retention, the chances are you’re vaguely aware that yoga is good for you. Perhaps you’ve heard it’s effective for stress relief or to help ward off back problems.

Yet finding the right class, and a yoga style that will work for you, can be something of a minefield – a shame, given that yoga is one of the best things you can do to safeguard your health.

What you would like to get out of yoga? Relief from stress or anxiety is a major appeal for many while, for others, back or joint problems are the trigger. Others have correctly heard it’s great for all-round strength and conditioning, and this is what they seek. Whatever your reason for giving it a go, here’s a summary of the main styles: 

·    Hatha (meaning ’sun-moon’ in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit) – a classical style of yoga focusing on breath and movement, from which many others originated. Good all-round introduction.

·    Sivananda – an ancient form of yoga based on a set of 12 postures and five core lifestyle principles: proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet and positive thinking. Great introduction to yoga holistic, lifestyle approach, and for the spiritual dimension.

·    Ashtanga – a fast, flowing, challenging, style, practised by celebrities such as Madonna and Sting. Great for an aerobic workout and a fast-track to a toned body. Not so great for complete beginners.

·    Iyengar – less emphasis on breathing, more on correct alignment, using props. Can be very effective for specific physical problems, such as a weak lower back, or tight hamstrings.

·    Kundalini – a focus on awakening the kundalini (or energy) at the base of the spine. One of the most ’spiritual’ forms of yoga, with a focus on the chakras, or body’s energy points.

Remember: it may take some time to find a class, and teacher, that work for you. It’s always worth checking the teacher’s qualifications, but there’s no substitute to just giving it a go.

Be prepared to be challenged on many levels. You may find some of the postures difficult at first – but later you will savour the feeling of my whole body being stretched and strengthened.

The breathing can also be tricky to begin with: most of us go through life breathing into our chests, rather than deeply into our abdomen. We’re often unaware that this can be both the cause, and outcome, of stress. After all, no-one teaches us how to breathe.

Yet breathing correctly, is fundamental to our wellbeing – and yoga’s emphasis on the breath helps us to feel calmer, more grounded, and more present.

As with anything, practice makes perfect – and as the weeks go by, you will notice your strength, body awareness and and flexibility improve.

The changes you will feel as a beginner may be subtle, though undeniably present. Many feel lighter in both body and spirit. And, over months – far stronger, physically. Some practitioners also begin to lose weight – an unexpected, welcome, side-effect. Over years, many report that their thought-processes, and ability to deal with stress, have undergone a transformation.

It’s impossible to over-state the importance of finding some regular time for deep relaxation and stillness – as sky-high workplace stress levels testify.

Most of all, newcomers to yoga are amazed at how relaxed, blissed-out even, they feel after a yoga class. Any good session will include a five-to-10 minute Savasana (relaxation) period at the end, during which you may well experience that longed-for deep stillness, somewhere between consciousness and sleep.

Perhaps one of the best things about yoga is that anyone can do it: young, old (providing the class is gentle) male, female, healthy or not. All that’s left to do is to bin the excuses and get out there.

Lucia Cockcroft is editor of online yoga magazine Yoga Abode (www.yoga-abode.com) and founder of YA Retreats (www.ya-retreats.co.uk) – yoga & wellbeing retreats for all ages. She also teachers yoga and meditation in and around London, and is shortly starting a new ’yoga for stress’ course in The City. See www.luciacockcroft.co.uk for details.