All You Wanted To Know About Yoga Style Basics

There are different yoga styles followed by practitioners worldwide and it is important for you to understand the basic difference between these styles. There are mainly traditional yoga styles, contemporary yoga styles and Vinyasa/flow styles. Read on to find complete information on yoga style basics.

Traditional Styles of Yoga

Believed to have originated in India, these traditional yoga styles are as ancient as 3300 B.C. to 300 B.C. It is a common belief that there were eight principal types Yoga styles conceived by different yoga gurus in India. Though different from one another in styles and postures, they all were all based on the same principle of obtaining a better mental or spiritual level by coordinating the mind and body. Traditional yoga styles have incorporated different postures and breathing techniques as a means of meditation that helps the practitioner in 'self achievement'.

Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga are some of the original styles of traditional Yoga in India. All these styles have been documented incredibly well and it helps to follow them today without any difficulty. All these styles of yoga are still practiced today and they have not changed in all these years (they can be traced back as far as 3300 B.C.).

Contemporary Styles of Yoga

Initially introduced in India, Yoga techniques have been practiced in different forms for over 5000 years. Over these years, the world has changed a lot and today many people outside India are the great followers of yoga style basics. With passage of time, the requirements and priorities of human beings have also changed a lot and today we just do not have time to practice yoga all day long hoping to coordinate the mind and body to achieve the self realization. This has made revolutionary changes in yoga styles primarily introduced in the US. Some of the prominent contemporary yoga styles are Bikram yoga, Power Yoga, Laughter yoga and Anusara yoga. Another very important part of contemporary yoga style deals with pregnancy and post natal yoga styles that are specifically designed to help pregnant women. Today there are dedicated yoga postures for children also.

Many of the modern day yoga styles have been designed keeping today's lifestyle in mind. However, these modern yoga styles still uses the core functions and the different movements of the traditional yoga style basics. The main difference lies in the development of postures and exercises that are designed to address the problems of today that were not prevalent during the evolution of traditional yoga practices. Cotemporary yoga styles helps you attain a healthy body and mind.

Vinyasa/ Flow Yoga

In the Vinyasa yoga style, the asanas or different yoga postures would flow from one to the other in unstressed and breath-harmonized movement. All the yoga poses are designed to flow in a gently and balanced manner. The breath is given the most emphasis and your posture, movement and breath are coordinated with each other. In this style, the practitioner is supposed to let his/her body turn as soft as wool. The body should flow into various yoga postures lightly like a feather. Once the sequences are practiced with flowing grace, the result would be enlightenment of the Divine Spirit.

These yoga style basics would help you choose the particular yoga style that you want to practice.