I am a beginner, what type of yoga is right for me?

If you are a beginner like me, and you have decided to take care of yourself or learn new things about yoga, without having any idea how it works, I let you discover this article.

My name is Margaux Pierre-Bloch, I am 20 years old and I am a student at EFAP.
I started yoga during the lockdown and I wanted to share with you my discovery of this beautiful discipline. Like many, I followed videos on Instagram without knowing which form of yoga suited me best.

Today, I want to deepen my practice and choose a type of yoga that will be adapted to my body and my expectations.

Indeed, you should know that there are different types of yoga whether in terms of posture, rhythm or benefits of the discipline. There are gentle yogas and dynamic yogas. Yogas more focused on spirituality and others more focused on asanas.

I offer you my classification of the different types of yoga.

I want to practice yoga to relax

If you want to practice yoga in order to relax while doing a little physical effort, hatha yoga is for you. But what is hatha yoga? It is a form of traditional yoga based on a sequence of postures (asanas) and on the importance of breathing (pranayama). With regular practice, I realized that I acquired greater flexibility, but the benefits did not stop there. I acquired greater concentration, strength and self-esteem.

And finally, if you want to relax while deeply stretching your muscles, I suggest you look into yin yoga which is much slower. It is a gentle practice that combines yoga and meditation. We stay longer in the postures while being comfortable, without necessarily looking for performance. On a mental level, this practice forces us to accept all our emotions and thoughts. It has many benefits such as making the body more flexible, strengthening muscles and brings greater attention. Indeed, thoughts jostle each other, and it is important to learn to let go. It forces us to slow down and I won't hide from you that it is a type of yoga that I really like at the end of the day.

I want to practice yoga to exercise

If you are a great athlete and you are looking for a tonic yoga and to discharge your negative energies, I suggest ashtanga . It is a traditional form of yoga taught by Pattabhi Jois in India which refers to the 8 members of Yoga. It is a succession of 50 well-defined postures (in series) in which each posture is linked to a defined number of breaths (about 5). This allows a rapid sequence of postures. Each series lasts approximately 1 hour 30. To practice well, regularity in practice is required and this requires more physical investment.

Vinyasa yoga is also a fairly physical practice. Unlike ashtanga, it is more fluid (flow) and consists of a succession of non-fixed yoga postures. During this sequence, the positions follow one another quickly and are placed on the breath. Each teacher builds their flow according to their inspiration of the moment. It is more accessible than ashtanga and will sculpt your body without making it swell.

Iyengar Yoga is another form of yoga created by BKS Iyengar that emphasizes the alignment of the entire body. It is very rigorous and intense. Each position is measured to the millimeter and is associated with breathing. It is a medicinal yoga. For this practice, we use a lot of accessories that complement the postures, such as bricks , chairs, straps . This practice is most often taught by perfectionist teachers.

Finally, if you want to promote flexibility and weight loss, I recommend Bikram yoga , which is more aimed at athletes in excellent physical condition. This practice is not recommended for people with heart problems. It is a practice that is done in a hot and humid room that will allow sweat to eliminate all impurities and toxins from the body. The session is made up of 26 postures that are repeated at each session.

I want to practice yoga to enrich my spirituality

If you want to focus on your energy, I suggest Kundalini Yoga . It is a practice based on raising your chakras in order to exploit and master them. It is a different yoga that is composed of recitations, dynamic postures and songs.

You are persevering and you want to work on yourself, Kriya Yoga is perfect for you. This practice aims at purifying your body and mind, self-analysis and spiritual awareness.

Some additional tips

To choose the right type of yoga, the one that suits you and matches your aspirations, I recommend that you try several and you will also see that the choice of teacher is decisive. Some teachers are more inspiring than others. Their voice is also very important. It's up to you to do your research on YouTube or in the classes offered by yoga studios. There are also of course applications or sites that offer online classes. Try several things and you will find what suits you best.

Last tip, it is important to practice regularly in order to have a long-lasting result on our body, our mind or our nervous system. Even a quarter of an hour a day is enough.

To your mats,

Namaste,

Margaux