5 Best Yoga Styles You Can Follow for Stretching and Stillness

Yoga has been used to improve mobility and give one's body a stretch for decades, with multiple yoga centers still on the rise abundantly. The obsession comes with good reason: yoga is the best exercise to stretch your body and eliminate any stillness or stiffness in your muscles and joints.

That being said, certain types of yoga are more beneficial than others. You must be wondering what we mean by types. Isn't yoga just that? Yoga? Well, it turns out there are several styles of this practice that can be followed.

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The Best Yoga Styles

Let's look at the best styles of yoga out there to relieve you of your stiffness.

1) Hatha

Hatha yoga is the original form of yoga. It focuses on physically practicing the poses rather than concentrating on breathing. Considered a gentle yoga style, it is best suited for beginners and is commonly practiced by larger groups of the population.

2) Iyengar

Iyengar is another form of gentle yoga that works best for beginners. It was created by BKS Iyengar, one of the most respected yoga gurus in the world. This form of yoga uses props like yoga blocks, pillows, bolsters, and belts to practice very precise structured asanas. Iyengar yoga improves the body's structural alignment and creates precision. What better way to fix your posture?

3) Sivananda

Sivananda yoga was founded by another great guru, Swami Sivananda, and was brought to the West by one of his descendants, Swami Vishnudevananda. Although the actual practice involves more in-depth adjustments, such as following a vegetarian diet and meditating regularly, the flow is centered around proper breathing, relaxation, and positive thinking. So, it's an excellent boost for your mind and body.

4) Ashtanga

Ashtanga is a slightly more challenging style of practice. Ashtanga is more of a nonstop flow of poses. This form of yoga also encourages breathing techniques to calm the mind and improve focus. This is done by controlling your breathing.

5) Vinyasa

This is another more complex form of yoga, best suited for advanced practitioners. It requires a relatively higher degree of flexibility and endurance to perform. It is also known as power or flow yoga.

Vinyasa is perhaps the most popular style, often marketed as a weight-loss routine. It is a continuous, fast flow of yoga poses, focusing on building strength and balance. One is sure to break out into a sweat a few minutes into a Vinyasa class, but it's a great way to open up tight muscles.

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Takeaway

There are lots of styles of yoga that can help you out! If you didn't enjoy that class you attended a few years ago, find another style you may like and try it out! Don't miss out on the chance to improve your flexibility and peace of mind. Find a yoga class near you and try it out!