In recent years, we have experienced a tremendous blossoming of yoga in the West. Just a generation ago one had to make quite an effort in most communities to find a yoga class. Today we see yoga everywhere, from boutique studios to health clubs to corporate suites to prisons and schools. Most of the yoga practiced in the United and elsewhere in the Western world is Hatha Yoga, which focuses on physical well-being and uses the body as a tool for cultivating mental, emotional and spiritual clarity.

Today the striking diversity of styles and approaches to Hatha Yoga practice can be daunting, confusing, and inspiring all at once. While they all have common roots in India, three of the most influential and popular forms were developed by students of Sri T. Krishnamacharya: B. K. S. Iyengar (Iyengar Yoga), Sri, K. Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Yoga) and TKV Desikachar (Viniyoga). Yet these three forms are extraordinarily different from one another.

Iyengar Yoga places great emphasis on precise details of postural alignment and energetic actions in the poses, makes frequent use of props and other methods of modification, and tends to hold most poses for much longer periods of time than its counterparts in the Krishnamacharya lineage. Iyengar teachers are held to the highest standards of expertise and knowledge in every facet of the Hatha Yoga practice, and it is considered one of the safest approaches to the practice. While some practitioners consider Iyengar Yoga overly static and lacking in spirit, its thousands of adherents find plenty of bliss doing a practice they can sustain for the rest of their lives.

The Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga of Pattabhi Jois, also known as “Mysore Style” for the individualized method of practice taught by this master in Mysore,India This vigorous practice is approached through six sequential series of poses that are through the conscious use of breath. Vinyasa correlates breath with motion; specific inhales or exhales fluidly link the entering into and exiting out of an asana or posture. The style of breathing known as ujjayi steadies the mind and creates internal heat to release toxins and give the body more pliability. Natural alignment and strength grow out of increasing awareness of the body's inner locks or bandhas. Eye gazes or dristi accompany the practice to further calm the mind and deepen the breath. Ashtanga yoga is a moving meditation where the body and mind learn to dance as one. The results can be as simple as a stronger, sleeker frame or as complex as freedom from habitual, useless life patterns. Due to the extremely challenging nature of this trans formative practice, it is estimated that over ninety-percent of all Ashtanga students today are in the 1st Series.

TKV Desikachar – Krishnamacharya’s own son – developed Viniyoga, also known as the Yoga for Wellness rooted in the principle practiced by Krishnamacharya to develop practices for individual conditions and purposes. Viniyoga makes use of modified yoga poses that are designed to meet the specific needs of an individual and to enhance healing, flexibility and strength of joints. Viniyoga poses also intend to promote the feeling of well-being and strength. Practices may also include pranayama, meditation, reflection, study and other classic elements, but the emphasis of Viniyoga practice is on coordinating breath and movement. Personal practices are taught privately.

Several methods of practice are rooted in the teachings of Iyengar, Ashtanga and Viniyoga, drawing from them is various ways to fashion original approaches to the practice.

Vinyasa Flow is primarily rooted in Ashtanga, although it’s earliest exemplar – Ganga White at White Lotus Foundation – drew upon his background in Sivananda Yoga. Every Vinyasa Flow Yoga class is slightly different, drawing upon different poses and sequences to fashion a practice that variously focuses on back bending, arm balances, hip opening, and other areas of the body/mind/spirit. Many Vinyasa Flow teachers have cross-trained in Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Viniyoga as well as dance, the martial arts and other movement arts. This practice is continuously evolving through the creativity of its leading teachers, as exemplified in the work of Shiva Rea and others.

Anusara Yoga is the brainchild of John Friend, whom for many years was one of the most senior certified Iyengar instructors in the United States. Responding in part to the sense among some Iyengar students that their practice lacked spirit, John created this :flowing with grace,” heart-centered approach that blends elements of Flow with alignment principles and energetic actions that are primarily rooted in Iyengar Yoga.

Power Yoga, created by Beryl Bender Birch on the East Coast and Bryan Kest on the West Coast, is a vigorous vinyasa-style practice where the focus is on the development of strength along with some degree of flexibility. Some forms of Power Yoga are often derisively referred to as “gym yoga” for the focus on pushing the limits in what appears to many as a charged competitive environment. It should be noted that both Birch and Kest discourage such a mind set in their own teaching.

There are many other practices, including Bikram (26 poses linked in the same sequence every time in carpeted room heated to 105 degrees), Ananda (a gentle, classical of Hatha Yoga with emphasis of breath and meditation), Kripalu (“the yoga of consciousness”), Pure Yoga, Svaroopa Yoga, Integral Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, Hot Yoga, and the list goes on.