In modern culture, choosing a style of yoga is akin to strolling through the ice cream section at the local co-op natural foods grocer. The choices are many and everything looks good. But why are there so many styles of asana these days? And does it truly matter which one you do?
As a long-time practitioner, I have dipped into many styles of yoga: Ashtanga, Iyengar, Vinyasa, Bikram (well, just one class, but still), Restorative, Yin, AcroYoga, Shadow Yoga, Anusara, Sivananda, and Kundalini Yoga. (And by the way, that’s called “double yoga” in the photo.) I’ve only practiced a couple of traditions with any regularity, but I have sampled the others enough to get a sense of what they are each about. And as a yoga journalist, I’ve interviewed dozens of master teachers of various lineages who each have really specific ideas about what yoga should be—and what it shouldn’t be. Their ideas are often conflicting. Can they all be right? Can they all be wrong? Is it best to hold positions for a length of time, or to flow in and out with the breath? Is the energetic focal point for practice the heart, the belly, or the legs? Are props a benefit to practice or a crutch?
The wide array of yoga styles, many of which have been developed in the last 20 years, adds diversity to the yoga world, but it also creates a level of contentiousness. What longtime practitioner hasn’t heard a teacher of one style rail on another style of yoga as being unsafe, energetically imbalanced, or even simply “not yoga”? And how many students swear by one tradition for five years only to find another tradition that speaks to them better, and to later discount the first tradition and even blame it for injury or a lack of advancement in practice?
Some teachers say that the real point of yoga asana is simply to create concentration, open the body for sitting practice, and become connected with the breath. From that vantage point, the style doesn’t matter, so long as it is safe and compels the practitioner to actually do it. Of course, other teachers contend that this is nonsense, saying that benefits for yoga asana go far beyond simple mindfulness, and that it takes specific sequencing, mantra, bandha, breathwork, and movements to affect the subtle energetics of the body—which is the result of practicing only certain forms.
So what do you think? Does it matter what style you practice? If so, what do you think is the best style of yoga? Do you think this potpourri of yoga styles will serve to broaden or dilute the tradition? Write in and tell us what you think!
As a holistic nutritionist, I have come full circle on a similar issue. Initially, while I was healthy and thriving on a nutritional program commonly accepted in the holistic field, I felt that one nutritional program (if it were the correct one) could meet all needs. Then I was poisoned by formaldehyde resulting in severe lung damage. I discovered that the ‘perfect nutritional program’ that I had taught for so long was actually harming me! I humbled myself enough to experiment with a different approach that was completely at odds with the one I had previously promoted and consumed. The results were phenomenal! Even the MDs were flabbergasted! Then, after several years, I again had to make a significant dietary change…even more dramatic than the first shift…in order to maintain the level of health that the 2nd nutritional program gave me! 10 years after the poisoning, I am now transitioning to a variation of the 3rd nutritional program in order maintain quality of life! What did I learn? Not only does one nutritional program NOT meet the needs of every person, it cannot even meet the needs of the same person for a lifetime!
I discovered yoga after my poisoning. I needed pranayama to reteach my lungs to expand and contract. It would be a year of pranayama and qigong before my lungs could sustain a simple yoga asana program. Then, for several years, asana (combined with breathing and qigong) formed the basis of my exercise program. An hour a day was the norm. I tried many different styles and, finally, blended together the ones that were most beneficial. However, after a respiratory infection a year ago, I have been unable to do all but a few basic asanas. Each is done for several minutes. No more yoga ‘programs’! Again, pranayama and qigong must be blended with these asanas in order for quality of life to be maintained.
As with diet, there is no “one shoe fits all’ when it comes to any exercise or lifestyle program. We are all destined to die from the moment we are born. Therefore, yoga, like all other phases of life must adapt to become part of the solution or it will become part of the problem!
Hi Mary,
Thanks for your excellent comments. Ian and I asked Karen to create this blog with the clear intention of not making it a forum for Pranamaya products; but reading about your story, I am moved to ask if you have checked out the Yin Yoga DVD from Paul Grilley that you can find on this site? On many levels, Paul’s teaching and the Yin practices themselves might be very helpful for you.
I commend you on finding what works for you, regardless of anyone else’s (or your own!) ideas about how it should look. It’s quite inspiring.
Mark Holmes
Pranamaya
Wonderful response – thank you for sharing!
Mary, I love your comment! I think it is so important to be willing to shift and adapt to what our bodies need at the moment. Whether it is with diet, or yoga, it is important to be, um, flexible.
Cory Reddish, ND
http://www.drcory.com
Ultimately, I agree that if a persons practice is serving them well than it doesn’t matter what form (or style) it takes and that ones practice needs to change over time. However, having studied 5 different traditions myself, I do think it is important to make distinctions between different approaches. I teach an entirely therapeutic orientation. I hear too many horror stories about folks with herniated discs whose doctors suggested that they try yoga and, much to their dismay, end up in a Bikram class.
I am all for being inclusive. The diversity in yoga reflects the diversity in humanity. Yet, in order for the public to find appropriate practice they need to be informed about the differences that exist. Even though we are all doing the same poses, for the most part, how we do them and why makes for very different experiences and results. Not all yoga classes are the same and the approach taken most certainly matters.
J. Brown
http://yogijbrown.com
My teacher has always taught us that people find the yoga that they need at the time they need it. We have always been encouraged to try different types of yoga; in fact, part of our teacher training was to experience and journal about 10 different classes from different traditions. I have opinions about some yoga practices I don’t find beneficial, but for the most part I refrain from expressing them to my students (or even potential students) as I think they need to find their own path just as I did. In my opinion, this is the essence of yoga.
I agree – I have loved getting some guidance from my teachers, but ultimately we do all need to find our own way. Thanks for the comment!
A couple years ago, I was lucky to spend some personal time with Rod Stryker, a well respected Tantra Yoga teacher. We talked about the many yoga systems available to a practitioner and the confusion this can lead when one wants to do the “right method”. I remember him telling me how all intelligent systems of Yoga have the capacity to lead a practitioner to feeling physically and energetically transformed as well as mentally more focused and attentive……whether it’s through “empowerment and strength”, alignment, breath, visualization, relaxation, etc. However, he said the problem with most physical methods of Yoga is that they have a half-life. Eventually, as we move back into our mundane world, our samskaras take back over directing our usual behavior.
Over the last couple years, I have primarily been studying the teachings of Krishnamacharya as taught through Desikachar. I really appreciate it’s emphasis that asana is a tool, not the end-goal. I once heard Gary Kraftsow say that in “Indian Yoga, they worship the Gods. In American Yoga, we worship Asana”. It’s so easy to get caught in the snowball like effect of fancy and impressive asana practice and forget that Yoga is primarily a system of transformation at the level of the mind.
I know this is just an opinion. I am sure there are people who have had deeply transormative results through getting their leg behind their head or mastering an amazing arm balance, but my personal yoga journey became truly transformative when I stopped worrying so much about the external form of the practice (bahiranga sadhana) and became more interested in the internal journey (antaranga sadhana).
I think it’s time for a shift in the American Yoga culture to happen. Asana-siddhi, or mastery of Asana, can only take one so far.
Thanks for this in-depth sharing. I’ll admit that my yoga practice has transformed tremendously in the last two years, in which I’ve incorporated a lot more seated meditation, I agree that asana is a tool – not an end goal.