Styles of Yoga
The major lineages of modern practice — from the slow precision of Iyengar to the heat of Ashtanga and the long stillness of Yin.
The word yoga covers a wide family of practices, and the styles taught in studios today are largely 20th-century developments that grew out of the older Hatha tradition. They share a common vocabulary of asana and breath but differ in pace, emphasis, and lineage: some flow continuously, some hold and align with care, some target the connective tissue, and some ask only that the body be fully supported and rest. The pages below trace each style to its source and describe how it is practiced.
Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini yoga is a style built from kriyas — fixed sequences combining posture, rapid breathwork, mantra, mudra, and meditation — aimed at awakening dormant energy at the base of the spine. Its modern studio form was assembled in the United States by Yogi Bhajan from 1969; its core concepts are centuries older.
Hatha Yoga
Hatha yoga is the physical branch of yoga rooted in the medieval Nath tradition and the 15th-century Hatha Yoga Pradipika. In modern studios it names a slow, foundational asana class.
Vinyasa Yoga
Vinyasa yoga links breath to continuous movement, flowing from pose to pose. It grew out of Pattabhi Jois's ashtanga method as a free-form, creatively sequenced studio style.
Ashtanga Yoga
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga is a rigorous fixed-sequence style developed by K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore. The same poses, in the same order, linked by breath, drishti, and bandha.
Iyengar Yoga
Iyengar yoga is the precision-and-alignment style developed by B.K.S. Iyengar in Pune. Poses are held with exacting attention to detail and supported by props like blocks, straps, and walls.
Yin Yoga
Yin yoga is a slow, passive, floor-based practice that holds poses for several minutes to load the connective tissue. It was synthesized in the late 20th century from hatha and Taoist yoga.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative yoga uses props to fully support the body in a few comfortable poses held for long stretches, inducing deep rest. It grew from B.K.S. Iyengar's therapeutic methods.