Wanted: The Perfect Yoga Match

By Catherine Guthrie

Not long ago, I wanted nothing more than to fall madly in love with ashtanga yoga. Did I have an innate spiritual connection to this brawny form of stretching and bending? No, I’m embarrassed to admit my marriage to ashtanga was one of convenience.

I had just moved to a brand-new city, and the local ashtanga studio seemed to be just what I was looking for: inexpensive and not too far from my house. True, I’d only gone to slow-paced, relaxing yoga classes in the past. But, I figured yoga’s yoga, right?

Well, no.

Ashtanga happens to be one of the most physically demanding yoga styles around. In a typical nine 90-minute class, students are led through a series of nonstop moves. As your body temperature rises, your muscles stretch like Silly Putty. Each pose builds on the next until, by the end, you’re a shoo-in for Cirque du Soleil.

Trouble was, I hated it. I felt like a swami on ephedra, jumping in and out of complicated poses with no time to stop and enjoy.

In the weeks and months that followed, I schlepped my knotted muscles to every type of yoga class in town. I approached each new style with the enthusiasm of a beginner, but I eventually left dragging my sticky mat in disappointment. Bikram? Too hot. Kripalu? Too relaxed. Iyengar? Too bossy. Ananda? Too out there. A year later, I felt more like a stressed-out Goldilocks than a relaxed yogini.

There didn’t used to be so many choices. Originally, the ancient Indian practice of aligning the mind and body through physical poses had just one name, hatha yoga. It began as a means to quiet the mind and strengthen the body for extended bouts of meditation. But over the years, Indian gurus gradually developed different styles, and ever since yoga came to the West nearly 100 years ago, teachers here have developed their own versions, too.

A lucky few yogis find love at first om. But the rest of us can spend months shelling out time and bucks for a series of lousy first dates. Like the search for a mate, looking for the perfect yoga style means finding a class that complements your personality and challenges you to grow.

To find a yoga style that jibes with you, first consider whether your intentions are mainly physical, emotional, or spiritual, says Hansa, president of Yoga Alliance, an organization that registers yoga teachers nationwide. (She uses only one name.) Some people practice yoga for strength and flexibility, some crave relaxation, and some seek a connection with a higher power. (Some want all four.) There is no right or wrong reason to practice yoga, but different styles fulfill different needs. Just as if you were placing a personals ad, you need to think about what you want before you get started.

Once I gave my own yoga yearnings a little more thought, I realized I needed an athletically challenging style to grab hold of my Gen-X attention span, but I also craved a strong meditative component to balance out my cerebral tendencies. Six months after breaking up with ashtanga, I found my yoga soul mate in a grade school gymnasium in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’d brazenly signed up for a weekend-long blind date with a fledgling yoga style called anusara. Introduced in 1997, anusara (loosely translated as opening to grace) appealed to me for its focus on strength and precision as well as its heavy—but not heavy-handed—dose of spirituality.

I was in love from the first downward dog. Although the poses were familiar, the instructor’s guidance brought me into and out of each one with a newfound physical and spiritual awareness. My body melted into each asana, opening more deeply than it ever had. My mind stayed focused on my own experience, not distracted by what might come next. Afterward, I glided home on a cloud of yogic bliss; I’ve been practicing anusara ever since.

After sharing my tale with others, I found I wasn’t alone in finding a deep connection to a specific yoga style. As you search for your own perfect match, you might be inspired by these stories of people who found their bliss in one of the three most popular—but very different—styles of yoga.

Bikram: Joanna loves the heat
Like most Bikram devotees, Joanna Russell has a fondness for sweat. “When you’re doing a difficult balancing pose in 105-degree heat, all you can do is empty your mind and focus,” she says. “It’s pretty cool.”

The seeds of Russell’s Bikram addiction germinated five years ago. She was hoping to shed a few pounds and curb the nagging anxiety that regularly kept her awake at night. A few weeks of regular Bikram classes eased the fretting. (Who had energy left for hand-wringing?) But instead of slimming down, the 33-year-old found a new appreciation for the body she’d spent her life trying to change. “I didn’t lose a pound doing Bikram,” she says with a laugh. “But staring at myself in the mirror for 90 minutes six times a week made me appreciate my body for exactly what it is.”

Russell dabbled in other yoga styles, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Bikram was her one and only. Iyengar and hatha felt too lethargic. She found ashtanga just as demanding as Bikram, but she missed the high temperatures.

“I love the heat,” she says. “After class, I feel like I’m lying on a beach in the sun.”

Iyengar: John likes a well-aligned spine
John Davie of Bellevue, Washington, started practicing Iyengar yoga after hearing a local teacher discuss the philosophy of yoga on the radio. He was 29. “In my very first class, I felt like I had come home,” he says. “I came out with a big grin on my face.”

Fifteen years later, he’s still practicing Iyengar faithfully and teaching the precision-based style at Yoga Centers in Bellevue. “Once I found Iyengar, there was no reason to try anything else,” he says.

Davie says he’s drawn to Iyengar’s intense focus on alignment. “Your attitude throughout the day is defined largely by the alignment of your body, how you breathe, how you place your body in space,” he says. “When you practice Iyengar yoga, the alignment stays with you.”

Okay, he admits he did do an ashtanga video workout for a few months and loved the vigor of the fast-paced routine. But in the end, Davie returned to Iyengar. He prefers the strengthening that comes with the slow and steady pace of Iyengar to the cardiovascular-based workout of ashtanga.

“For me, force and awareness don’t go together,” he says. “The moment I move faster than my breath, I lose my awareness. A lot of people come to our studio because they’ve been hurt doing other forms of yoga, and they need someone to tell them to slow down.”

Kripalu: Kate likes to meditate
Unlike many people who gravitate to yoga for its physical perks, Kate King was introduced to yoga while studying Hinduism and Buddhism. She read up on yoga for two years before attempting a single pose. It took her another two years to summon the nerve to drop in on a class.

Once she started attending classes, King was disappointed to find that many styles focused more on yoga’s physical side than on its spiritual aspect. “Without a strong spiritual element, yoga just doesn’t interest me,” she says.

Three years ago, King discovered kripalu and knew she’d found her niche. “Kripalu was a welcome change from what I’d come to expect from yoga,” she says. “The classes had a meditative focus and were taught by candlelight. The only requirement was complete self-acceptance of how the posture existed in my body on any given day.”

Today, kripalu is the only style of yoga she practices. “When I go to a kripalu class, I know that I’m going to be nurtured as a spiritual being, not just as a body moving through the poses,” says King, who’s now 23. “Kripalu teaches me how to treat myself with compassion.”

getting acquainted
Do some homework. To find a class, look in the Yellow Pages, at your local gym, or at any of the myriad freestanding yoga studios that have sprung up. Depending on where you live, expect to pay between $8 and $15 for a 60- to 90-minute class. Steer clear of food for at least 2 hours before class. You’ll feel more comfortable stretching and bending on an empty stomach.

Communicate with your teacher. If you have acute or chronic health problems, be sure to tell the instructor ahead of time. If he or she isn’t willing to work within your limitations, find another class.

Get committed. Once you’ve found a style you enjoy, attend class at least once a week to build strength and flexibility. For extra incentive, consider paying for several classes at a time. You’ll usually get a discount and an expiration date by which you must use them or lose them.

Let go. Contrary to popular perceptions, all yogis don’t look like Christy Turlington. Anyone can do yoga regardless of age or weight. If you’re self-conscious, talk a friend into coming along, or look for a class designed for your age group or fitness level.

class consciousness
Yoga’s popularity has exploded of late—18 million Americans now regularly twist themselves into pretzels, more than double the number in 1997. But the sheer variety of classes to choose from can be daunting. Here’s a primer to help you decide what’s right for you.

ananda
founder: Swami Kriyananda

What it is: A gentle approach to postures, ananda yoga emphasizes calming the mind in preparation for meditation. Holding the postures is said to create self-awareness, and affirmations are often incorporated to enhance the poses.
Sign on if: You’re looking for a deeply spiritual experience that also builds strength and balance.
For more information: www.expandinglight.org

ashtanga
founder: K. Pattabhi Jois

What it is: The foundation of many “power yoga” or “power flow” classes, this fast-moving series of breath work and sweat-inducing poses is said to purify the mind and body. The room isn’t heated, but you’ll sweat anyway.
Sign on if: You like pushing your muscles to the max and conquering new heights of cardio endurance.
For more information: www.ayri.org

anusara
founder: John Friend

What it is: A dual focus on principles of alignment and physical expressiveness gives practitioners an in-depth understanding of the poses as well as a strong dose of spirituality. Although physically challenging, the style emphasizes accepting each student’s abilities.
Sign on if: You seek a physical and spiritual workout and are internally driven.
For more information: www.anusara.com

bikram
founder: Bikram Choudhury

What it is: Known as “yoga to the stars” because of its popularity in Hollywood, Bikram consists of a 90-minute series of 26 poses. Ideally, classrooms are heated to 105 degrees with 60 percent humidity to facilitate stretching and loosening of muscles and tendons.
Sign on if: You have a high tolerance for heat and respond well to a highly charged, athletic environment.
For more information: www.bikramyoga.com

iyengar
founder: B.K.S. Iyengar

What it is: Precision, alignment, and symmetry are key elements of an Iyengar class. Postures are held up to five minutes to build strength and encourage deep release. Props, such as blocks, belts, and blankets, help students hold difficult poses, but can also create a start-and-stop pace that some people don’t like.
Sign on if: You’re a detail-oriented person who likes to get things right, no matter how long it takes.
For more information: www.bksiyengar.com

kripalu
founder: Swami Kripalvananda

What it is: Slow-paced classes focus on creating an emotionally and physically safe learning environment. Offers a strong emphasis on mind-body integration.
Sign on if: Relaxation is just as important to you as building strength and increasing flexibility.
For more information: www.kripalu.org

kundalini
founder: Sikh master Yogi Bhajan

What it is: The focus is on freeing energy by awakening kundalini, the coiled energy located at the base of the spine. Despite its sexy reputation, kundalini emphasizes breathing exercises and chanting in lieu of a more physical practice.
Sign on if: The spiritual and emotional dimensions of yoga interest you more than getting a workout.
For more information: www.3HO.org

viniyoga
founder: T.K.V. Desikachar

What it is: A gentle style that incorporates asanas, chanting, breathing practices, and meditation, Viniyoga focuses on an individual’s needs and abilities.
Sign on if: You’re looking for a supportive and nurturing environment where your limitations are taken into consideration in each asana. Especially good for people with chronic health problems.
For more information: www.viniyoga.co

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