Most yoga practiced today has roots in the "Yoga Sutras," written by the sage, Patanjali. Ancient Vedic texts and the "Bhagavad Gita" also contributed to the development of yoga. Patanjali outlined the eight limbs or aspects of yoga, which are yama (ethics), niyama (self growth), asana (yoga poses), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (controlling senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (union with the divine). There are numerous yoga styles and most of them incorporate these components in different ways.
Iyengar
The yogi, B.K.S. Iyengar, founded this style and opened his first school, Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in 1975. One of the most distinct aspects of Iyengar is its focus on using props to find correct alignment. According to the official Iyengar website, Iyengar designed this style to integrate the emotions, mind and body.
Ashtanga
Ashtanga is Sanskrit for "eight limbs." Many modern power yoga formats offered in studios and gyms use aspects of Ashtanga yoga. Students of the Ashtanga yoga style learn a primary and intermediate series of yoga poses and four advanced series; going to the next one after perfecting the previous. Students learn to coordinate their breath with their poses.
Kundalini
According to the 3HO Foundation, led by Yogi Bhajan, Kundalini is the yoga of awareness. The purpose of Kundalini Yoga is to release and raise up higher consciousness, which resides in the base chakra (one of the seven, mystical energy centers of the body). Students who awaken Kundalini often have intense physical, mental, emotional and spiritual experiences, so yogis recommend that students of this style only learn from certified Kundalini instructors.
Bikram
Bikram yoga is famous for its hot environment. Instructors keep the room temperature at 105 degrees and instruct for 90 minutes. Students practice the same 26 poses in the same sequence every session. What yogis call a "Hot Yoga" format is not necessarily the same as official Bikram Yoga.
Sivananda
Swami Sivananda developed this easy-to-follow, spiritual style of yoga. A basic class includes the Sun Salutations (a sequence of yoga poses for warming up) and twelve basic postures, including headstand, shoulderstand, plough, fish, forward bend, cobra, locust, bow, spinal twist, crow, standing forward bend and triangle. Instructors may include other poses, as well. According to the official Sivananda website, the motto is to serve, love, give, purify, meditate and realize.
Jivamukti
Founded by David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984, Jivamukti Yoga classes offer students intense class sequences designed to stimulate spiritual growth. Classes focus on a theme to spark intellectual interest, as well. The five main areas of Jivamukti are studying yogic texts, spirituality, non-violence, music and meditation.
Integral Yoga
Integral Yoga teaches students how to be complete individuals by instructing them in all branches of yoga. This includes hatha yoga (physical poses and breathing exercises, raja yoga (ethics and meditation), bhakti yoga (devotion and service to God), karma yoga (service), jnana yoga (study and wisdom), and japa yoga (sound and mantras). Sri Swami Satchidananda founded Integral Yoga in 1966.
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