According to the 2008 Yoga in America Study, almost seven percent of adults in the United States (15.8 million) practice yoga; half of them "to improve their overall health." Other benefits derived from yoga often depend on the type. According to "Yoga Journal," hatha is the most popular branch of yoga taught in the United States. Hatha initiates movement through a series of asanas, or yoga postures, with an emphasis on balancing flexing with extending and physical exercise with meditation. Other popular types of hatha yoga include: Ashtanga, Bikram, integral, Iyengar, Kundalini and Viniyoga.
Ashtanga
Also called "power yoga," Ashtanga yoga is a challenging, fast-paced type of yoga that involves a constant flow through six series of asanas while synchronizing the breath. This vigorous workout helps build strength and endurance.
Bikram
Practiced in rooms set at 95 to 100 degrees, Bikram, or "hot yoga," keeps the muscles warm and stretched while the body rids itself of toxins through sweat. Heated studios mimic the climate of India, yoga's birthplace, while the series of 26 hatha postures sequenced by founder Bikram Choudhury are involved with the proper functioning of each system of the body.
Integral
Integral yoga is a more gentle series of hatha postures that incorporates breathing, chanting and meditation. According to Yoga Journal, founder Sri Swami Satchidananda's intent with integral practice was to help people integrate yoga's teachings into their everyday lives---aspiring toward "an easeful body, a peaceful mind, and a useful life."
Iyengar
Attention to detail is the aim of lyengar yoga. Poses are held longer than in other types of yoga so students can focus on a deeper experience of each posture, specifically the muscular and skeletal alignment demanded by the movement. Props, such as belts, chairs, walls, blocks and blankets, can also be incorporated into Iyengar practice to accommodate injuries or imbalances.
Kundalini
The goal of Kundalini yoga is to free energy in the base of the spine and move it upward through each of the seven chakras (the body's focal points for the reception and transmission of energy). Dynamic breathing and meditation through mantras (chanting Sanskrit words) are often a part of Kundalini yoga.
Viniyoga
Viniyoga adapts hatha postures and breathing to each practitioner's unique needs, abilities, potential and goals. According to the American Viniyoga Institute, the use of repetition, emphasis on function over form, focus on breath and freedom of teachers to adapt sequences to suit the needs of their students is what differentiates Viniyoga from other types of yoga practice. The aim of Viniyoga is self discovery and personal transformation.
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