A Yoga Primer
by Debbie Grossblatt

Yoga Confusion in the New Millennium

This past summer I had the opportunity to reflect and explore new ideas about the 5,000 year-old practice of yoga. What became apparent to me is that yoga has grown so much in popularity in the past decade that many students are confused about what style among the many classical and evolving hybrids is best for them based on their personality and body type. Students will probably not be inclined to do extensive research into the growing menu of yoga styles. They will usually attend a class that is easily available to them despite the style. Sometimes people attend an Ashtanga (heat-building sequence of complicated and repetitive poses) or a Bikram (same sequence of 26 poses-some very advanced done in a heated room) class and may never want to take another class again. They believe that yoga is either too hard or too hot. That is probably why so many of my new students and others ask me, "What is hatha yoga and how does it differ from Ashtanga, Iyengar or Kripalu and which style would work best for me?

Adding to the general confusion about the variety, very experienced teachers of the three classical styles of yoga mentioned above have come up with their own spin-offs or "signature" styles. These are the hybrids that Western teachers are creating based on their long yogic journeys through the universe of classical styles. Now you can find names such as Anusara (John Friend-Iyengar), Bikram (Bikram Choudhury-Ashtanga ) Ishta (Alan Finger-Hatha) and Integrative Yoga Therapy (Joseph LePage - Kripalu). There is also an assisted style named Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (Michael Lee- Kripalu) as well as a "demystified" contemporary hybrid created for the fitness industry appropriately named YogaFit® (Beth Shaw-Hatha). If there was a book entitled The Comprehensive Style Guide to Western Yoga; the author would have to constantly publish new editions to keep it current.

In the Yoga Journal Source for 2001, there is an article on pages 79-87 that discusses and shows Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), in five popular styles of yoga. The styles are Ashtanga, Bikram, Iyengar, Kripalu and Sivananda. The premise of this article is that there is no such thing as a right triangle, only that each style brings a different emphasis. Each style teaches the same concepts of the Triangle to a student and that is "How to use his/her legs in relation to the pelvis and spine and how to manipulate the spine from its very base."

So next time you are confused about what a particular style of yoga can do for you, try to remember this fundamental yoga concept. "Even though the postures look different and may have different Sanskrit names, they are essentially the same." Therefore, no matter how you practice it, construct it or name it, the benefits should be similar if the postures are done correctly.