We will end our yoga series, devoted to helping you find your best yoga practice, with probably the style who’s name alone is as ubiquitous to yoga as Hatha - vinyasa.  Vinyasa seems to be a catch all phrase used to describe any fast moving yoga class, but it’s so much more.  It’s also often coined Flow Yoga.  The word Vinyasa means poses done in a sequential order (flowing) synchronized with the breath.  Several of the styles I’ve written about in this series:  Ashtanga, Anusara, Jivamukti, Power Yoga are all types of Vinyasa based practice.  When I teach class, I always tell my students that sun salutation in the ultimate vinyasa as you’re connecting breath to each movement in the series, i.e. raising the arms on an inhale, folding over on an exhale, lifting to flat back on an inhale, etc.  The challenge with a Vinyasa class that’s not linked to a style - like those mentioned above - is finding a flow that’s right for you! (more…)

ISHTA yoga was developed by Alan Finger and his father Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger opening the first YogaWorks where ISHTA was taught in 1992. ISHSTA’s meaning is 2-fold: in Sanskrit it means to develop a yoga practice that meets your own needs. ISHTA also is an acronym for the key elements of the style: Integrated Science of Hatha (physical practice), Tantra (yoga philosophy recognizing the perfection in all Beings) and Ayurveda (the ancient India science of healing). This yogic system is also deeply entrenched in the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, the author of the spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi. (more…)

Integral Yoga® was founded in 1966 by the great Sri Swami Satchidanandaji Maharaj (Sri Gurudev), who passed in 2002 at 88. Sri Gurudev also created the worldwide Integral Yoga® Institutes, and Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville®, a thriving Yoga community. Sri Gurudev was a leader in the peace movement in the 60s and has gently led and guided through the principle of: “Truth is One, Paths are Many.” He is is the author of many books and is a blessed and revered figure in the yoga community. (more…)

Bikram Yoga was started by Bikram Choudhury when he founded the Yoga College of India in Beverly Hills in 1974. Born in 1946 in Calcutta, he and his wife Rajashree were both yoga champions in India before coming to the States and starting the phenomenon that is now Bikram.

What is Bikram Yoga?

Bikram yoga is based on 26 set asanas (poses) done in a precise order and sequencing in a room heated anywhere from 95 degrees up to 105 degrees. Bikram defines its yoga style as one of total wellness and rejuvenation with the heated room aiding in eliminating toxins and creating warm muscles that are more supple and inclined to deeper stretches. Hot Yoga is not Bikram. Bikram is it’s own registered and franchised entity. (See additional information section for more on Hot Yoga vs. Bikram.) (more…)

Anusara is one of the newer styles of Hatha yoga, developed in 1997 by John Friend, but no less steeped in pure yogic tradition. Anusara’s literal translations means to “flow with grace” or “following the heart.” According to Anusara’s website, Anusara is “…a powerful hatha yoga system that unifies a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic Goodness with Universal Principles of Alignment™…” What does that mean exactly? (more…)

Welcome to our new series on finding your best yoga practice. And since we are right at the start of Yoga Month the timing could not be better!  From my introduction, I really want to help debunk and demystify some of the more popular and readily accessible styles of Hatha yoga. And please note, there are tons of yogic experts, practitioners, teachers that might have a different interpretation of these schools of yoga. I will try and give the most researched description peppered with my own personal views.
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As a yoga teacher in New York City, students and potential students, are always asking about the variety of Hatha yoga classes and what differentiates one from the other. In order to help make choosing a yoga class and a practice best suited to your needs, beYOUmag.com has developed an informative series and a companion break-out guide to easily understand this ancient yet highly approachable art. In this series we will take a look each week at the most recognized forms of Hatha Yoga. (more…)

It’s natural to get angry when something upsets or irritates you - anger is a primal emotion. However, improper management of anger can lead to some pretty serious health problems. According to the gurus at the health and yoga infoplace, many of the common forms of anger management we are taught actually do very little in the way of removing anger. The article criticizes taking deep breaths, stating that deep breathing does little or nothing for suppression of anger. Two other methods mentioned are expression and diversion. Diversion is the act of doing something to keep your mind occupied and off of anger. Expression is acting out your anger, i.e. hitting a punching bag or tearing the head off of a stress doll. (more…)

We’ve all had those days - you oversleep, your day is full of meetings so you aren’t as productive as you know you should have been, you work late, you don’t have time to go to the gym, when you get home there is nothing in the fridge to cook and the kids are screaming. You know - THOSE days. Amongst the hustle and bustle of today’s fast paced society, downtime is a luxury - a luxury that when absent from daily life leads to conditions such as stress, anxiety and depression. (more…)

Here at beYOUmag.com we’re big fans of East West Yoga, a premier yoga studio in NYC. (Michelle teaches there.) The Director at East West Yoga, Sadie Nardini, released her new book The Road Trip Guide to the Soul: a 9-Stop Program to Revolutionize the Way You Live! It’s available on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com.

Every interaction I’ve had with East West Yoga has been positive and I’m excited for this book. In straightforward, yet engaging language, Sadie translates the Eastern philosophies of Zen, Yoga, Buddhism and Feng Shui, as well as western science and wisdom, into today’s language. It’s a living yoga practice that each reader creates according to their goals. (more…)