Yoga Styles and Schools

There are many yoga styles and schools which have an emphasis on teaching asana (posture) and pranyama (usually as breath practices). Some of the best known of these are mentioned below.

Viniyoga was created in the 1970's by Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888 - 1989). Krishnamacharya was an extraordinary yoga teacher, healer and scholar. He has been a major influence in bringing yoga into the mainstream. Some of his students include many of today's most well-known teachers such as B.K.S. Iyengar, the late K. Pattabhi Jois, the late Indra Devi, Srivatsa Ramaswami, A.G. Mohan and T.K.V. Desikachar. Through his experience with students, Krishnamacharya's teaching adapted over time. Various students picked up on different aspects of his teaching and as they focused on that developed their own unique styles. In many ways, who he was as a teacher early in his career when Mr. Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois trained with him was quite different to who he was later in life when his son Desikachar and A.G. Mohan trained with him.

Viniyoga is a gentle style in which asanas are specifically adapted to individual needs and circumstances. Therefore, it is often taught on an individual basis and in the context of therapy for a particular ailment. Viniyoga uses repetition into and out of postures, and focuses on function rather than form. That is, it is more important that the pose creates the desired effect, than be technically perfect. There is considerable emphasis on the breath and adapting it in order to achieve the desired benefits. Ashtanga Yoga. Although 'ashtanga' literally refers to the 'eight limbs' of yoga outlined above, the term now often refers to a system of yoga developed in the 20th century by the Indian Master Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009). The origin of his approach was a system recorded by the sage Vamana Rishi in the Yoga Korunta; an ancient manuscript which contains lists of many different groupings of asanas. The text of the Yoga Korunta was imparted to Sri T. Krishnamacharya in the early 1900's by his Guru Rama Mohan Brahmachari, and was later passed down to Pattabhi Jois during his studies with Krishnamacharya, beginning in 1927. Pattabhi Jois founded the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India in 1948 and westerners began going to him in the late 1960s. Jois travelled to the USA in 1974 and quickly developed a strong following throughout much of the western world.

Ashtanga Yoga practice involves synchronising the breath with a progressive set series of postures (asanas)- a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. It is a rigorous practice in which the postures are performed as a fast-paced flowing sequence, and is physically challenging for most people. A modified form is sometimes taught under the name of 'Power Yoga'.

Iyengar Yoga is a disciplined and deeply researched system developed by Yogacharya BKS Iyengar (1918 - ). He is considered one of the foremost Hatha yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written 14 books on yogic practice and philosophy and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The popularity of yoga in the West can be attributed largely to Iyengar.

In 1952 Iyengar befriended the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Menuhin arranged for Iyengar to teach in London, Switzerland, Paris and elsewhere. In 1966, Light on Yoga was published. It gradually became an international best-seller and it has significantly raised awareness of yoga throughout the world.

In 1975 Iyengar opened the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, in memory of his wife. He officially retired from teaching in 1984, but continues to be active in the world of Iyengar Yoga, teaching special classes and writing books. Iyengar's daughter, Geeta, and son, Prashant, have gained international acclaim as teachers.

There are many Iyengar Yoga centres located throughout the world. Iyengar Yoga is characterised by a strong emphasis on precision and alignment, planned sequencing and timing. Props such as bolsters, blocks, belts and blankets are often used to help people access asanas and be well-aligned. Asanas are held for longer than in most styles of yoga.

Shivananda Yoga was established when Swami Sivananda (1887-1963) sent Swami Vishnu-devananda to the West to teach yoga. Swami Sivananda studied medicine in his early adulthood, and served in Malaya as a physician for several years before becoming a yogic monk (swami). He founded The Divine Life Society (1936) and The Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy (1948) and established Sivananda Ashram on the bank of the Ganges near Rishikesh.

Swami Shivananda wrote 296 books on a variety of subjects, however, his books emphasised the practical application of yoga philosophy over mere theoretical knowledge. He said "An ounce of practice is better than tons of theory. Practice yoga, religion and philosophy in daily life and attain Self-realisation."

Swami Vishnu-devananda (1927 - 1993) founded the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams and wrote The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga. Swami Vishnu-devananda entered the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh in 1947 at the age of twenty. He became a monk (swami) and was appointed the first professor of hatha yoga at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Forest Academy, and eventually trained scores of Indian and western students. At the same time he continued his own practice, mastering advanced hatha yoga techniques. For ten years, he lived and worked under the direct guidance of his Swami Sivananda. Then, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, Swami Vishnu-devananda created many ashrams and retreat centres in North America and India. In 1969 he developed the Sivananda Yoga Teacher Training Course, with the intention of creating a perpetual chain of students who then become teachers.

Sivananda teachers teach yoga in a traditional form, as has been done for many centuries in the Himalayas around Rishikesh, in northern India. Classes focus on 12 principle postures, but the style includes many aspects of yoga, including pranayama and meditation.

Satyananda Yoga was developed by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923-2009) and his lineage. In 1944, at the age of 19, Swami Satyananda met his guru Swami Sivananda and went to live at his ashram. In 1947, he took the vow of monastic renunciation and became a swami. He served in many different ways at the ashram for over 12 years, then wandered throughout India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma and Ceylon for 7 years, extending his knowledge of spiritual practices. He eventually found his way to the Indian state of Bihar, where in the early 60s he founded the International Yoga Fellowship and the Bihar School of Yoga.

Swami Satyananda lectured and taught globally for the next twenty years and wrote over 80 books, including the well-known Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha; recognised internationally as a highly systematic and thorough yoga manual. Since its first publication in 1969 it has been reprinted seventeen times and translated into many languages. In 1988, Swami Satyananda retired from active involvement in teaching and handed the operation of his ashram and organisation to his senior disciple, Swami Niranjanananda (who is now the head of Satyananda Yoga). Swami Satyananda attained maha Samadhi at his ashram on December 5th, 2009.

Satyananda Yoga classes typically include a systematic progression of gentle asanas, pranayama, yoga nidra (relaxation) and possibly a little chanting and meditation. Satyananda Yoga teaches and encourages a yogic lifestyle in order to access the full benefits of yoga practice.

Integral Yoga

Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga should not be confused with a trademark "Integral Yoga" of Swami Satchidananda. Classes feature gentle asanas, but with an emphasis on taking asanas to the limits of flexibility. Classes include mantra, asana, pranayama, meditation and yogic philosophy.

Dru Yoga was first taught in the West by a small group of colleagues at Bangor University, North Wales, UK from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mansukh Patel, John Jones, Rita Goswami, Annie Jones and Chris Barrington were trained in Dru Yoga by Mansukh's parents (who had participated in Mahatma Gandhi's satyagraha campaigns in India).

Dru Yoga is a gentle and graceful form based on soft flowing movements, directed breathing and visualisation. Classes include several set sequences of asanas, as well as relaxation, pranayama and meditation.

Bikram (Vikram) Yoga (also known as 'Hot Yoga') is a system that Bikram Choudhury (1946 - ) synthesised from traditional yoga techniques and popularised beginning in the early 1970s. At five years of age Bikram Choudhury began studying yoga with Bishnu Ghosh (brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi). The Bishnu Ghosh lineage has focused on translating Eastern philosophies and practices into a language that is meaningful to westerners.

At 14, Swami Shivananda declared him 'Yogi Raj' (King of the Yogis). At age 20, a weightlifting accident crippled Bikram, but with the guidance of his guru he created his 26 posture series which restored his health. As an adult he opened yoga schools in India and Japan and arrived in the United States in 1973, at the invitation of President Richard Nixon and the urging of Shirley MacLaine. Celebrities, athletes and others began to flock to him. There are now Bikram Yoga studios all over the world.

Bikram Yoga has a sequence of 26 asanas and 2 pranayama practices, performed in a room heated to 35-40 degrees. The combination of asanas and heat is claimed to internally cleanse the body and facilitate deeper stretching, injury prevention, and stress relief. However, there is much controversy as to whether performing strenuous exercise in such a hot room is safe. It is common for beginners to experience dizziness and nausea. Some say that many of the people who are drawn to Bikram Yoga classes for the challenge tend to be more competitive by nature. In ayurvedic terms, having lots of the fire element in them or Pitta constitution. Although Bikram Yoga can be very enticing to them, this may be the opposite of what they need for balance and well being.

Yoga in Daily Life was founded in 1972 by Vishwaguru Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, affectionately known as 'Swamiji'. He is the disciple and successor of Paramhans Swami Madhavanandaji.

Whilst still in his teens, Swamiji recognised that the true joy in life can be found in service. He thus dedicated his life to working around the globe for humanitarian causes, spiritual tolerance, social harmony, environmental protection and lasting world peace. Since 1972 the system of health and lifestyle known as Yoga in Daily Life has spread throughout the world enhancing people's physical, mental, social and spiritual health. Swamiji's book - Yoga in Daily Life the System - is translated into 8 languages.

The key points of Swamiji's teachings are:

• nurturing physical, mental, social and spiritual health
• respect for all life
• tolerance for all religions, cultures and nationalities
• fostering inner peace for global peace
• protection of human rights
• protection of the environment and preservation of nature.

Yoga in Daily Life is a classical style that includes gentle asanas, pranayama, relaxation and meditation.