WHat is Yoga?
Yoga is known to be a physical, mental, and spiritual practice with a focus on the mind-body connection. Its origin comes from ancient India (Louie, 2014). This practice includes concepts of exercise, relaxation, and breathing techniques. For years, it has been included in a form of therapy for its countless benefits. Yoga can strengthen bones, improve balance, relieve depression, as well as reduce back pain and stress. The most popular types of yoga consist of Hatha, Vinyasa flow, Bikram (hot yoga), and Ashtanga (Park et al., 2020).
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Hatha Yoga - The Sanskrit term includes physical postures of yoga. As known to improve mood and a good start for beginners. Usually practiced at a slower pace.
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Vinyasa Flow - Vinyasa means “to place in a special way.” This stems from Ashtanga yoga where the flow of breath is linked to the movement.
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Bikram (hot) Yoga - Named after Bikram Choudhury, this style is a sequence of set poses done in a sauna-like room. The sequence includes 26 basic postures for proper alignment.
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Ashtanga - The translation from Sanskrit is “eight limb path.” This intense form of yoga follows the same sequence and series of poses during each practice.
