Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin and Kundalini Explained
One of the things I hear quite often is, “I tried yoga once and I didn’t like it.”
My first question is always: What kind of yoga did you try?
Because saying you don’t like yoga after trying one class is a little bit like saying you don’t like music after hearing one song. There are so many different styles of yoga, and the experience of a fast Vinyasa class can be completely different from lying quietly in a Yin posture for several minutes.
Some yoga is strong, flowing and energetic. Some is slow and gentle. Some focuses much more on meditation and breathing. Some can feel almost like a workout, while another class may leave you feeling as though you’ve just had the deepest relaxation of your week.
I’ve trained in and practised several different forms of yoga over the years, and I think the important thing is finding the style that suits your body, your personality and what you need at this particular point in your life.
Vinyasa or Flow Yoga
If you come to one of my more energetic Flow classes, you’ll experience something based around Vinyasa yoga.
Vinyasa links movement with the breath, with one posture flowing into another. Rather than holding every position for a long time, there’s generally a feeling of continuous movement.
A Vinyasa class can be quite gentle, but it can also become surprisingly athletic. We might move through Sun Salutations, lunges, standing postures, balances and movements such as Plank and Downward-Facing Dog.
This means you’re not only developing flexibility.
You’re building strength too.
Holding your own body weight in Plank requires strength. Moving slowly and with control requires strength. Standing poses develop the legs. Balancing develops coordination and stability. Moving repeatedly from the floor to standing also asks the whole body to work together.
This is one reason I think people underestimate yoga as a form of exercise.
You don’t necessarily need weights in your hands to challenge your muscles — your own body provides resistance.
I also love the mental effect of Vinyasa. Because you’re following movement and breath together, you have to concentrate. There’s less room for thinking about the shopping list, tomorrow’s meeting or what somebody said to you yesterday.
You’re here.
Moving.
Breathing.
For me, that can be a wonderful way of quietening a busy mind.
Hatha and Gentle Flow – The Yoga I Teach Most Often
Most of the yoga I teach is what I’d describe as gentle flowing Hatha yoga.
Traditionally, Hatha is a broad term covering physical yoga practices, so you’ll see the word used differently by different teachers and studios. In the modern class setting, “Hatha” often describes a somewhat slower practice where there’s more time to explore individual postures rather than continuously moving through a fast sequence.
My gentle classes still flow, but we take our time.
We work on strength, mobility, flexibility and balance. We breathe. We notice how the body feels. We might hold a posture for a little longer, but there’s still movement connecting everything together.
This is probably the style I love teaching most because it gives me space to work with the whole person.
I can include stronger postures for the legs and upper body, balance work, spinal mobility and stretching, but I can also bring in breathing, mindfulness and relaxation.
You don’t have to be flexible.
You don’t have to be fit.
And you certainly don’t have to be able to put your foot behind your head.
I want people to leave feeling as though they’ve moved their whole body but also as though something inside them has become a little quieter.
That’s yoga to me.
Yin Yoga – Slow, Still and Deeply Restful
Yin is completely different.
If Vinyasa is about flow and movement, Yin is about slowing everything down.
In a Yin class, many postures are floor-based and are held for considerably longer — often several minutes. Rather than repeatedly contracting muscles and moving quickly between positions, we settle into a position, use props where appropriate and allow time to become part of the practice.
This can influence flexibility and range of movement, and the longer, relatively passive holds place mechanical load through connective tissues as well as muscles. Fascia is part of the body’s interconnected connective-tissue system surrounding and connecting muscles and other structures.
You’ll sometimes hear extraordinary claims about Yin “releasing toxins from the fascia” or completely restructuring fascia. I don’t think we need to make those claims to appreciate how wonderful Yin can feel.
For me, its greatest power is often stillness.
If you’re someone whose normal life involves rushing from one thing to another, remaining quietly in a posture for several minutes can be surprisingly challenging.
Your body stops moving and suddenly you meet your mind.
That’s where the practice becomes fascinating.
We breathe.
We notice sensation.
We notice the desire to fidget.
We learn that we don’t have to react to every thought or sensation immediately.
And gradually the whole experience can become deeply calming.
Research into yoga more broadly suggests it can help reduce perceived stress, although researchers are still investigating exactly which mechanisms and which styles are most effective. That’s why I prefer saying yoga can support nervous-system regulation and relaxation, rather than claiming that one particular posture simply “switches on” the parasympathetic nervous system.
Yin is one of my favourite choices when someone feels as though their life is permanently stuck on fast-forward.
Kundalini Yoga – Breath, Movement, Meditation and Energy
Kundalini is another very different experience, and it’s a style I’ve also trained in.
A Kundalini class can combine physical postures, repetitive movements, specific breathing practices, meditation, mantra and periods of stillness.
Sometimes a movement is repeated for considerably longer than you’d expect, which can make something apparently simple surprisingly challenging.
The traditional philosophy of Kundalini also includes ideas around energy, consciousness and spiritual development. Those concepts belong to yoga’s spiritual tradition rather than modern anatomy, and people can relate to them in different ways.
What I personally love about Kundalini is its combination of movement, breath, concentration and meditation.
You aren’t simply stretching your hamstrings.
You’re having an experience.
For somebody interested in the more meditative, energetic or spiritual side of yoga, Kundalini can be fascinating.
So Which Yoga Should You Choose?
This is where I think we make yoga unnecessarily complicated.
Instead of asking, “Which is the best yoga?”, ask:
“What do I need today?”
If you want something more energetic and you enjoy movement, try Vinyasa or Flow.
If you want to build strength and flexibility while moving at a more manageable pace, try Hatha or Gentle Flow.
If you’re exhausted, overstimulated or simply need to slow down, you might fall in love with Yin.
If you’re curious about breathwork, meditation, mantra and the spiritual traditions of yoga, you might enjoy exploring Kundalini.
And you don’t have to choose just one.
I certainly haven’t.
Some days my body wants movement.
Some days I want strength.
Some days I need to stretch.
And sometimes what I need most is to lie down, breathe and stop doing anything at all.
That’s one of the things I love most about yoga.
The practice can meet you where you are.
As we get older, that becomes even more important. Our bodies change. Our energy changes. Our priorities change. The yoga that suited us at 25 may not be what we need at 55, 75 or 85.
And that’s perfectly fine.
Yoga isn’t a performance.
It’s a relationship with your body, your breath and your mind.
So if you’ve tried yoga once and decided it wasn’t for you, perhaps you haven’t found your yoga yet.
Try a different teacher.
Try a different style.
Try a slower class.
Try a stronger class.
Try Yin.
Try Flow.
And give yourself permission to discover what actually feels good in your body.
Because there’s no prize for doing the hardest yoga.
The best yoga is the practice that helps you become stronger, more mobile, more aware and more at home in yourself — and that you actually want to come back and do again.
Selena
Personal Trainer, Yoga Teacher & Wellbeing Coach
In Flow Wellbeing Studio, Cheltenham
