... to completely counteract the stress, and for many, yoga is the answer. As more people seek yoga for relief, more yoga styles are also being sought. I have provided a few of the different styles you have to choose from.

Yoga Styles

Ananda Yoga - Ananda Yoga is a class that helps you learns to quiet your body before meditation. You work to move your energy to your brain by aligning your body. Then you control your breathing to calm yourself for your meditative practice. This is great for a person who is not only trying to start as a beginner yoga participant, but also beginner in meditation.

Bikram Yoga - This is one of the more popular yoga styles, especially in the Chicago area, because of it takes on the style of a comprehensive work out, focusing on muscular strength, endurance and cardio exercises. The class was started by Bikram Choudhury, an Olympic gold medalist in weight lifting in the 1960s, who wanted to incorporate yoga into an exercise routine. His style of yoga is said to encourage flexibility, detoxification, and prevention of injuries. And it is unique because it is practiced in a heated environment for increased circulation.

Hatha Yoga - This is one of the more easy-to-learn styles of yoga and is more popular in the West than East. It incorporates several styles of yoga, including Asanas, P...more

Yoga Paths

...e focus of karma yoga is on service and treatment of others. The basic idea is that our experiences today are a direct result of our past actions. Therefore, everything that those who practice karma yoga do today is in an effort to create a better future for themselves and those around them. They do this by eliminating the motivations of pessimism and egotism. This means living for others instead of ourselves.

Jnana Yoga

Those who practice jnana yoga are most concerned with the development of the mind. They are scholar...more

Teaching Hatha Yoga: What is Normal?

...Do people puzzle you sometimes? When you think you have heard it all, someone comes up with a new spin on an old idea. When you teach Yoga techniques for a healthy mind, body, and spirit; are you trying to help your students reach a normal state? If that is your goal, you may just frustrate yourself and confuse your Yoga students in the process.

The fact is: Yoga teachers should help students improve their lives, but the goals are really up to the students. You can teach goal setting skills, but a Yoga student has his or her own idea of what is normal and what the ultimate goal is.

Many Yog...more

Will Yoga Help Weight Loss?

...yoga. Some practices, like power yoga, is a much more active form which will burn calories much faster than other yoga practices like ashtanga yoga. Power yoga though is NOT for the faint hearted. Like all forms of exercise you should check with your family doctor before setting off to engage in a new fitness regime.

It is becoming more and more recognised that overeating is related to our emotional state and our minds. Thus, a quieter mind, brought about through yoga practice will make it less likely that you will reach for that cream cake every time you get the urge.

This is not to say that you have to diet on celery and lettuce leaves. The idea of weight loss through yoga is to become relaxed about th...more

Arizona Sidha Yoga Meditation Centers