Brand Name Yoga

By Therese Droste

Choosing a hatha yoga class is far from easy. Names like Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara can baffle even the brightest and most savvy of health-oriented consumers. And if you assume that yoga is all about meditation and relaxation, you're in for a big surprise. Chances are good you'll quickly work up a sweat in many yoga classes offered nationwide.

The confusion begins with the use of the word "hatha," the most popular type of yoga in America. Simply put, hatha is the umbrella term for physical yoga. Styles such as Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Anusara fall under that umbrella, with each school incorporating several basics: breathing, holding a posture, stretching, and meditating.

"Some teachers emphasize the spirituality aspect of yoga; others may not bring it into play," says John Schumacher, the founder of the Bethesda, Md.-based Unity Woods Yoga Center, the country's largest Iyengar school.

What differentiates a yoga style is not necessarily that new positions have been created but how the mostly traditional postures are taught or sequenced, says David Ingalls, founder of Washington, D.C.'s Ashtanga Yoga Center. "One style may use postures slowly, another one quickly. One style might emphasize alignment; another the way you move from posture to posture," he says.

According to Larry Payne, author of "Yoga for Dummies" (IDG Books Worldwide Inc., 1999), "Some styles are safer for beginners, particularly older beginners. Ashtanga is the physical top of the line and is definitely for those under 35--max 40--unless they are professional athletes or dancers." Be careful to find the correct yoga style for your physical level, because choosing the wrong type can lead to injuries, he says.

To find a style that fits you, try a class and interview the teacher. Be candid about your physical problems, such as back pain or chronic injuries. Also verify a teacher's training. The Yoga Alliance in West Reading, Penn., sponsors a website with a state-by-state breakdown of its members, all of whom are required to have at least 200 hours of practice. In general, yoga classes run 90 minutes at studios, an hour at health clubs. Studios are the better bets to find teachers trained in a particular technique.

Here is a description of some popular yoga styles taught around the country:

Sivananda and Integral Yoga

Sivananda and Integral Yoga These yoga schools are more laid back than Iyengar and Ashtanga, says Payne. In addition to Sivananda's practice of the Sun Salutation, the style also features meditating on and chanting the "OM" mantra. Payne calls the mantra "the universal sound of God." To me, when a room of yoga practitioners chant together, God sounds like a hidden bass reverberating off the walls.

Integral Yoga is a close cousin to Sivananda. Swami Satchidananda gave the Woodstock crowd a small taste of Integral Yoga when he led them in chanting "OM" back in 1969, says Payne. The main focus is on meditation and deep relaxation. The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Manhattan is one of many centers nationwide set up by Swami Satchidananda to offer daily classes that initiate students into the style.