Jivamukti Yoga: Modern World Yoga
Jivamukti Yoga appeared in New York in the year 1984. It was developed by the artist David Life and the musician and dancer Sharon Gannon. After taking yoga lessons in India, the two began practicing their own type of yoga. They opened up two centers in New York and started gaining adepts right away. The name ‘Jivamukti’ comes from the combination of two Sanskrit words: ‘jiva’ that refers to the living soul, plus ‘mukti’ that signifies the liberation from death, or rebirth.What is Jivamukti Yoga?Jivamukti Yoga is a special kind of yoga that ...
Ananda Yoga: Higher Awareness Meditation
Ananda Yoga has been developed with the help of Paramhansa Yogananda, the first yoga master who settled in the West. By studying his teachings, Swami Kriyananda, one of his direct disciples, managed to develop the Ananda type of yoga into a very definite practice system that is widely followed even today.What is Ananda Yoga?Ananda Yoga represents a classical type of yoga meant to harmonize and assimilate all the levels of the human being, meaning the spiritual, the physical and the mental one. Moreover, this type of yoga is also meant to rai...
Anusara Yoga: Heart Oriented Yoga
The word ‘anusara’ means to follow your heart and to flow with nature and with grace. Therefore, Anusara Yoga, which was founded in the year 1997 by the famous John Friend centers its philosophy on the alignment of the human body with nature.What is Anusara Yoga?Anusara Yoga is known to be fun, lighthearted and also positive. However, although it might sound simple, it is not easy to practice, as this type of yoga involves a difficult alignment work and also vinyasa flow. On the other hand, Anusara emphasizes the usage of props which makes ...
Ashtanga Yoga: Dynamic Yoga
Ashtanga Yoga is a modern form of yoga inspired from the Indian discipline and developed by the well-known K. Pattabhi Jois. In Sanskrit, ‘ashtanga’ means ‘eight-limbed’. Therefore, this yoga practice emphasizes eight different aspects: moral codes, union with the meditation object, study and self-purification, deep meditation, posture, concentration, breath control and the separation of the senses from the mind.What is Ashtanga Yoga?Ashtanga Yoga mainly concentrates on synchronizing one’s breath with diverse and progressive posture series. ...
Integral Yoga: Higher Consciousness Meditation
Integral Yoga represents a hatha, gentle practice of the yoga discipline. It has been developed by Sri Swami Sachidananda and it includes meditation, breathing exercises, kriyas and chanting. This type of yoga is being practiced since the 1960s when its founder first came from India to the US. The first yoga centers that he founded were in Buckingham, Virginia. However, the centers expanded in time and this kind of yoga started gaining more and more practitioners.What is Integral Yoga?Integral Yoga bears this name due to the fact that its pr...
Iyengar Yoga: Posture and Breath Control
Iyengar Yoga is a discipline that has not only been developed by the well-known B.K.S. Iyengar, but also named after him. This type of yoga highly emphasizes alignment, precision and detail in relation with breath control and posture performance. All in all, it aims at developing the practitioner’s strength, stability and mobility.What is Iyengar Yoga?Iyengar Yoga centers on the fundamental alignment of the human body through the improvement of its asanas. By practicing a certain asana system, this type of yoga means to unite the spirit, min...