TYPES OF YOGA

Types of Yoga 1 – Hatha Yoga

In Sanskrit, “Hatha” means force. It describes the physical practice of yoga, so all other types of yoga fall under the category of Hatha.4

If you see Hatha Yoga on a class schedule, it means you’ll find a slower-paced class with little-to-no “flow” between poses. It’s a gentle class that’s perfect for beginners or the after-work yogi looking to wind-down. Here, you’ll learn basic postures, breath work, relaxation techniques, and meditation.

Types of Yoga 2 – Vinyasa

This style of yoga links movement with the breath, creating flowing postures that smoothly transition from one to the next. In Sanskrit, the word “vinyasa” means “connection.” Each movement connects with either an inhale or an exhale. You can expect to move through a few sun salutations, warrior poses, balancing poses, back bends, and seated stretches. Each class ends in savasana, which is the final relaxation pose.

There is no strict format or sequence of poses in a vinyasa class, allowing for more creativity on the part of the teacher. Some classes are more spiritual, incorporating breath work, chanting and meditation, while others are more athletically-oriented. It depends on the instructor, so if one class doesn’t suit you, try a different instructor.

Depending on the level, Vinyasa yoga can be gentle or rigorous. If you’re a beginner, look for a gentle flow or a level 1 class. Learn the basics before moving on to more advanced classes (level 2 or higher).

Types of Yoga 3 – Iyengar

Iyengar is an alignment-based style of yoga. These classes don’t flow like vinyasa classes. Poses are held longer, as you breath into a pose to find more expansion. Instructors use of a variety of props, such as blocks, straps, and blankets, to make sure you find the correct posture in each pose. Iyengar is a great style of yoga for individuals who appreciate detailed instruction, or for those with injuries and who need a class that can accommodate their limitations. Practicing Iyengar will help build strength, mobility, and stability.5

Types of Yoga 4 – Bikram

Bikram yoga is best known for hot rooms and sweat dripping postures. This style of vinyasa yoga was developed by Bikram Choudhury and is comprised of 26 postures performed in strict sequential order. Bikram chose these specific postures because he believes they systematically challenge the entire body—the organs, veins, ligaments, and muscles.6 7

Types of Yoga 5 – Ashtanga (aka Power Yoga)

Developed by K. Pattabhi Jois, Ashtanga yoga is considered a modern-day form of classical Indian yoga. It’s also known as “Power” yoga. Like vinyasa, movement and breath are linked. However, in Ashtanga, the movements are predefined. You move through four phases—an opening phase, one of six “series”, backbending, and inversions. There is an element of progression in Ashtanga: if you’re a beginner to the practice, you’ll start with the Primary series. When you’ve mastered that series, you will graduate to a more difficult series and so on. Advancing through the poses can take years or decades; however, the focus of the practice is not on advancement to more difficult levels, rather, it is to maintain internal focus.8

If you enjoy a more structured, powerful practice that focuses on mastery of poses and progression to more advanced levels, this could be a great style of yoga for you.

Types of Yoga 6 – Jivamukti

More than just a movement practice, Sharon Gannon and David Life developed the practice as a lifestyle. It is a physical, spiritual, and ethical practice that emphasizes animal rights, environmentalism, and veganism. There are five central tenets to the Jivamukti: shastra (scripture), bhakti (devotion), ahimsa (non-harming), nada (music), and dhyana (meditation).9

A typical class starts with a life lesson or intention, chanting, and breath awareness. It moves on to flowing vinyasa sequences and ends with relaxation & meditation. If you’re looking for a style of yoga that offers spiritual and meditative elements as well as physical benefits, Jivamukti could be perfect.

Types of Yoga 7 – Kundalini

Grounded in the Chakra system, Kundalini focuses on the breath (pranayama) and core work. Kundalini strives to develop the mind, awareness, and consciousness. Each pose is associated with a different breathing technique that is believed to intensify the effects of the posture.10

Kundalini is much more spiritual and meditative than other styles of yoga. It emphasizes breathing, chanting, meditation, and hand gestures (mudras). Although this class often involves more sitting than other styles, it is still physically demanding. This class offer both physical and mental challenges, as well as spiritual and meditative elements.

Types of Yoga 8 – Yin (aka Restorative)

This is a slow-paced style of yoga developed by Paulie Zink, a martial arts expert and Taoist yoga teacher. Here, the poses are held for longer periods of time, about 5 minutes per pose. Holding a pose for this length of time is believed to put stress on the connective tissue, enhancing circulation and increasing flexibility. This style is believed to improve the flow of qi (life energy) and was created to complement more rigorous forms of activity.11

As this practice is slower-paced, it makes use of a lot of props and is usually performed in a room heated to 80-90F. The heat enables the muscles to expand, becoming more elastic, which is important when holding poses for 3-5 minutes. Holding poses for longer periods of time challenges patience and the mind, bringing attention to the breath in a meditative way.

You won’t find much flowing movement here, so Yin is great for individuals interested in a deeper stretch and a more relaxing class.

I hope this overview of the principles & basic practice of these different types of yoga help you decide which is the best for you to practice, or for those who practice certain types already, it inspires you to give a few more a try.

Yoga

Yoga Sanskrit,LISTEN is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline which originated in India. There is a broad variety of schools, practices, and goals[2] in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.[3][4][5][4] Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga.[6]

The origins of yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions, is mentioned in the Rigveda,[note 1] but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India's ascetic and śramaṇa movements.[8][note 2]The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads[9] and BuddhistPāli Canon,[10] probably of third century BCE or later. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE,[11][12] but only gained prominence in the West in the 20th century.[13] Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra.[14][15]

Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,[16] following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century.[16] In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world.[15]Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise, it has a meditative and spiritual core.[17] One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy.[18]

HAMMER THROW

The hammer throw is a throwing event where the object thrown is a heavy steel ball attached with a long wire (maximum length 122cm) to a handle. The facility for the hammer throw includes a throwing circle, protective cage and landing sector. It is usually combined with the facility for the discus throw.

The throwing circle is the same as for the discus and shot put throw but has an inside diameter of 2.135m (±5mm). The hammer can be thrown from the discus circle provided the diameter of this circle is reduced from 2.50m to 2.135m by placing a circular ring inside.

The surface finish to the concrete circle is slightly smoother for hammer throw than for discus. When a circle is used for both discus and hammer throw, a compromise finish is required.

The hammer throw cage is designed, manufactured and maintained to be capable of stopping a 7.260kg disc moving at a speed of up to 32m per second. There must be no danger of the disc ricocheting or rebounding back towards the athlete or over the top of the cage. If these requirements are satisfied, any form of cage design and construction can be used.

The cage is U-shaped as shown in the following diagram. The width of the mouth is 6m, positioned 7m in front of the centre of the throwing circle. The end points of the 6m wide mouth are the inner edge of the cage netting. The height of the netting panels or draped netting at their lowest point are at least 7m for the panels/netting at the rear of the cage and at least 10m for the 2.80m panels to the gate pivot points. Provision must be made in the design of the cage to prevent a hammer forcing its way through any joints in the cage or the netting or underneath the netting panels.

 Two movable netting panels 2m wide are provided at the front of the cage, only one is operative at a time. The minimum height of the panels is 10m.

The netting can be made from suitable natural or synthetic fibre cord or from a mild or high tensile steel wire. The maximum mesh size is 44mm for cord netting and 50mm for steel wire.

Where it is desirable to use the same cage for discus and
hammer throw, the installation can be adapted in two alternative ways. A 2.135m–2.5m concentric circle is fitted but this involves using the same surface in the circle for the hammer and discus throw. The hammer cage is used for the discus throw by fixing the movable netting panels clear of the cage opening. 

For separate circles for hammer and discus throw in the same cage, the two circles are placed one behind the other with the centres 2.37m apart on the centre line of the land sector and with the discus circle at the front. In this case, the movable netting panels are used for the discus throw. 

The maximum danger sector for hammer throws from this cage is approximately 53° when used by both right and left-handed throwers in the same competition. The position and alignment of the cage in the arena is critical for its safe use.

Javelin

The javelin throw is a throwing event where the object to be thrown is a spear-like object made of metal, fibreglass and, in some cases, carbon fibre. The facility for the javelin throw includes a runway, a throwing arc and a landing sector. The minimum length of the runway is 30m and the maximum 36.5m. It is marked by two parallel white lines 5cm wide and 4m apart. 

The throw is made from behind an arc of a circle drawn with a radius of 8m. The arc consists of a strip painted or made of wood 7cm wide. It is white and flush with the ground. Lines are drawn from the extremities of the arc at right angles to the parallel lines marking the runway. These lines are white, 75cm long and 7cm wide. The maximum lateral inclination of the runway is 1:100 and the overall inclination in the running direction 1:1000Floodlighting of athletics venues is generally required to maximise the use of tracks and training areas. Where athletics facilities are to be used for non-televised activities, it is only necessary to provide a horizontal illuminance suitable for the required level of activity. An illuminance level of 100 lux is sufficient for an athletics training area. For club competition and regional events, 200 lux is sufficient and for national and international levels, 500 lux.

DISCUS THROW

Discus throw is a throwing event where athletes throw a 2kg platelike implement from a 2.5m circle. The discus is launched after the thrower, starting at the back of the circle, has completed one-and-a-half turns. The facility for discus throw includes a throwing circle, protective cage and landing sector.

The throwing circle is made of bank iron, steel or other suitable material, the top of which is flush with the ground outside. The inside diameter of the circle measures 2.5m (±5mm) and the rim at least 6mm in thickness, 70mm to 80mm deep and painted white.

The interior of the circle is constructed of concrete, asphalt or some other firm but not slippery material. The surface must be level and 1.4cm–2.6cm lower than the upper edge of the rim of the circle.

All discus and hammer throws are made from an enclosure or cage to ensure safety of spectators, officials and athletes. The cage shown in the following diagram is intended for use when the event is held in the arena with other events taking place at the same time or spectators are present. Where this does not apply, and especially in training areas, a much simpler construction may be satisfactory.

The cage is designed, manufactured and maintained to be capable of stopping a 2kg discus moving at a speed of up to 25m per second. There must be no danger of the discus ricocheting or rebounding back towards the athlete or over the top of the cage. If these requirements are satisfied, any form of cage design and construction can be used.

The cage is U-shaped. The width of the mouth is 6m, positioned 7m in front of the centre of the throwing circle. The end points of the 6m wide mouth are the inner edge of the cage netting. The height of the netting panels or draped netting at their lowest point is 4m. Provision must be made in the design of the cage to prevent a discus forcing its way through any joints in the cage or the netting or underneath the netting panels.

The netting is made from suitable natural or synthetic fibre cord or from a mild or high tensile steel wire. The maximum mesh size is 44mm for cord netting and 50mm for steel wire.

The maximum danger sector for discus throws from this cage is approximately 69°, when used by both right and left handed throwers in the same competition. The position and alignment of the cage in the arena is critical for its safe use.

The surface of the landing sector must allow for the discus making a mark upon landing. It is made of natural grass or other suitable material. The landing sector is laid from the middle of the circle with an angle of 34.92° and marked by 50mm wide white lines, the inside edges of which form the boundary of the sector. The length of the sector is 80m. The angle of 34.92° is attained if the two sector lines at a distance of 80m are spaced 48m apart.

The maximum allowance for the overall downward inclination of the landing sector, in the throwing direction, shall not exceed 0.1 per cent.

Shot put

The shot put involves ‘putting’ (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball (called the shot) as far as possible. The shot put facility includes a throwing circle, a stop-board and a landing sector. Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 2.135m in diameter, with a toe board approximately 10cm high at the front of the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the circumference of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance of the soil.

The throwing circle is made of bank iron, steel or other suitable material, the top of which is flush with the ground outside. The inside diameter of the throwing circle measures 2.135m (±5mm) and the rim at least 6mm in thickness, 70mm to 80mm deep and painted white.

The interior of the circle is constructed of concrete, asphalt or some other firm but not slippery material. The surface must be level and 1.4cm–2.6cm lower than the upper edge of the rim of the circle. A portable circle meeting these specifications is permissible.

The stop board is white and made of wood or other suitable material in the shape of an arc so that the inner edge coincides with the inner edge of the rim of the circle. It is placed mid-way between the sector lines, and constructed so that it can be firmly fixed to the ground. The board is 1.22m long on the inside, 11.2cm wide and 10cm high when firmly in position.

The surface of the landing sector must allow for the shot put to make a mark upon landing. It is made of natural grass or other suitable material. The landing sector must be laid from the middle of the circle with an angle of 34.92° and marked by 50mm wide white lines, the inside edges of which form the boundary of the sector. The length of the sector is 25m. The angle of 34.92° is attained if the two sector lines at a distance of 25m are spaced 15m apart.

The maximum allowance for the overall downward inclination of the landing sector, in the throwing direction, shall not exceed 0.1 per cent.

JUMPING EVENTS

There are four jumping events in field athletics: high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault. There are four main principles which are applied to all jumping events:

Starting run – this is the period of time where the athlete gathers speed for the take-off. The faster the athlete runs, the more force there is to be converted into the jump.

Take off – this is the transition between the run and the jump with the athlete propelling their body into the air. In the case of the triple jump the propulsion of the body is delayed with a hop, step and jump preceding the take off.

Flight – this is the period of time when the body is airborne, sending them horizontally away from the starting point in the long jump or triple jump and vertically over the bar in the high jump.

Landing – this is the point at which the athlete finishes the jump marking the distance (in the case of the long jump and triple jump) that they have travelled through the air. The landing area is a sand pit for the long jump and triple jump and a mattress for the high jump and pole vault.

High Jump

In the high jump event, athletes sprint down a runway towards a four metre long horizontal bar and jump vertically over the bar on to a cushioned mattress. The crossbar is increased in height as the competition progresses and more competitors are knocked out. There are various methods of jumping over the bar but the most common is known as the ‘Fosbury Flop,’ where the athlete curves the direction of the run during their last four strides, twisting over the bar and landing on to their back. Whatever their chosen method of jumping over the bar, all contestants are required to make the take off from one foot. Athletes are allowed to touch the crossbar as they jump over but if the bar falls off the vertical supports, the jump is classified as a failure. After three failed jumps a contestant is eliminated from the competition.

Record Breakers: Men: Javier Sotomayor (CUB) – 2.45 m, 27/07/1993

Women: Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) – 2.09 m, 20/08/1987

Long Jump

The long jump requires athletes to sprint down a runway and jump off a raised platform into a stretch of sand or other marked area, with the aim of landing as far from the starting point as possible. The distance travelled is measured by the first mark made by the athlete’s body in the sand on landing. The jump is classified as a fail if any part of the contestant’s body touches the ground between take-off and landing. The jump is also a fail if the athlete leaves the runway after the take-off line at the end of the take-off board.

Long Jump

Record Breakers: Men: Mike Powell (USA) – 8.95 m, 30/08/1991

Women: Galina Chistyakova (URS) – 7.52 m, 11/06/1988

Triple Jump

Also known as ‘the hop, step and jump’ the triple jump requires the athlete to begin with speed but to maintain energy for the take-off. The triple jump begins with a sprint down the runway and is followed by a hop, a step and a jump before the athlete propels their body into the air, with the aim of landing as far from the starting point as possible, in the same manner as the long jump. When the athlete hops, they must land on the same foot as they began sprinting on and the step should land on the opposite foot. As with the long jump, no part of the body must touch the ground between jumping and landing and the jump is classified as a fail if the athlete begins jumping after the take-off line.Record Breakers: Men: Jonathon Edwards (GBR) – 18.29 m, 07/08/1995

Women: Inessa Kravets (UKR) – 15.50 m, 10/08/1995

Pole Vault

The pole vault requires the athlete to clear the height of a horizontal bar with the assistance of a vertical pole, with the bar increasing in height as more athletes are eliminated from the competition. The athlete begins the jump by sprinting down a runway and then plants the pole into a box in front of the bar, using the pole to power over the bar. As with the high jump, a pole vault is classified as a fail if the contestant knocks the bar down during the vault and after three failed attempts the athlete is then eliminated from the competition

Record Breakers: Men: Sergey Bubka (UKR) – 6.14 m, 31/07/1994

Women: Stacy Dragila (USA) – 4.81 m, 09/06/2001