How Do Yoga Styles Differ?

Yoga styles differ in approach and focus of classes

Background

Yoga is a broad term encompassing many different practices under its umbrella. Traditionally, yoga’s ultimate goal is the connection to a wider consciousness. However, while yoga can be a spiritual practice, it can also provide many health and wellness benefits. Yoga’s long history has generated a wide variety of approaches and different practices included in the yoga path. While those interested in yoga may have heard a reference to the names of various yoga styles, non-practitioners are likely unclear about what exactly the differences are between styles.

Names like Ashtanga, Iyengar, vinyasa, yin, and Hatha are probably familiar to many yoga practitioners. However, the specific components of each style and what makes each unique may not be familiar. Even yoga practitioners who have practiced for many years may not know much about yoga styles other than the style that they practice.

The research team on the study summarized here was interested in describing in a more detailed way what characterizes the common styles of contemporary yoga practice. By describing what distinguishes different styles of yoga, the researchers hoped to be able to better hypothesize what the expected benefits of those styles might be.

Research question

How do yoga styles differ?

Research methods

The research team on this study solicited participants for their survey from yoga studios and yoga associations. They sent invitations to studios and associations internationally and requested participation from yoga teachers who were at least 18 years old and had at least one year of yoga teaching experience. Study participants completed survey questions regarding their demographics, what aspects of yoga they included in the classes they taught, and how important they believed those different aspects of yoga were.

Specifically, the yoga teachers answered questions in the survey which included:

• Years of teaching yoga
• Total hours of yoga study and practice
• Country of residence
• Primary locations of teaching (e.g. studio, gym, etc.)
• Primary style of yoga taught
• The specific components of yoga included in the classes they teach from a list that included: postures, breathing, meditation, relaxation, chanting, cleansing, lifestyle, social, and self-discipline
• Duration of each of those components in their classes

The survey then asked the teachers to rate the importance of each of those components of yoga on a Likert scale from 1-5, where one equaled “not important” and five equaled “most important.” The researchers used the responses from the “styles of practice” question to group them into four categories for analysis. Those were: traditional styles, exercise-based styles, therapy-type styles, or unspecified. Researchers used the responses from the question about the importance of each component of yoga to group the aspects of yoga into two broader categories for analysis. Those were most/very important or not/less/somewhat important.

Results

In total, the researchers received 968 completed surveys that they used in their study. The mean age of participants was 43.8 ± 11 years old and 76.8% of participants were female. Yoga teachers who participated in the survey reported years of yoga teaching experience from one to more than 10.

Participants listed more than 60 different individual styles of yoga in the survey responses. The researchers then grouped those into broader categories. Traditional styles made up 70.6% of the classes taught. Researchers grouped 18.4% of the styles reported as exercise-based and 11% as therapy-focused.

Nearly all styles of yoga included postures and most included some kind of meditation. There was no difference in the likelihood of including postures or meditation in a yoga class between the groups of yoga styles. Exercise-based styles of yoga were less likely to include breathing techniques or pranayama practices in their classes than traditional or therapy-type yoga styles. Traditional yoga styles were more likely to include chanting or cleansing practices in their classes than exercise-based or therapy-type yoga styles.

Yoga style groups also differed in the amount of time that classes allocated for particular components of yoga. Exercise-based styles spent a larger percentage of class time on postures, followed by therapy-type yoga. Traditional styles spent the least amount of time on postures compared to the other groups. However, traditional yoga styles spent a larger percentage of class time on breathing techniques, meditation, and chanting than exercise-based yoga styles. Additionally, therapy-focused yoga styles spent more class time on meditation and relaxation than exercise-based styles. Despite the differences in how much time they allotted to particular aspects of yoga during class, teachers from all three groups rated postures, breathing, meditation, and relaxation as most/very important.

Why is this relevant to yoga practitioners?

People begin and continue a yoga practice for many different reasons. In fact, previous research indicates that people’s reasons for practicing yoga can even change over time. So, individuals may have multiple reasons for practicing yoga.

Understanding the differences in the many styles of yoga can help those interested in a yoga practice identify which styles might be a good fit for them. Those interested in exploring yoga’s potential to help with their lower back pain might be a good fit for a more therapeutic-focused style. However, someone drawn to yoga out of an interest in cultivating their ability for meditation might be a better fit for a more traditional style. One of yoga’s strengths is its variety of approaches. It can support health and wellness goals, cultivate better concentration, be a spiritual practice, and provide other benefits. Understanding which style can best meet their goals can help practitioners find the right yoga style for them.

Reference citation

Mandlik, G.V., B. Nguyen, D. Ding, and K.M. Edwards. 2023. Not all yoga styles are the same: An international survey on characteristics of yoga classes. Journal of integrative and complementary medicine. 29(5):321-326.