Yoga: A Practice for Everyone
Yoga is an ancient practice with roots in India and a history that spans thousands of years. While many people today first encounter yoga through physical postures, or asanas, the practice has always encompassed much more than movement. Traditional yoga teachings also explore breath, awareness, self-reflection, and ways of living with greater intention.
The word yoga comes from Sanskrit and is commonly interpreted as “union” or “to unite.” What that union means can be deeply personal. It might be the connection between movement and breath, between body and mind, or simply a greater sense of connection with yourself and your experience in the present moment.
That is part of what makes yoga so adaptable. There isn’t one single way that yoga has to look or feel. Your practice can change from day to day and throughout your life. Yoga is what you make of it—and ultimately, it is always your yoga.
Yoga Meets You Where You Are
One of the most welcoming things about yoga is that you don’t need to arrive with a certain level of flexibility, strength, fitness, or experience. You can begin right where you are. Yoga can be adapted for different bodies, abilities, ages, and stages of life—and your practice doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s.
The purpose isn’t to push your body toward a particular shape or achieve a picture-perfect pose. Instead, yoga offers an opportunity to notice what you’re experiencing and explore movement, breath, and sensation in a way that works for you. Some days that may mean doing more; other days it may mean doing less.
Props such as blocks, straps, blankets, cushions, bolsters, and chairs can make poses more accessible, comfortable, or supportive. A pose itself can also be changed to better suit your body and what you need that day. These aren’t lesser versions of yoga—they’re simply different ways of practicing.
There is no single “right” way to experience a pose. The practice is learning to pay attention, make choices, and meet yourself where you are. That’s one reason we call it a practice: yoga isn’t something you have to perfect.
More Than Just Stretching
Although yoga is often associated with flexibility, the physical practice offers much more than stretching. Depending on the style and how you practice, yoga can help build strength, improve balance and mobility, support coordination, and encourage greater awareness of how your body moves and feels.
Yoga also brings attention to the breath. Learning to notice and work with your breathing can help you slow down, focus your attention, and become more aware of the connection between physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions.
For many people, this combination of movement, breathing, and focused attention also makes yoga a valuable way to manage everyday stress. A yoga practice creates space to turn your attention inward, step away from distractions, and notice what is happening in your body and mind without immediately needing to change it.
Over time, the benefits of yoga may be less about becoming more flexible or mastering increasingly difficult poses and more about developing strength, mobility, awareness, and a greater sense of connection with yourself.
Exploring Different Styles of Yoga
There is no single way to practice yoga. Over time, many different styles have developed, ranging from active, flowing practices to quiet, still ones. Some emphasize strength and movement, others focus more on holding poses, relaxation, or introspection. Each offers a different way to explore the connection between body, breath, and awareness.
You also don’t have to choose one style and stick with it. What feels supportive can change depending on your energy, your body, your experience, or simply what you need on a particular day. An active practice may feel right at one time, while a slower or more restful practice may serve you better at another.
The styles below are the ones I most often teach and incorporate into my own approach to yoga. Each has its own character and emphasis, but all can be adapted to meet you where you are.
Hatha Yoga
Hatha yoga is a broad term for a physical yoga practice, but today it often describes a slower-paced class in which poses are practiced individually and held for several breaths. This gives you time to explore alignment, sensation, strength, and balance without needing to move quickly from one pose to the next.
Hatha can be a good choice if you prefer a steady, deliberate practice or simply want more time to experience each pose.
Vinyasa and Slow Flow Yoga
Vinyasa yoga links movement with breath, flowing from one pose into another rather than practicing each posture separately. The pace and intensity can vary considerably depending on the class.
In Slow Flow, the pace is intentionally slower, allowing more time to transition, find stability, and notice what’s happening in your body. You still experience the fluidity of a vinyasa practice, but with less emphasis on speed and more opportunity for awareness and choice.
Yin Yoga
Yin yoga is a quiet, floor-based practice in which poses are generally held for several minutes. Rather than actively engaging the muscles throughout a pose, the practice emphasizes settling into stillness and allowing time for the body to respond.
Props can provide support and help you find an appropriate amount of sensation without forcing or straining. The slower pace also creates space for observation and reflection, making Yin as much a practice of awareness as a physical practice.
If you’re curious about why slower practices can be surprisingly challenging, read more about Hatha and Yin as practices for strength and awareness.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative yoga is designed around rest rather than effort. The body is fully supported with props such as bolsters, blankets, blocks, and cushions so that poses can be held comfortably for longer periods without muscular effort.
There are usually only a few poses in a restorative practice. The intention isn’t to stretch more deeply or accomplish anything physically, but to create conditions in which the body can settle and rest.
Chair Yoga
Chair yoga adapts traditional yoga movements and poses so they can be practiced while seated in a chair or using a chair for support while standing. It can include stretching, strengthening, balance work, breathing, and relaxation.
While chair yoga can make yoga more accessible for people who have difficulty getting down to or up from the floor, it isn’t limited to any particular age or ability. A chair is simply another yoga prop—and it can provide support, stability, and new ways to explore familiar movements.
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is different from the movement-based styles above. Often translated as “yogic sleep,” it is a guided relaxation practice usually done lying comfortably in stillness. The teacher guides your attention through different stages of awareness while the body rests.
There are no poses to perform and nothing you need to accomplish. The practice invites you to become deeply relaxed while maintaining a gentle awareness of your experience.
Gentle Yoga
Gentle yoga generally describes a slower, less strenuous approach to practice rather than one specific style of yoga. A gentle class may draw from Hatha, slow flow, restorative practices, or other traditions, with an emphasis on comfortable movement, accessible poses, and plenty of options for adapting the practice.
Because “gentle” can mean different things to different teachers and studios, classes with that name can vary. In general, though, you can expect a more gradual pace and less emphasis on physically demanding poses or fast transitions.
Other Styles of Yoga
These are only a few of the many ways yoga is practiced today. Other well-known approaches include Iyengar yoga, with its emphasis on alignment and the use of props; Ashtanga yoga, an energetic practice built around a set sequence of postures; and hot yoga, which encompasses a variety of practices taught in heated rooms. Many contemporary yoga classes also blend elements from several different traditions.
The names and styles can be helpful when choosing a class, but they don’t need to define your practice. What matters most is finding an approach—and a teacher—that allows you to practice safely, comfortably, and in a way that feels meaningful to you.
Finding the Yoga Practice That’s Right for You
With so many styles of yoga, choosing where to begin can feel a little overwhelming. But you don’t need to find the one “right” style. Different practices can meet different needs, and what works well for you today may change over time.
You might prefer the steady pace of Hatha, the movement and rhythm of Slow Flow, the quiet stillness of Yin, or the deep rest of a Restorative practice. At other times, Chair Yoga may provide the support you need, or Yoga Nidra may be exactly what you’re looking for when movement isn’t.
The best way to find what works for you is simply to explore. Pay attention not only to how a practice feels while you’re doing it, but also to how you feel afterward. And remember that the teacher matters, too. The same style of yoga can feel very different depending on how it is taught.
Ultimately, yoga doesn’t ask you to fit yourself into a particular practice. The practice can adapt to fit you. And as your body, circumstances, interests, and needs change, your yoga can change right along with you.
Ways to Practice with Me
Yoga can meet you in different ways at different times. Whether you enjoy practicing with others or prefer the flexibility of practicing on your own schedule, there are several ways to explore these practices with me.
Practice Live with Me
Join me for live yoga classes, including Slow Flow, Yin, Chair Yoga, and other accessible practices designed to offer options for different bodies and levels of experience.
Explore the Yoga Practice Library
Practice at home with a collection of full-length recorded classes, including Slow Flow, Hatha, Yin, Restorative, Chair Yoga, and Yoga Nidra.