What Type of Yoga is Right for Me?

Monday, January 21st, 2008

What Type of Yoga is Right for Me?

If you’re new to yoga, you’ve probably asked yourself (or someone else) What type of yoga should I take? or What kind of yoga is right for me?

I had the same question when it came time to sign up for this past weekend’s Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco. Since many of the teachers were new to me, and I wanted to try anything from Ashtanga to Kundalini, I decided to go by descriptions. I was drawn to class titles like “Yogini”, “Soul Food”, “Listening to the Subtle Voice Within”, and “The Yoga of Relationship”.

When I showed up for the conference I was amazed at how different each class was and how different each teacher was. But from all these different vantage points of teachers and styles of yoga I heard some common messages.

All the teachers echoed that Yoga is a tool to bring you closer to Oneness. It is the unity of yourself (body, mind and soul) as well as oneness with all that is. It’s not about being good or being bad. It’s about self-acceptance rather than shame and guilt, and it’s about loving yourself. It’s about opening ourselves up to the truth and seeing our own wholeness ~ the sinner AND the saint. The ironic thing is this wholeness is right inside. We don’t need to go anywhere to find it. We’re just trying to remove the obstacles of illusion, judgment, and our own past junk so that our own self can shine though. Once we see ourselves as this light we also see light in everyone else and can help bring others toward health and oneness.

I also kept hearing that we are the experts of our own selves. We have to learn listen to our own inner teacher, the rhythms of our own heart and our higher self. And as Vinyasa teacher Sean Corne says: “The older I get, the less I care about what other people think.” Yoga is not a competition. It is not about achieving the perfect downward dog either.

I learned that yoga is an entire spiritual practice and it is more than just asana (or poses). We often start with these because the practice of yoga can alleviate pain and blocks in the body. The real purpose of asana is to balance the body enough to allow us to meditate. Through meditation and breathing (or pranayama) we can cultivate awareness and energy and more of that unity and oneness.

And lastly, I learned that the “ah ha” is likely to happen when you least expect it. As I experienced the different classes and teachers at the conference, one teacher stood out from the rest. Everything this teacher said spoke to me. I knew I had found someone to give me a little nudge in the right direction on the pathway toward unity. I even got a taste of the blissful oneness, a calmness and sheer joy that lasted the rest of the day. Kind of trippy, come to think of it.

So I guess my humble response to the question: “What Type of Yoga is Right for Me?” is: “Whatever yoga (or teacher or spiritual practice) you are drawn to.” Keep in mind: just because a teacher is popular doesn’t mean that it is the right teacher for you. All we need to do is be open enough and the right stuff will come around. If the first teacher or class you find doesn’t fit, keep looking. They always say: when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

- Rebecca

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