Explainer | Yoga improves mental and physical health, but which type best suits you? 2 experts break down 9 yoga styles
- Yoga’s many health benefits are well known, and with so many different types to try, it’s hard to know which style is best for you
- Two Hong Kong experts – yoga therapist Charlotte Douglas and yoga instructor Anri Shiga – break down nine styles to help you figure out which one suits you
Yoga has a long history, originating in India more than 5,000 years ago. The word yoga derives from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to join or unite. Today, millions of people around the world have taken it up for its physical and mental health benefits.
To understand the different yoga styles, the Post spoke with two Hong Kong yoginis (female yoga teachers) with more than a decade of teaching experience: yoga therapist Charlotte Douglas, founder of Charlotte Douglas Yoga, and ballerina Anri Shiga, an instructor at The Yoga Lane in Sai Ying Pun.
“When it comes to practising yoga there is no right or wrong, no better or good, only a practice of breath and movement that you can incorporate into your life, as a way to help you through the challenges and stresses of modern-day living,” says Douglas. “All styles build strength and improve flexibility and balance on a physical, mental and emotional level.”
Whichever style you practice, Douglas says that it should help you access a sense of connection to the present moment.
9 yoga styles
Vinyasa yoga