If you are a potential yoga teacher, it can be presumed that you have been associated with a certain type/form of yoga and have enjoyed it to a certain degree that you want to know more about it or otherwise, some ideas about the principles of yoga.
Deciding on what style of yoga to take for the yoga teacher training course is as much a decision as is the choice of the subject when one gets a diploma. You can opt to go for something that you were good at in school so you feel confident moving to a new subject or you may look for something that is different from your course since you are interested in it.
However, it is necessary here to remind you that yoga 200 hour training course is the beginning of yoga teacher’s training before turning to the various kinds of yoga. You may start from the kind of style that interests you at first but, as the flow of the course goes, you may find inspiration in another style. Finding your true route forward is a key component of self-discovery, which is the focus of yoga teacher training.
Vinyasa Flow
Currently, this is one of the most modern and widely practiced styles of yoga in the yoga 200 hour training. It describes an approach to a yoga teacher training course that blends breathing techniques with movement, with fluid transitions between poses. It’s the one that most resonates with you if, like me, you have a background in dancing. Translating to “arranging something in a special way,” vinyasa can be used to refer to several of the styles that will be covered below, including Ashtanga and Jivamukti. However, in more recent times, vinyasa has emerged as a distinct category with its own vocabulary of asanas, including pigeon and three-legged dog poses and natarajasana (dancer’s pose).
Ashtanga
This is a precise sequence of poses connected by breath and consecutive “vinyasas” (downward-facing dog, upward-facing dog, and chakraranga). Known for being among the most intense and energetic forms of a yoga teacher training course, it gained popularity in the West as a “workout” style. The sequence of poses is meant to increase body temperature and energy flow while also cleansing the body. (In the 1990s, Ashtanga received a western makeover in the US and was dubbed Power Yoga.)
This might be the yoga teacher training course for you if you’re looking for a more physically demanding practice, but be ready for your body to take a beating. When beginning an Ashtanga YTTC, many students push themselves too hard and burn out by week three. You’ll be alright if you go cautiously. You will find Yoga Sutras of Sage Patanjali and learning about the “eight limbs” hence known as ashtanga quite fun. It entails a set of postures known as asanas, breathing exercises collectively known as pranayama, and meditation apart from a rather elaborate and sound ethical and moral framework for healthy living.
Jivamukti
This 1980s US-founded yoga method, which is based on Ashtanga, incorporates Jois’s asanas with chanting, meditation, readings, and music. Teachers worldwide can follow the monthly themes released by the headquarters located in New York. This yoga course can be for you if you enjoy Ashtanga but want to move away from the main series order.
Hatha
Most people, especially those under a particular age, associate Hatha Yoga with a calm, steady, and meditative style of yoga teacher training course that lacks the “exercise” advantages of more energetic forms like Vinyasa or Ashtanga.
Hatha encompasses more than simply physical postures; it also involves a system of breathing exercises, mantra chanting, hand gestures known as mudras, cleaning exercises known as shatkriyas and shatkarmas, and certain visualization exercises. With “ha” standing for the sun (and the right half of the body, or the “Ida”) and “the” for the moon (the left side, or the “Pingala”), this exquisitely holistic style of yoga aims to balance the mind and body between its two sides. Uniting or balancing these two energies in the body’s major energy channel, or “nadi,” the “Sushumna” (found in the spine), is the aim of Hatha.
Iyengar
Similar to Hatha, Iyengar is a slow, exact practice where poses are held for longer than in other forms. In order to customize poses to their individual physical needs and concentrate on exacting muscle and skeletal alignment, practitioners employ props like as blocks, bolsters, and straps.
It may also be more challenging to locate a course because of the rigorous requirements for teaching; the system of certification is separate from the Yoga Association.
Kundalini
Kundalini Yoga is possibly more suited for you if spirituality is more your style. Yogi Bhajan’s theory that everyone has the right to be “healthy, happy, and holy” started to assist individuals realize their full potential in the 1960s. In order to channel energy to the other regions of the body through the other six chakras, the root chakra, or Muladhara, at the base of the spine, must first be activated during this yoga teacher training course. The Kundalini practice includes asanas, pranayama, meditation, and chanting.