While it may seem like the new trendy exercise, yoga came about over 5,000 years ago. Since then, it has evolved into many different unique forms of exercise and meditation.
So how can you decide which style is for you? I wanted to use my last column here at The Eagle to tell you about a few different popular styles (bikram, hatha, restorative and ashtanga) and some local studios where I tried them. This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but a great place to start if you’re a newbie.
Bikram
Over the past two years, my yoga of choice has been Bikram yoga (sometimes called “hot yoga”). The studio I frequent is Bikram’s Yoga College of India at 4908 Wisconsin Ave. The studio has supportive instructors, fair student rates ($60 a month for unlimited yoga) and offers a perfect location for AU students. Bikram is a fixed sequence of poses practiced in a room heated to about 100 degrees, so I may have already lost the interest of some of you. But don’t rule it out until you have tried it at least three times. I know a lot of people that have taken one Bikram class, been scared off by the heat and never returned. The heat isn’t easy for anyone to handle at first, but it’s essential for loosening up your muscles and preventing injury. I found that after I committed to a regular Bikram routine, my sleep cycles normalized (I know this because they get out of whack again whenever I stop going), my ability to focus improved and my cravings for junk food lessened. However, if you don’t want to do the same sequence over and over again each class, you might want to try another style.
Hatha
Hatha yoga was the first style I ever practiced, as it is the most basic yoga out there. Hatha is a good one to start out with because it teaches you proper breathing as well as some of the yoga lingo and basic poses. The format of the class varies by instructor, their interests or even sometimes on student input. A studio where I recently took a great Hatha Flow class was Yoga District in Dupont at 1635 Connecticut Ave. The studio is rather small, but you might like that if you want a cozier feel. Personally, I felt a bit cramped in the studio, and even on the mat, I felt like the wood floor was extra hard and creaky. However, I love the studio’s environmental friendliness (example: they provide free filtered water to refill your bottles). I also enjoy how the studio offers a variety of yoga types at different hours. This might be a good place to start if you aren’t ready to commit to one style of yoga quite yet, or just like having the freedom to switch it up from day to day or week to week. Their prices are also very fair. $70 will get you an unlimited monthly pass although you’ll need to pay a $100 initiation fee as well.
Restorative
Another style of yoga I tried at Yoga District was restorative. This is the kind that you might first think of when you hear “yoga,” as there are quite a few of those meditative “ohm” sounds. It is great if you want to close your eyes, move your body infrequently and focus on quieting your thoughts. They currently offer this style of yoga on Friday afternoons, which is perfect for unwinding at the end of a busy week. However, I found the noisy Dupont traffic outside to be distracting at that time of day, defeating the purpose of relaxation. This yoga is great for de-stressing, and would work as an excellent occasional supplement to your usual yoga or other exercise routine, but I don’t think I would ever practice restorative on a regular basis.
Ashtanga
Ashtanga yoga, another fixed sequence style, is just about as strenuous as Bikram, but in different ways. The room is kept at a normal temperature, but you use the first 20 minutes to warm up by performing a sequence of poses in rapid succession, one flowing into the next, several times. In this sense, I found Ashtanga to be slightly more challenging than Bikram, where the room heat and first breathing exercise is enough to warm you up. I also found that the Ashtanga poses require a lot more upper arm, shoulder and chest strength, whereas Bikram poses require more abdominal and leg strength. Of course, in both you are able to modify the poses to suit your abilities. Unlike Bikram where the class thrives on group energy, the Ashtanga class I took allows you to go through the sequence on your own at a certain point. So if you prefer being able to work more independently, you may like Ashtanga. The only problem I found about the studio that I practiced at, Woodley Park Yoga (2625 Connecticut Ave.) was its limited schedule. Unless you can make it to the 6 a.m. class (hah!), the only other time you can go is the weekend. An alternative if you love Ashtanga would be Studio Serenity in Adam’s Morgan (2469 18th St. N.W.), which I have been told offers a great community as well. Classes at Woodley run about $60 for four classes. Studio Serenity is cheaper with classes as low as $8 a pop.
So if finals have left you overwhelmed, give yoga a chance to sweat, stretch or relax away the stress. And if you’re already a seasoned yogi, take some time to explore a new style. You never know what your body is just waiting to show you.
Namaste!
You can reach this columnist at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
