Yoga has enjoyed enormous popularity in the last few years. Although it is a form of exercise dating back two thousand years, interest in its poses and accompanying practices, such as meditation and chanting, waned for generations, especially in its birthplace of India and the areas around the Himalayas. Now, however, westerners turn to yoga in all its varieties and styles. All yoga classes and yoga schools include asanas, or postures, that strengthen and relax the muscles. Almost all schools use the same poses, but some focus more on long, slow, deep breaths and slow movement, while others focus on movements that flow together with an accompanying breath.

Astanga, Bikram, Vinyasa, and western-style classes that are called power or hot yoga are the most vigorous forms. An astanga class includes postures that flow one to the other, so you never stop moving. Bikram includes twenty-six postures, each of which is performed twice, and always in a very hot room so that you sweat through the whole class. Each Bikram class is exactly the same, so you'll get better and better at specific poses over time. Vinyasa teachers vary the poses and flow sequences during each class.

Iyengar is a type of yoga that focuses on holding poses longer,ssand some Iyengar classes are restorative, meaning during all of the poses you'll be supported by blankets and pillows to allow your body to stretch more fully and relax more deeply.

Whatever school of yoga you choose, you'll always want to link your breath with your movement. In other words, you'll focus on taking long, slow, deep breaths as you move, and you'll exhale with certain poses and inhale on other poses. The teacher tells you when it's best to breathe, but, of course, your breathing is up to you. The advice is just a way to help you get more out of your practice.