At its most basic, yoga is a set of spiritual practices originating in ancient India. While most people in the Western world think of yoga as a form of physical exercise, it actually encompasses much more. Even when only the physical branch of yoga is considered, many different styles exist today, from the traditional to the trademarked Bikram style.

The Bhagavad Gita, a text dating from the first few centuries BCE and considered the definitive source of Hindu philosophy, mentions four branches of yoga. Karma yoga refers to one's action in the world, Jnana yoga is the development of knowledge and the mind, Bhakti yoga is the worship of a deity, and Raja yoga is meditation. The style of yoga most familiar to those in the Western world, consisting of the practice of asanas or poses in order to reach a meditative state, is a medieval development of Raja yoga known as Hatha yoga.

Today, Hatha yoga is practised the world over for both its aid in meditation and its physical health benefits. There are many styles of Hatha yoga for the practitioner to choose from. A few of the most popular are discussed below.

Vinyasa yoga links breath to movement and consists of a flowing series of poses using the practitioner's natural breath as a guide. Movement is continuous and the focus is on aligning movement with breath rather than on perfecting each posture. The sun salutation is one well known vinyasa series.

Ashtanga yoga is a fast-paced, physically challenging form of yoga. Like vinyasa, it is performed in a flowing style, with attention given as much to transitioning gracefully between poses as to the poses themselves. This style is also sometimes called power yoga.

Kudalini yoga is practiced with the goal of awakening energy stored in the pelvic area. While asanas are involved in kundalini yoga, the focus is more on breath and chanting. When kundalini energy is released, it is said to flow upward along the spine through energy centers called chakras.

Iyengar yoga is named after its creator, B. K. S. Iyengar. The focus of this style of yoga is proper physical alignment, and poses are often held for long periods of time in order to perfect one's posture. Props, such as straps or yoga bricks, are common in this style, as they can be used to help the practitioner reach and maintain correct alignment.

Bikram yoga is also named after its pioneer, Bikram Choudhury. This style of yoga is practiced in a heated room in order to allow the body to stretch and relax more. Bikram yoga uses a series of 26 asanas, always performed in the same order and intended to open the body up gradually throughout the practice. Hot yoga is also practiced in a heated room, but the postures may vary from the Bikram method.

There are many other styles of yoga besides the ones discussed in this article. Contact your local yoga center or gym, and you may be surprised at how many different kinds of yoga you can choose from.