There are many styles of yoga classes available for students of all abilities and experience. Whether you want a slow relaxing practice or an energetic vigorous workout or yoga with a greater emphasis on the spiritual side.
Note: Not all forms of yoga are suitable for beginners. The more energetic forms of yoga will require you to have a basic knowledge of yoga and have a good level of fitness.
If you are pregnant, have an injury, a specific medical or rehabilitation issue, suffer back ache or require more personalised care, use the main search to find Yoga classes such as; antenatal and postnatal yoga, over 50s yoga, over 60s yoga, women only yoga, men only yoga, remedial yoga, sports-specific yoga, sports injury yoga and one to one tuition.
If you are looking for a specific style of yoga choose the broad category and then click on individual instructor to see the type of yoga they practice.
There is a wide range of yoga teachers and yoga studios in the UK.
We have put together a list of the most common types of yoga so that you can get a quick view of the types and styles of yoga in the UK.
Class time : 60 minutes
Suitable for : Experienced yoga practitioners
Difficulty : Challenging
Acroyoga combines yoga and gymnastics techniques and massage. The practice helps to build strength, flexibility, trust and teamwork between partners. It’s a form of partner yoga.
This is not suitable for beginners. A good level of fitness and flexibility is required.
Class time : 60-120 minutes
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle but can be challenging
Best for : People who want a mood lifting work out.
Anusara classes are light-hearted and expressive, pairs strict principles of alignment with a playful spirit. Not as intense as some of the other styles, perfect for beginners. Anusara encourages the use of props, making classes accessible to students of differing abilities.
Energised yoga classes that work the body deeply, be prepared to sweat. Classes emphasise bending, rotating and twisting the spine and alignment.
Anusara classes include chanting, breathing, meditation and music. Be prepared to be uplifted.
Class time : 60-120 minutes
Suitable for : Experience of yoga and a good level of fitness
Difficulty : Challenging
Best for : Sports athletes who want to get in shape quickly and people who like routines and structure in their lives.
Ashtanga Yoga classes are fast paced and physically demanding. Classes are divided up into series. Students progress from primary to advanced at their own pace.
Ashtanga Yoga primary series works on realigning the spine, detoxifying the body, and building strength, flexibility, and stamina. The primary series includes 75 Ashtanga yoga poses and takes an hour and a half to two hours to complete. It involves synchronizing breathing through a progressive series of postures that produce profuse sweating that detoxifies muscles and organs.
Ashtanga intermediate series is introduced only when the student has mastered the primary series. It cleanses and strengthens the nervous system and energy channels in the body.
Advanced Ashtanga Yoga is only appropriate for extremely advanced students. Not suitable for beginners.
Find a qualified Ashtanga yoga teacher, or studio offering Ashtanga yoga classes near you.
Class time : 90 minutes
Suitable for : Experience of yoga and a good level of fitness
Difficulty : Challenging
Best for : For people looking for a vigorous yoga workout
Good for building muscular strength and endurance, developing cardiovascular flexibility and weight loss. Bikram Yoga are very popular across the UK with a large number of studios offering Bikram yoga in London.
Developed by Bikram Choudhury from Hatha Yoga uses 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises all performed at a minimum 105 degree Fahrenheit temperature with 38 percent humidity for 90 minutes.
Bikram yoga classes take place in yoga studios built to ensure optimum heat. A warm body is a flexible body. Bikram provides a systematic work out for every part of the body, including; internal organs, ligaments, and muscles designed to maintain optimum health and flexibility.
If you have a history of cardiovascular problems, have low or high blood pressure or are in the early stage of pregnancy consult your GP before trying it.
Use the form on this page to find an qualified Bikram yoga instructors, studio or teacher offering Bikram yoga classes near you.
Class time : 30-45 minutes
Suitable for : Seniors, people with disabilities
Difficulty : Gentle
Best for : Anyone who has restricted mobility, or limited movement.
Chair yoga is a gentle form of yoga practised while sitting. Chair yoga is suitable for students unable to participate in a traditional yoga class due to the effects of ageing or disability. Chair yoga poses are especially good for seniors and those who sit in a chair at work.
Class time : 60-90 minutes
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle
Best for : Anyone who is stressed, tired or looking to feel better
Hatha yoga is a style of yoga that incorporates a number of techniques and styles. The classes are suitable for all yoga students from beginners classes to advanced.
Associated with postural and breathing exercises, Hatha Yoga classes help you improve flexibility and increase muscle tone, help unwind and de-stress, bringing a greater sense of physical and mental well-being.
A Hatha yoga class covers a range of movements including asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), meditation, and savasana (relaxation pose), incorporating Vinyasa flow (breath-synchronised movements).
Nearly every type of yoga class taught in the West is Hatha yoga. The word 'Hatha' descends from the Sanskrit words 'ha' and 'tha' meaning 'sun' and 'moon'.
Find a Hatha yoga class near you. Finding a Hatha yoga class is easy, with Hatha yoga classes in London to Edinburgh there’s bound to be a class near you.
Use the form on this page to find qualified Hatha yoga teacher, studios or offering Hatha yoga classes near you.
Class time : 90 minutes
Suitable for : Experience of yoga and a good level of fitness
Difficulty : Challenging
Hot yoga is designed to help the body relax, improve breathing, focus the mind, and work every part of the body to develop strength, flexibility and tone whilst providing a cardiovascular workout.
The heat and exercise raises the body temperature causing the body to sweat, the idea being to flush out the impurities and toxins in the body. Practising hot yoga relaxes the muscles enabling deeper poses and stretching.
Generally, the difference between a Hot Yoga class and Bikram yoga is that the hot yoga classes do not follow the prescribed sequences developed by Bikram Choudhury. The classes maybe shorter in duration, 60 minutes and the sequences as well as the number and type of postures may vary. The actual temperature may also be different (normally 105F). The room will be heated, and you will sweat buckets. Find a studio near you offering Hot yoga classes.
If you have a history of cardiovascular problems, have low or high blood pressure or are in the early stage of pregnancy consult your GP before trying Hot yoga.
Class time : 60-90 minutes
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle to challenging
Best for : People who want to focus on deep stretching, alignment and postures
Iyengar Yoga is good for beginners. It develops strength, flexibility, endurance, and balance. Iyengar Yoga utilises concentration and awareness so that postures can be held for longer.
This form of yoga focuses on precision and correct alignment of the body to achieve strength, flexibility and stamina.
Props like blocks, straps, harnesses, and incline boards are used. Generally Iyengar is less vigorous than other styles however, some classes can be challenging.
Class time : 60-90 minutes
Suitable for : Advanced
Difficulty : Challenging
Best for : People looking for challenging flowing classes and learning about yoga philosophy.
Vigorous and Physical, Jivamukti is heavily rooted in the traditions of yogi scripture. This style of yoga encourages students to find a state of enlightenment in and out of their practice. Combines flowing "vinyasa" postures with breathing, meditation, Sanskrit chanting and philosophical discussion and deep relaxation.
Class time : 60-90 minutes
Suitable for : Anyone
Difficulty : Gentle-Challenging (Dependent on teacher)
Best for : People looking for challenging flowing classes and learning about yoga philosophy.
Kundalini yoga can be vigorous and intense. Kundalini yoga is associated with unblocking the energy flow in the body. In addition to postures, a typical class will also include meditation and breathing exercises.
Kundalini sequences consist of rapid, repetitive movements or holding a pose combined with prescribed breathing techniques.
Kundalini yoga goes beyond the physical performance of poses with its emphasis on breathing, meditation, mudras and chanting.
Kundalini yoga sequences can be very physically intense. This type of yoga usually appeals to people looking for a mental and physical challenge.
However, depending on the teacher it can also be suitable to beginners. There are forms of kundalini yoga classes that are more gentle and meditative.
Pop your postcode into the search bar and find a Kundalini yoga class near you.
Class time : 30-60 minutes
Suitable for : Experience of yoga and a good level of fitness
Difficulty : Gentle
Best for : All ages laughing away the stress of life.
Laughing yoga teaches breathing techniques and laughter meditation. Laughter Yoga classes include stretching, chanting, clapping and breathing activities. This is followed by a series of laughter exercises interspersed with breathing techniques. The sequence of clapping, breathing and laughing is repeated over and over again, each time infused with more and more childlike playfulness. Laughing is good for you.
Class time : 90 minutes (varies)
Suitable for : Experience of yoga and a good level of fitness
Difficulty : Challenging
Best for : People looking for challenging flowing classes and learning about yoga philosophy.
An active and athletic style, developed from Ashanga yoga as a fitness based approach to yoga. Good for weight loss and keeping fit it's most likely to appeal to people who enjoy exercising and want a minimal amount of chanting and meditation.
Though power yoga classes vary widely from teacher to teacher be prepared to work hard and work up a sweat.
Some yoga studios call power yoga by different names: flow yoga, flow-style yoga, or vinyasa flow
Find a Power Yoga class in a gym or studio near you.
Class time : 90 minutes (varies)
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle
Best for : People looking for challenging flowing classes and learning about yoga philosophy.
Less of a workout, more about relaxation. Best for healing injuries or reducing stress. Suitable for all yoga students. Many restorative yoga poses are similar to normal yoga poses, except that they are performed with the support of props.
Developed from Iyengar Yoga, props are used in restorative yoga sequences to makes it easier for students to maintain balance whilst both stimulating and relaxing the body.
Restorative yoga classes are available on this restorative yoga teachers directory. Find a restorative yoga class near you.
Class time : varies based on level 1.5 - 2 hours
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle
Best for : Anyone looking for a yoga experience that balances simple postures, breathing, meditation and chanting.
Sivananda yoga is a traditional type of yoga combining postures, breathing, dietary restrictions, chanting, scriptural study, and meditation. Emphasis is on the spiritual side.
This style of yoga uses 13 poses and lie down in between the poses. Sivananda yoga is easily adaptable to people of different physical abilities.
Class time : varies based on level 1.5 - 2 hours
Suitable for : Intermediate to advanced levels
Difficulty : Gentle
New students find Svaroopa yoga a very approachable style, often beginning in chair poses that are comfortable. This gentle style of yoga that releases and relaxes the muscles in the back to open up the flow of energy. Promotes healing and transformation.
Svaroopa yoga practice includes the use of props, such as blankets and blocks, to assist with the poses.
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle
Viniyoga classes are gentle and adaptable, making yoga available to a wide range of people regardless of age they can help people with physical limitations, such as injury, illness, or age.
The long, deep stretches of this style of yoga are ideal for beginners and people who want to focus on flexibility, recovery from injury, body awareness, and relaxation.
Viniyoga yoga is tailored to each student's age, health, physical and emotional state, and any current or past injuries. Viniyoga teachers adapt to any person, regardless of physical ability. Viniyoga teachers tend to be experts in anatomy and yoga therapy.
Small classes numbers or one to one classes are beneficial for people who lack confidence in their physical fitness and are looking for a supportive atmosphere in their viniyoga class.
Viniyoga classes may include asana, pranayama, chanting, and meditation, depending on the student. There is a strong emphasis on body alignment and poses are held for a consistent number of breaths with a rest in between.
Use the form on this page to find a qualified Viniyoga yoga teacher, or studios offering Viniyoga yoga classes near you directory.
Class time : 90 minutes
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle
Best For: People of all ages looking to maintain flexibility
Vinyasa classes are a great place for beginners to start practicing yoga.
Vinyasa means "breath-synchronized movement," and Vinyasa yoga is a series of poses that flow through the power of inhaling and exhaling. Vinyasa exercises are smoothly and flowing which is why it is often referred to as Vinyasa Flow or just Flow yoga. If you like to focus on the power of breathing and flowing movement through poses, you will enjoy the Vinyasa style.
Viniyoga yoga is tailored to each student's age, health, physical and emotional state, and any current or past injuries. Viniyoga teachers adapt to any person, regardless of physical ability. Viniyoga teachers tend to be experts in anatomy and yoga therapy.
The style and sequence vary depending on the teacher, so try a few different instructors to find a flow that fulfils what you desire in your practice.
Class time : 90 minutes
Suitable for : Beginners to advanced
Difficulty : Gentle
Best For: People of all ages looking to maintain flexibility
Yin Yoga has the same goals and objectives as any other styles of yoga, however it targets the connective tissues, such as the ligaments, bones, and joints rather than muscles. Yin Yoga generally targets the connective tissues of the hips, pelvis, and lower spine.
Yin Yoga complements dynamic and muscular (yang) styles of yoga that emphasize the lengthening and contracting of muscles.
Yin Yoga postures are more passive, mainly on the floor with fewer postures than yang yoga. Postures can last three to five minutes, and even 20 minutes. The time spent in these postures is much like time spent in meditation.
Yoga Class Near You has a huge range of yoga classes on offer. Search for the yoga styles that interest you on this website, or download the NearYou iPhone App or Android App for a faster search.
