Yoga in Australian studios has evolved to offer plenty of choices. Here's how not to get bogged down

Millions of people around the world see physical and mental benefits in practicing yoga, but with so many different styles out there, how do you know which one is right for you?

These are the words yoga instructor Amy Leonard-King lives by.

She began yoga as a young adult and like many 20-something-year-olds with lots of energy to burn, she fell in love with hot yoga because the physical challenge helped quieten her mind.

But after having two young children, running a busy Melbourne studio, and teaching yoga for 13 years, she now finds herself gravitating towards more gentler styles like restorative, Hatha, and Yin.

Amy says everyone's yoga journey is different and it's normal to resonate with different styles at different stages of life.

Some guiding questions

A good question to start with she says is how much energy you have?

For those looking for a more strenuous (and sweaty) practice, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, or a hot yoga class could feel wonderful.

But for people feeling overwhelmed and stressed, she recommends a gentler, restorative class which is done at a slower pace.

"If we're tired to start with and we throw ourselves into a power Vinyasa class, yes it might feel good for a moment after Shavasana [a relaxation pose at the end of class], but it's not sustainable because we need to build back that life energy and vitality."

She says people also need to understand what they're seeking from yoga.

Some people really struggle in the quieter practices that involve meditation because it can feel overwhelming, almost like a "purgatory".

This makes the more strenuous practices more suited to people with hectic lives who are mentally and emotionally exhausted and can't process a lot.

It forces them to focus on not falling over instead of that stressful conversation they had with a colleague earlier that day, she says.

Deciphering yoga styles in Australia

Despite the science about yoga's benefits not being well understood, 1.4 million people are said to have practiced it in Australia during the 2022–23 financial year.

Yoga is derived from the ancient Sanskrit word yuj which means to yoke or unite.

But instead of harnessing animals together (as a yoke does), it's the harnessing of the mind to benefit the spirit and body.

The industry's peak body Yoga Australia defines yoga as an ancient system that offers wisdom techniques, and practices that offer physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.

"The general approach of exploring your edge is common to any style of yoga," says CEO Josh Pryor.

But he says the difference in styles comes down to "what do you do at that edge? Do you linger there and try to go past it, or do you drop it back and focus on breathing?"

He says to outsiders, for example, both restorative yoga and Yin might look the same, but they feel anything but.

Yin yoga involves deep stretching of the body's connective tissues, whereas restorative yoga might use props like a block or pillow to support the release of mind-body tension to heal.

He says Yin involves going to the end range of a stretch where the joint can't move any further and remaining there for minutes which can be intense, whereas restorative yoga might use a similar pose but won't go to the end range so it's more comfortable and relaxing.

Over the last couple of decades, new yoga styles have been created based on traditional lineages to make the practice more commercially viable in the West, adding even more options to choose from.

In the 1970s, Australians travelled to India to study under gurus and brought those teachings back.

But Josh says over time, yoga in Australia has found a middle ground that is somewhat commercialised and reduced in spiritual scope but suits the Western context.

For example, power yoga here generally wouldn't involve leg-bending positions that aren't suited to bodies that sit at desks for long periods.

And using descriptors like "power", "restorative", "hot", or "flow" also makes it easier for Westerners to understand what to expect in a class, he says.

He says it's a tricky balance between making the practice accessible and staying true to its roots and many yoga teachers have grappled with that guilt as they've seen the practice evolve in the West.

But another measure of authenticity, he says, could be what an Indian guru would instruct you to do, which is to teach what's most appropriate for the person in front of you.

Balancing accessibility with authenticity

Vani Shukla understands the fragility of keeping a yoga business viable.

As an 18-year-old, she turned to yoga to help her heal after losing both her parents within months of each other.

She's now practiced for 25 years and runs a business in Adelaide where about 20 per cent of her students are Indian, more than most Australian studios.

Aside from sharing a similar culture and background to them, she finds Indian students more interested than Australians in discovering the spiritual teachings handed down by gurus to help them find emotional stability.

"If I ask an Indian student to do a lion's breath [exercise], bring your tongue out and roar like a lion, they won't be shy."

But she will modify the exercise in her Western classes to use a breath instead of a roar because students might not understand the reasoning behind it and find it strange.

"It's my responsibility to in a very, very kind and gentle way, convey my teaching to them while also understanding their cultural background and their understanding to practice."

Vani encourages them to look beyond the physical aspects of the practice and suggests meditation.

"The whole path of yoga is realising again and again that this body is temporary."

About 20 years ago, she began noticing that Western studios tended to focus on the physical aspects rather than the spiritual when traditionally it was one and the same.

But she doesn't fault studio owners who find themselves having to dilute the traditions or combine classes with Pilates or other fitness activities to survive financially.

What she takes issue with is hype messaging from practitioners or social media that over-promise yoga's benefits and oversell it as a remedy for life's tribulations.

"Please don't misguide people either on the physical or spiritual side because mental health is one of the biggest issues in Australia and people are vulnerable."

In addition to acknowledging its origins, she doesn't want people to take a competitive approach in their practice, either against themself or against others because it could lead to injury.

"What you practice today you can't practice after 20 years and if you're not flexible in your mind, then you won't be able to accept these things."