Classic schools of yoga trace their roots back thousands of years, but recently a proliferation of newer forms have emerged, often fusing yoga with other established disciplines. Contact yoga, yoga with weights, even pole-dancing yoga are new forms that are off-shoots of the more traditional practices. Here are three that could add a new, exciting dimension to your yoga routine:
YogaDance
From Massachusetts’s Kripalu Institute, YogaDance was formerly known as DansKinetics, which began in the early 1980s. In its early form, YogaDance was more like aerobics, with steps, starts, and stops; but in 1985 Megha Buttenheim started morphing YogaDance to incorporate more aspects of yoga and dancing. Participants often work in groups of two or more, and people recovering from diseases such as Parkinson’s and forms of cancer have found the practice very therapeutic.
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
“I think of this as a yoga of the twenty-first century; it’s about reaching out and healing through joy,” says Megha. If you are interested in YogaDance, check with a local yoga studio or visit www.kripalu.org.
QiYoga
Started by Australian yogini Fiona Kaczmarczyk, this new form of yoga combines two ancient disciplines: qigong and hatha yoga. Qigong is a self-healing discipline from China and South Korea, which literally translates to energy (qi) skill (gong).
QiYoga was created to combine the powers of qigong—attracting qi into the body for restorative energy flow and cellular healing—with hatha yoga, which promotes balance and harmony in the body.
Supporters believe that QiYoga blends the best of both disciplines, bringing stress reduction, healing, peace, and balance throughout the body. For more information go to www.qiyoga.org.
Yogalates
This blend of yoga with Pilates exercise was begun by another Australian, Louise Solomon. Pilates, started by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s, is known for building strength in the torso (or core strength) and increasing overall flexibility and stability.
Combining the ancient spiritual practice of hatha yoga with Pilates is meant to enhance strength, stamina, aerobic capacity, flexibility, balance, and mental clarity. For more information go to www.yogalates.com.au.
