Yoga is an ancient practice designed to integrate the spirit, the mind and the body. It can help improve your physical health, relieve stress and create inner peace.

Classes range from slow-moving therapeutic poses to faster-flowing movements and challenging balance positions.

But with all the different types out there, people often get confused and intimidated deciding where to start. We're here to help!

Let’s walk through the variety of group yoga classes offered at Y locations across Middle Tennessee. With our simple guide, you’ll be able to find one that interests you and put it on the calendar today.

Basic Yoga

Get introduced to this ancient practice by learning basic yoga poses from the ground up. If you are new to yoga, or would like a refresher, this class is for you. You’ll focus on easing into exercise, improving your balance, and becoming more flexible. 

Vinyasa Yoga

Building on the basic poses, the Vinyasa yoga practice is designed to start challenging you with a greater variety of pose variations and a faster moving sequence. Advanced Vinyasa includes more challenging and flowing postures to improve muscular strength and flexibility. This class will leave you quietly energized and feeling more balanced. 

Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga is a gentle format designed to bring your body into its best balance, and is particularly useful for overall wellness purposes, injury recovery or to address a chronic health condition such as arthritis.

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga is a traditional yoga practice involving fast-moving sequences in a predictable pattern with variations for different levels of difficulty. Along with the benefits of basic yoga, Ashtanga will help you get your heart racing and burn off stress. The class is ideal for yoga students looking for a more intense form of yoga exercise.

Iyengar Yoga

Iyengar yoga is a traditional practice involving the extensive use of equipment like straps, blocks, bolsters and other tools. Instruction is very comprehensive and slow. This class is ideal for the detail-oriented student who enjoys a lot of coaching.

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini yoga emphasizes breathing and specific sets of exercises that help you channel inner energy through your chakra, or energy center in the spine. Kundalini is great for all levels of students, especially those seeking a deeper spiritual experience.

Hot Yoga

This is a specialized practice using general yoga poses in a room heated to 90-plus degrees. The hot environment helps to cleanse the body of impurities and can also help students to get into poses with greater ease. Some centers limit the size of this class and may charge extra in order to provide one-on-one instruction and attention.

Still not sure? Check out our complete offering of spirit/mind exercise classes. If you’d rather find classes at a specific location, click here to search "yoga" at your center. Let us partner with you to reach your healthy living goals!