Your Destination Guide to San Diego

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Fitness fads may come and go, but it is safe to say that yoga, practiced for over 5,000 years, is here to stay. It is most certainly a prevalent form of exercise in San Diego.

California's sunniest city is home to dozens of yoga studios practicing many of the more popular forms of yoga, including Ashtanga, Bikram, Iyengar, Kundalini, Power Yoga, Svaroopa and Vinyasa. In addition to traditional classes, local studios offer prenatal yoga, healing yoga for cancer patients and survivors, and age-appropriate lessons for children, as well as a nonprofit donation-based yoga designed to bring this practice—to the masses.

Traditional forms of yoga

Bikram: Yogis turn up the heat in this popular style of yoga practiced in studios warmed to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The style involves repeating 26 poses in the same order, and those who practice this form swear by its ability to improve flexibility as well as the complexion. Two of the city's largest studios, Bikram Yoga Studio and Core Power Yoga, run several locations throughout the city.

Iyengar: Think beyond the mat: props—including belts, blocks and chairs—are integral parts of this very traditional form of yoga. Created by BKS Iyengar, the style is perfect for those looking to focus on an age-old yoga style. Poses in Iyengar classes are held for much longer than in other yoga styles and focus on body alignment, making Iyengar a great way for yogis to practice their postures and perfect their form. San Diego Yoga and Iyengar North County Yoga Studio both dedicate classes to this unique yoga style.

Kundalini: Yogis look deep inside themselves to find their inner life energy and then channel each of the seven chakras in this style, which combines poses, breathing, chanting and meditation. Two smaller studios, Mystic Water and Yogi Oasis, focus on Kundalini.

Power Yoga: Invented by Americans Beryl Bender Birch and Bryan Kest, this popular form of yoga, which resembles a more rigorous Vinyasa Flow class, involves less chanting and meditation and more strenuous exercise. It is designed for those who are already physically fit and looking for an intense workout, and often uses more advanced postures. Some studios choose to add heat to these classes for extra intensity. Two leaders in this newer yoga style are La Jolla Yoga Center and Core Power Yoga.

Svaroopa: This gentler form of yoga was developed by Rama Berch, the founder of San Diego's La Jolla Master Academy. It focuses on healing the body through several fairly simple poses. Check out Svaroopa Yoga Studio to learn more about these classes, a great option for beginners.

Vinyasa/Ashtanga:Also known as "flow yoga," these styles focus on six postures that organically flow into the next pose to elongate and strengthen the body. The two forms are often confused with one another because Vinyasa is actually a derivative of Ashtanga.

Ashtanga: Started by Indian K. Pattabhi Jois, this form of yoga follows a strict sequence of poses that focus more on the internal aspects of one's practice, particularly working on one's "vinyasa," a Sanskrit word meaning "connection of movement and breath," and on improving the "ujavi," or "breath of yoga." True Ashtanga teachers must study at the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in India; San Diego currently has one instructor who has earned this coveted title, David Miller of Carlsbad. Many studios claiming to teach Ashtanga actually teach its derivative, Vinyasa.

Vinyasa Flow: Derived from Ashtanga's poses, this form is much less structured than Ashtanga and does not follow a strict series of poses: the postures used are the decision of the course instructor and vary from teacher to teacher and studio to studio. The most popular spin-off of Ashtanga is often dubbed "Vinyasa Flow" or "Flow".

Vinyasa is an incredibly popular style of yoga in San Diego, and the area has several esteemed studios. Leaders in this form of yoga include Yoga One Studio, Ginseng Yoga Studio, Prana Yoga Center and OB Namaste.

Alternative forms of yoga

In addition to the traditional forms of yoga, many San Diego studios offer inventive forms of this age-old practice.

Yoga for children: Yoga is not just for adults: with children's yoga classes, kids have an opportunity to learn this ancient form of exercise. Classes start for children as young as 18 months (motor skills and coordination are key components to classes). Classes for children ages two and up incorporate puppets, music, and other age-appropriate activities to make them accessible to a young generation. Many yoga studios also offer yoga for families. San Diego Yoga Kids and Next Generation Yoga studios are area leaders.

Donation-based, nonprofit yoga: Donation-based classes make yoga accessible to everyone. Esteemed studios Red Lotus Society and One Love Yoga offer courses in many of the classic forms of yoga and ask for a small donation instead of a set fee. Red Lotus also hosts meditation classes and courses on tai chi.

Prenatal yoga: "World peace begins in the womb" is the motto at Jolie Cash's "Hot Mama Yoga," where expectant mothers participate in yoga designed for the body's maximum benefit during pregnancy. The studio also offers classes for new mothers and their infants so that mother-child bonding time can also be "get back to pre-baby body" time.

Yoga for cancer patients: In addition to providing traditional classes for beginners and yoga for expectant mothers, Inner Strength yoga studio offers free classes for cancer patients and survivors. They also offer healing classes to aid patients on their way to recovery.

Meet up: Looking to meet other yogis and stay up to date with the yoga scene in San Diego? Try one of Meet Up's many San Diego yoga groups. Some groups are geared towards the general public, some to children, and others to yoga in the outdoors… all are a great opportunity to mingle with those who share a love of channeling their inner ohm.

- Amanda Jones

Header Photo: © ZeHawk

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