Should you stick to one style of yoga?

Although yoga has been around for a while, it can get quite overwhelming with the different styles of yoga that are out there. Due to these wide range of choices, there are many who jump from one class to another in order to find the right fit. While one school of thought believes that this is perfectly okay, there’s another that argues that it’s important to stick to one style. The reason why the latter reiterates sticking to one style of yoga is because of the analogy of ‘digging one deep well.’ The belief is if you persist and dig deep enough you’ll eventually strike water. On the other hand, digging a number of shallow wells will only have short term benefits.

That being said, the style that you practice is a personal choice. A yoga teacher can guide you to a level of comfort with one particular style but whether you stick to it is entirely up to you. Each style of yoga has its own level of variety so even if you do plan to stick to one style, it may not be as monotonous as you think. For example, Iyengar Yoga has a good mix of vigorous and gentle sequences.

If your reason for experimenting with different styles is purely for physical fitness, then you’ll definitely benefit from all that is out there. Power Yoga can help you sweat it out on one day while a more traditional form will help you get in touch with your inner self the next.

However, if it’s a more spiritual path that you seek with yoga, sticking to one style would probably be the right answer. When you commit to one style, you can focus on the long term goal. It will possibly give you a deeper understanding and help you to connect deeply with your inner self.

While it’s perfectly okay to ‘window-shop’ for the right style at the beginning of your journey, over a period of time this will probably change. When you find the style and teacher that you’re most comfortable with you just know that you’ll go the distance.