Yoga asanas are getting popular by day. There are many variants of this wellness form—some good, some dangerous and some, downright hilarious—available in the fitness market around the globe. Here are some:
Couch yoga: A YouTube video by Tara Stiles that teaches couch yoga begins with a sip on a fizzy drink. Tara wants the drink to be sugarless. Then she does 10 minutes of hand and leg movements reclining on a soft couch. The big idea? You can do yoga even while watching TV.
Chocolate/wine/food/ganja yoga: These variants work on the principle that the famed yoga high can be enhanced by smoking pot, munching on a bar of chocolate, sipping on a glass of wine or having a gala dinner after the practice.
Nude yoga: Why not go threadbare on the mat and see if it adds to the lightness of being?
Face yoga: The beauty trend of the moment in the West, face yoga is believed to firm jaw lines, create a healthy glow and keep wrinkles and signs of ageing at bay.
Horse yoga: Tame your rogue stallions by doing yoga with it. Practised at The Doma Indian school in Argentina, horse riders believe yoga helps calm their equine partner.
Dog yoga or Doga: Downward-facing dog gains new meaning when your pet dog joins you on the mat. The practitioners believe lifting, stretching and massaging your canine partner reinforce its trust in you.
Steelflexx yoga: Taught by New Delhi-based Neeraj Mehta, Steelflexx yoga combines biomechanics with yoga. He adds weights to yoga practice to go deeper into the posture and improve balance.
Aqua yoga: Do your yoga moves under the water. The irony, however, is that the most important aspect of yoga—the breath—has to be held here.
Aerial yoga: Loved by Hollywood stars, with aerial or anti-gravity yoga, you achieve the yoga high by doing postures using a hammock suspended from the ceiling.
Christian yoga: Some devoted Christians felt yoga was all Hindu and decided to give it a Christian spin. While the asanas remain traditional, suryanamaskar gets 'rechristened' Yesu (Jesus) namaskar and while meditating, practitioners are encouraged to inhale deep imagining Jesus filling their lungs with air.
Spin yoga: Work out alternating between an indoor cycle and yoga mat. Pump your heart up with a spinning session followed by relaxing postures on the mat.
