Jivamukti

One of the younger forms of yoga, Jivamukti blends ashtanga with heavy spiritual practices, including yoga scripture, chanting, and meditation. David Life and Sharon Gannon created Jivamukti, which loosely translates to “liberated while living” in Sanskrit, in the late 1980s for their Jivamukti Yoga School in New York City. Like ashtanga, Jivamukti incorporates the vinyasa style of asanas; many of its poses are strenuously physical and proper breathing and alignment is stressed.

Classes are organized around a theme, like “Poverty” or “War,” and each of the class’ five principles—scripture, devotion, prayer, music, and meditation—serve to concentrate students’ focus on the theme. The scripture reading might be from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra or Svatmarama’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and is followed by chanting devotions and meditation; spiritually calming and inspiring music plays throughout.

Jivamukti’s combination of physical and intellectual challenges has won it celebrity adherents from Gwyneth Paltrow to Christy Turlington and Donna Karan.