Patanjali's Yoga Sutras tell us in that we tend to participate in behaviors that reinforce old habits (samskaras) instead of choosing behaviors that could assist us in creating new samskaras which could assist in healing. As yoga therapists/ teachers we often see that high-strung students are often drawn towards a vigorous practice and that lethargic students often prefer a more gentle practice. But can this be empirically proven or is it just anecdotal?

Amy Wheeler, a professor at California State University, wanted to empirically test which type of personalities are drawn to which types of yoga classes. Further, she wanted to test how relaxed Type A vs. Type B personality students became in vigorous versus gentle yoga classes.

She asked 61 yoga students to respond to a series of words about how they would describe his or her personality. For example, words included: driven, assertive and motivated (Type A) versus laid-back and go with the flow of life (Type B). The students were then asked to describe the type of yoga practice they preferred. For example, a practice including sun-salutations, back-bending and standing postures or a practice including poses on the floor for low back and hips. Finally, the students were given a questionnaire before and after different types of yoga classes to see changes their stress levels.

Results showed that the students who described themselves as driven, assertive and motivated preferred a heated yoga practice. Similarly, students who described themselves as more laid-back and able to go with the flow of life preferred a more gentle practice. This would support the suggestion made by Patanjali thousands of years ago that we often participate in behaviors that reinforce old samaskaras.

So what does this mean for the driven and assertive students in a vigorous class? Well, it depends on the goal of the student. If the student wants a workout and is not necessarily concerned about stress management, then a heated practice of backbends and standing poses may be fine to reach the goal. However, if the goal of the practice is stress management, then the student may want to reconsider the type of practice they are naturally drawn to.

Both type A and B students were significantly more relaxed after the gentle floor practice.The results of the study suggest that students do in fact tend to choose a yoga class that matches their personality. However, if the goal of yoga is to achieve maximum relaxation response, then all types of students would find a gentle yoga class more effective.

Amy Wheeler, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University- San Bernardino, and is also the Director of Yoga at Lake Arrowhead Resort & Spa in Southern California