The most overtly spiritual style, including kriyas, breath of fire, chanting, white clothing. Powerful practice with a deeply problematic founder. The tradition predates Bhajan considerably; the Western version does not.

Kundalini is yoga with a story baked into its name. Picture a snake coiled at the base of your spine, representing raw, untapped energy waiting to be released. That imagery comes straight out of Hindu philosophy, first appearing in the Upanishads, and it's the entire premise the practice is built around.

Rooted in Hatha Yoga but distinctly its own tradition, Kundalini's objective is to "uncoil" that dormant energy through a specific combination of poses, breathwork, sound, and meditation. It was brought to Western audiences by Yogi Bhajan, who gained widespread recognition in the 1960s for translating ancient yogic philosophy into something that resonated with modern Western life.

A Kundalini class has real structure: a warm-up, a kriya (a set sequence of poses, breath, and mantra strung together), relaxation, and meditation, typically bookended by chanting a mantra at the start and close. Expect a strong focus on the core and lower back, since that's where the energy is said to live. This isn't a style aimed primarily at flexibility or strength. It's aimed at consciousness.