There are lots of paths to spiritual fulfillment - quitting your job and moving to an unheated house in the woods, riding a motorcycle around the world, going away to a nudist camp for the weekend, dropping lots of LSD - but there are few ways as good for your health as Yoga.

Fortunately for Muscovites, there are a growing number of places to practice this ancient Indian "science," as it is termed by many of its practitioners. Whether or not Yoga is a path to spiritual awakening has yet to be established by modern science, but one thing everyone is sure of: It's an excellent way to stay in shape, improve balance and blow off steam. And you just might achieve enlightenment somewhere along the way.

Sergei Reznichenko, founder of the Pantanjala Yoga Institute in Moscow, cautions, "Yoga is not a science for everyone." But he doesn't believe that it's a reason for people not to try.

He has been practicing for 30 years, a long time in Russia, considering that in the Soviet era the practice of Yoga was forbidden. Formerly, all forms of Eastern martial and athletic arts were forbidden, except for those deemed an official sport, like Judo or Sambo. One of Reznichenko's colleagues spent five years in prison for being a Yogi.

But in spite of the Soviet government's official opposition to the practice, one guru made a secret visit during Nikita Khrushchev's regime to share Yogic techniques with Russian cosmonauts, according to Ilya Zhuravlyuv, an instructor at the Moscow Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Moscow.

It wasn't until Perestroika that Yoga was practiced openly; before that people studied from books smuggled in from the West, or in secret study groups.

Since then, some Russian Yogis have gained considerable notoriety. The most famous in Russia is Andrei Sidersky, a Kiev native who has cultivated his own style and teaches monthly seminars in Moscow.

Literature on Yoga is elaborate and can sometimes be cryptic for the uninitiated. Most popular literature on the subject claims that the techniques defining Yoga are around 5,000 years old. All branches of Yoga are traced back to the Yoga sutras of Patanjali, which are said to describe the practice and what it entails. Almost every teacher has their own interpretation of how to follow these principles and what they mean.

There are eight branches of Yoga, but almost all popular schools teach the Hatha discipline. Other branches of Yoga focus on diet and spiritual devotion, while Hatha emphasizes breathing techniques (pranayama) and stretches and poses (asanas), making it the most useful practice for staying in shape.

There are countless styles of Hatha Yoga created over the last several thousand years, but the most popular branches are traced back to the same gurus. "There's no one style that's best for one person and no one sticks with one style their entire life," said Zhuravlyuv, who began studying at the Indian Embassy roughly seven years ago.

Most schools teach modern styles of Yoga, developed in the 20th century. The three most common styles are: Ashtanga, Iyengar and Viniyoga developed by students of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, a teacher from the Yoga Institute at the Mysore Palace in India. The other two major forms are Integral and Sivananda, created by students of the guru Sivinanda.

Ashtanga is regarded as one of the most physically intense disciplines. It's considered an excellent way to tone muscles and build strength. Bikram is also an unusual form that involves performing asanas in an overheated room. Sivinanda and Viniyoga are more classical in their approach, while Iyengar focuses on standing poses.

Of course, there's more to Yoga than just contorting your body into complicated positions. Zhuravlyuv said he pursues Yoga as "a spiritual practice, in order to achieve enlightenment," but noted that most students don't have such an ambitious goal.

"The modern world is stressful," he said. "Yoga is a good way to reduce stress, improve yourself physically and soothe your mind."

A class is a good way to avoid the common mistakes made by beginners, according to most instructors. They point out that it's difficult for the average person to learn proper breathing or complicated positions without assistance.

"In a class the instructor can show you what you're doing wrong, instead of sitting at home and banging your head against the wall," Zhuravlyuv said.

Places to bend:

The Ashtanga Center in Moscow
A small and affordable school offering lessons all day long for all levels. Cost is 100 rubles per lesson, 800 rubles for 10 lessons. In two months they plan to open an English-language class.

Pantanjala Yoga Institute
Offers lessons every evening for all levels of students. No drop-in classes. Students must purchase a minimum of four lessons for $25.

Ivangara Yoga Center
Offers several locations around town for all ages. It costs 200 rubles for an individual lesson, 650 for a four-lesson course and 1,100 for a two-month membership. Children's lessons are 70 rubles each time, or a session of eight for 500 rubles.


Russian guru Alexei Sidersky will be offering a class for beginning students April 18-21. The cost is $10 per lesson, or $35 to attend every session.