Essential gear for your yoga practice

This time of year, yoga seems to be everywhere. There are Groupon deals aplenty and yoga sessions held all over the city in parks and even museums. In fact, if you find yourself at the Museum of Modern Art Thursday evening, hundreds of yogis will be taking over the atrium and garden for Lol's "White Tour" session, where all participants will be decked out in the requisite white, to symbolize peace.

And though the practice has been around in some form for thousands of years, it's "just seeping into the mainstream," says Jason Wachob, founder of the health and wellness website MindBodyGreen and a practicing yogi for five years. "Yoga's become this thing that isn't taboo and something a lot of people use to supplement other practices."

If you've been thinking about dipping your toes into the yoga waters, here are some tips from teachers and practitioners alike to get your on your way. Come on in, the water's fine.

Try a lot of different classes

From more traditional practices like hatha and vinyasa flow to newer and more unconventional (think aerial or even nude yoga), there are many types of yoga classes out there, and it may take some experimenting to find the one that suits you.

"I tried many different styles of yoga, but nothing ever spoke to me or worked for me the way Baptiste Yoga does," says Bethany Lyons, founder of Lyons Den Power Yoga in TriBeCa, which teaches a form of hot yoga called Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga.

Wachob recommends trying different styles, as well as teachers, to find one that you like.

"There's tons of different styles," says Wachob. "It's important to experiment and find what works."

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