NORTON Its that time of year again, when well-meaning people ask whether youve made a New Years resolution. Much as I hate to admit it, the clichd idea of getting back to the gym after a whirlwind of celebrating usually makes my list.

The warm glow of family hearths fades quickly under those fluorescent lights, so this year, Im thinking about yoga. The stretching and breathing go easy on the spirit while challenging the body as much or as little as you need.

I tried yoga for the first time not long ago. Before that, I had taken Pilates for a couple of years, but I didnt know a lot about yoga. I decided to give it a try at the Norton Parks and Recreation Center.

The class was billed as vinyasayoga. Before I went, I did a little reading. If, as I did, you read from multiple sources, you may feel as if there are as many styles of yoga as there are instructors.

Womens Healthmagazine lists 14different styles on its website. Other sources, such as Yoga Journal,name even more. Some are proprietary methods developed by particular teachers, while others are general terms.

Dayna Macy,an editor at Yoga Journal,said hathayoga has become an umbrella term for physical yoga practice that focuses on postures and breathing. Hathayoga includes many sub-types ashtanga,hot yoga, Iyengar,and vinyasa,just to name a few. Traditional yoga also includes mental and spiritual discipline, but classes for fitness tend to focus on the physical, with elements of meditation and reflection.

Gail OLearyof Nortonteaches vinyasayoga at the recreation center. Her class links breath with movement in a flowing, moderately paced series of postures.

A longtime fitness instructor, OLearygot into yoga partly as a way to cope with the physical wear and tear of years of high-impact fitness. She tried yoga with a friend, and was hooked. My body was telling me it was good, she said. Before long, she was taking a certification course.

The class meets in a converted house owned by the town. The room is small, but it has glass doors overlooking the woods behind the house. The cost is $10per class for drop-ins, or $9.50if you sign up for an eight-weeksession.

OLearywelcomed the group of about a dozenwomen and led us through the series of poses she calls the vinyasa flow,including downward-facing dog (hands and feet on the floor, bent at the hips, knees straight, in an A-frame shape), upward-facing dog (body stretched the opposite way, hips near the floor), plank (a push-up like pose, arms straight), and chaturanga(similar, with arms bent).

Read more:
Yoga: A mind and body resolution for the new year