Updated August 31, 2014.

If you are brand new to yoga, you may want to take a few hatha classes to learn the basic poses. However, hatha is usually slow-paced, so if you are the kind of person who likes to move around more, don't get turned off. There are many more active styles, including vinyasa-flow.

Consult our yoga style guide for a quick run down of some of the most popular kinds of yoga, which makes it easy to compare styles.

Once you identify something that appeals to you, find a beginner's class in that style. Even if you are already in great shape, take a few beginners' classes to learn the poses and lessen the risk of injury. And while there are many great yoga books and videos available, there is no substitute from learning directly from a good teacher in a yoga class. For more information, check out my guide to how to start doing yoga.

For fun, you can also take the yoga personality quiz and try to identify your yoga type.