Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America.

I'm Katie Weaver.

And I'm Mario Ritter Jr. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower and we use

words and phrases especially written for people learning English.

Coming up on the show, everyday Grammar and Ask a Teacher.

We close with an American story.

But now, here's John Russell.

The activity called yoga means different things to different people around the world.

The word itself comes from the Sanskrit language and means union.

For some, yoga is an exercise centered on mindful breathing and slow movement.

For others, it is a series of difficult body movements and positioning

designed to improve health and fitness.

Still others consider yoga a spiritual exercise.

And there are many people for whom yoga is a combination of all or some of these things. So, yoga takes many different forms around the world. All kinds of yoga

involve positions known as poses or asanas.

But the positions and training can differ even under yoga methods or styles of the same name,

including Hatha, Vinyasa, Iyengar, and others.

So what is the best kind of yoga training for a beginner?

The best is the one that works for you, said Tim Sennesse, who has been teaching yoga in Orange County, California, for 22 years.

There are many different paths leading toward the same aim, he added.

Hatha, meaning force, describes any kind of yoga class involving asanas.

Asan salutation, for example, is an important series of twelve asanas that begin many kinds of yoga classes.

...