5 Unconventional Types of Yoga You’ve Never Tried But Honestly Should in 2026

Let’s be honest. Most people who do yoga do the same class, at the same studio, in the same spot on the floor, every single week. And look — if it works, it works. But the yoga world has gotten genuinely interesting lately, and sticking to your usual Tuesday vinyasa means you’re missing some of the most surprisingly effective wellness practices happening right now.

From Denver to New York to London, studios are doing things with yoga that would have raised serious eyebrows even five years ago. Fabric hammocks. Dogs on mats. Rooms full of grown adults laughing on purpose. Some of it sounds ridiculous until you look at the research — and then it sounds brilliant. Here are five unconventional yoga styles worth knowing about in 2025.

Key Takeaways

• Doga (yoga practiced with your dog) reduces anxiety in both owner and pet and deepens bonding in ways a regular walk simply doesn’t
• Budokon fuses martial arts with yoga — ideal for anyone who’s outgrown their current practice and wants a real challenge
• Aerial yoga decompresses the spine and cuts chronic back pain — a 2024 Cleveland Clinic trial published in JAMA Network Open found pain levels dropped from 6/10 to 3/10 after 12 weeks
• Culinary yoga pairs mindful movement with plant-based eating — Denver has been leading this quietly for years
• Laughter yoga outperformed music therapy for depression and anxiety in a 2025 peer-reviewed clinical trial

1. Doga — Yoga With Your Dog, And Before You Laugh, Hear This Out

The name alone makes people smirk. Fine. But doga — which combines gentle yoga poses, pet massage, and shared breathing between owner and dog — has been around since Florida instructor Suzi Teitelman developed it in the early 2000s. It’s now a legitimate fixture in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and London, and the people who dismiss it tend to be the ones who haven’t tried it.

Here’s what actually happens in a doga class: you move through slow, grounded poses while your dog either joins in, rests nearby, or periodically derails everything by sniffing a stranger’s mat. According to a 2025 veterinarian-reviewed guide by TotalVet, the practice helps anxious dogs become more comfortable with handling — which is genuinely useful when vet visit time rolls around. And the shared calm of the session regulates the nervous systems of both human and animal simultaneously. Dog owners are already 54% more likely to hit recommended weekly exercise targets than non-owners. Doga just makes those sessions count for both of you.

One thing worth being clear about: doga only works if the dog is actually into it. Never force it. If your dog spends the whole class trying to escape, that’s your answer for the week.

Expert Tip: Do two or three at-home practice sessions with your dog before joining a group class. Let them associate the mat with calm before you add the chaos of other dogs in the room. — Suzi Teitelman, founder of Doga, via Chewy

2. Budokon — This Is What Yoga Looks Like When It Stops Being Polite

Anyone who’s plateaued with regular yoga and secretly wishes they were doing something harder needs to know about Budokon. It fuses martial arts and yoga into one cohesive practice — and the combination makes more sense than it initially sounds. Both disciplines share the same fundamental requirements: controlled breathing, mental focus, physical precision, and the ability to stay calm while your body is doing something difficult.

The movements flow between combat-inspired sequences and traditional yoga postures. Miami, Austin and San Francisco have the strongest Budokon communities in the U.S. right now, and the practice has been picking up real momentum in 2025 as the wellness world collectively moves away from the “no pain, no gain” era and toward practices that are simultaneously hard and mindful. According to Parade’s 2025 wellness trend report, recovery-focused, low-ego training is dominating fitness culture right now — and Budokon sits right at that intersection.

The name translates roughly to “way of the warrior human.” Developed by Cameron Shayne, it was built as a unified movement system rather than a gimmick. If you’ve ever walked out of yoga wishing you’d actually broken a sweat — this is what you’ve been looking for.

3. Anti-Gravity Aerial Yoga — Yes, Gwyneth Was Onto Something

Aerial yoga has had celebrity fans for years. Gwyneth Paltrow, Gisele Bündchen and Kourtney Kardashian have all been vocal about it. Eva Longoria has joked on Instagram that hanging upside down in a silk hammock is helping her prep for Cirque du Soleil auditions. And in July 2025, PBS/WGCU reported aerial silks studios filling up across Fort Myers, Florida — which tells you this trend has genuinely moved beyond the coastal cities.

But the celebrity endorsements are almost beside the point. The actual reason aerial yoga deserves attention is the back pain data. A landmark 2024 Cleveland Clinic randomized trial published in JAMA Network Open found 12 weeks of yoga cut chronic back pain intensity in half on average — from 6 out of 10 down to 3 out of 10 — and slashed pain medication use by more than 50% among participants. The hammock version adds spinal decompression on top of that. Hanging inverted releases vertebral pressure in a way that no floor-based class can replicate, and most people feel it within minutes of their first session.

FlyFace Yoga in New York City runs some of the most well-regarded back-pain-focused aerial classes in the country if you’re in the area. For everyone else — ClassPass has aerial studios in most major cities now and first classes are usually free or heavily discounted.

4. Culinary Yoga — Denver Has Been Quietly Right About This For Years

This one gets eye-rolls at first. Yoga followed by a plant-based meal sounds like something a wellness influencer invented to justify a long lunch. But the concept is grounded in something real: the physiological state yoga puts you in genuinely changes how your body processes food. Digestion improves when you’re calm. Cortisol is lower. Food choices shift when you’re not making them from a stressed or depleted state.

Denver studios have been running culinary yoga sessions — post-class vegan spreads, raw wellness bowls, energizing kombucha — for years while the rest of the country caught up. Portland, Austin and San Francisco have developed strong scenes for it too. WodGuru’s September 2025 yoga trend report identifies mindful eating integration as one of the cleaner growth areas in studio programming right now, particularly as Gen Z pushes wellness culture toward experiences that are social and holistic rather than purely physical.

Is it for everyone? Probably not. But if you’ve ever rushed straight from a yoga class to the nearest drive-through, the idea at least deserves five minutes of honest consideration.

5. Laughter Yoga — The Research Will Genuinely Surprise You

Of all five styles on this list, laughter yoga has the most skeptics going in and the most converts coming out. The concept — deliberately weaving laughter-inducing exercises into a yoga session — was developed in Mumbai by Dr. Madan Kataria in 1995 and is now practiced in over 100 countries. The key insight is that the body produces identical physiological responses to both genuine and intentional laughter. Which means you get the benefits either way.

And the benefits are not small. A 2024 systematic review in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies found consistent reductions in stress, burnout, depression, anxiety and salivary cortisol levels across multiple randomized controlled trials. A 2025 clinical trial in Aging & Mental Health found laughter yoga outperformed music therapy for depression and anxiety in older adults — which is a remarkable result for something that looks from the outside like organized silliness. A separate 2025 study in the Journal of Education and Health Promotion found just eight 45-minute sessions meaningfully improved happiness and quality-of-life scores.

Chicago, Toronto and Melbourne have particularly active laughter yoga communities. The Global Wellness Institute’s 2025 yoga therapy trend report specifically flags laughter yoga as gaining serious traction among Gen Z practitioners who prioritize mental and emotional health over physical performance. Which honestly tracks — a generation that grew up online probably understands better than most how rare genuine communal joy actually is.

The Honest Bottom Line

None of these styles are for everyone. Doga requires a cooperative dog and while it sounds fun something we can’t seriously workout with our dogs. Budokon will humble you if you walk in expecting a regular yoga class. Aerial yoga has a waitlist problem in good cities. Culinary yoga requires finding a studio that actually does it well. And laughter yoga will feel deeply strange for the first ten minutes before it suddenly doesn’t.

But that’s also kind of the point. The yoga world has expanded far enough that there’s genuinely something for every type of person now — and the best version of any practice is the one you actually keep showing up to. Search for any of these styles near you on Google Maps or ClassPass and see what’s available. Most cities have more options than people realize. You might be closer to a hammock than you think.

One Thing Every Yoga Style on This List Has in Common

The mat. Whether you’re attempting Budokon flow sequences, aerial yoga inversions, or doga with a distracted Labrador, what you’re practicing on matters more than most people acknowledge — especially once you move past beginner classes and start putting real demand on the surface beneath you.

Conventional PVC yoga mats are petroleum-based, off-gas VOCs as they age, and don’t biodegrade. For anyone practicing consciously, that’s a hard sell. Natural rubber and cork mats have closed most of the performance gap and eliminated the chemistry problem entirely. Our full guide to the best eco-friendly yoga mats of 2026 covers every surface and style in depth — but the short version for readers who want a quick answer:

For standard practice (vinyasa, Budokon, laughter yoga, doga): Jade Harmony Natural Rubber Mat is the benchmark — open-cell natural rubber that grips better as you sweat, made without PVC, EVA foam, or synthetic rubber. For hot yoga or high-sweat practice: Manduka eKO 5mm is the closed-cell natural rubber option that won’t absorb moisture and holds its grip session after session. Both are made without the chemicals conventional mats carry, and both are built to last years rather than months — which is the most sustainable choice there is.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is doga and is it actually good for your dog?

Doga is yoga practiced alongside your dog — combining gentle poses, massage and shared breathing. It reduces anxiety in both owner and pet, strengthens their bond, and helps dogs become more comfortable with physical handling. The dog sets the pace; never force participation.

Is aerial yoga safe for complete beginners?

Yes — the hammock supports your body weight, which actually makes many poses more accessible than floor yoga. Most studios run dedicated beginner sessions and instructors adjust every pose individually. People with back injuries often find it one of the most comfortable options available.

What does the research say about laughter yoga benefits?

Multiple 2024 and 2025 peer-reviewed studies confirm laughter yoga reduces cortisol, depression, anxiety and stress while improving happiness and quality of life. A 2025 clinical trial in Aging & Mental Health found it outperformed music therapy for mental health outcomes in older adults.

What is Budokon yoga and who is it for?

Budokon blends martial arts movement sequences with traditional yoga postures into one practice. It’s best suited to intermediate or advanced practitioners who want something more physically and mentally demanding than a standard yoga class. Expect to sweat and to be humbled.

Where can I find unconventional yoga classes near me?

Search your city name plus the yoga style on Google Maps or ClassPass. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Austin, Miami and San Francisco have well-established scenes for doga, aerial yoga and laughter yoga. Most studios now offer free or discounted first classes for new students.

Is culinary yoga a legitimate wellness practice?

Yes — and it’s been growing steadily in cities like Denver, Portland and San Francisco for years. The combination of mindful movement and intentional plant-based eating is grounded in nutritional science showing that physiological state at mealtime directly affects digestion and food choices.

Which unconventional yoga style is best for stress and anxiety?

Laughter yoga has the strongest clinical evidence for stress and anxiety reduction specifically. Doga is highly effective for pet owners. For stress that manifests as physical tension and back pain, aerial yoga’s spinal decompression offers relief that no floor-based practice can replicate.