ISHTA Yoga attempts to integrate a number of yoga practices. The acronym "ISHTA" comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "customized" or "personalized." The pedagogic method of ISHTA is designed to give you the tools to decide what is the best way for you to get the most from your yoga practice. Since ISHTA is a relatively new development, yogis might be interested in an overview of what makes the style what it is.
ISHTA Basics

What is ISHTA? The word is an acronym for Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda. To understand the full concept, it's worth exploring what the last three words mean:

Hatha yoga is a method of training for long periods of meditation that includes the use of asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques).
Tantra is a collection of techniques culled from esoteric schools of Buddhism and Hinduism. While generally regarded as "sex yoga" in the public eye, this is only a small part of the truth about Tantra. The tradition includes other rituals, including the identification with deities, yantra (mandalas or diagrams used to awaken higher consciousness) and mantra (sounds and words as the focus of concentration).
Ayurveda is a yogic healing science and hygienic system native to India, recognized by many in the U.S. as an alternative and complementary form of medicine.
Developed in the late 1960s by the father-and-son team of Kavi Yogi Swarananda Mani Finger and Alan Finger, ISHTA is similar to most existing forms of yoga in that it makes asana and pranayama the centerpiece of its training. It is different from other types of yoga in that it integrates techniques from across schools and encourages the student to modify the training to meet her own physical and spiritual needs. ISHTA draws influences from other schools of yoga. This includes Viniyoga's gentler asanas, the more physically intense poses associated with Ashtanga Yoga and Iyengar's use of props. While developing ISHTA, the pair also worked with noted yogis Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Nishraisanada, Bharati and Swami Venkatesananda.

Founders

ISHTA was founded by a father-and-son team in South Africa.

Kavi Yogi Swarananda Mani Finger
Kavi Yogi Swarananda Mani Finger, the father, founded the ISHTA school of yoga in the 1960s. He first received initiation in Los Angeles. His first school was the Kriya Yoga where his teacher was Paramhansa Yogananda. Later, in India, Sivananda initiated him into Kavi Yogi. He then returned to South Africa until 1975, when he moved back to Los Angeles to found Yoga Tantra Institute. In 1993 he founded Yoga Zone Studios (later Be Yoga) in New York City. The first ISHTA studio opened in 2008.

Alan Finger
The son of the team is Alan Finger. His yoga studies began at the age of 16 under his father. He was also a co-founder of Yoga Works, Yoga Zone and Be Yoga, alongside his father. He is the author of many books on the subject of yoga's practice and history.

Studying ISHTA

Unfortunately, the only place where you can formally study ISHTA yoga at present is in New York City at co-founder Alan Finger's studio. However, that doesn't mean that you can't bring a bit of the ISHTA spirit to your personal practice. There is a blog on the ISHTA website where you can read teachers' musings on the ways of yoga.

At this time, there aren't any DVDs available for this practice, but you can find a number of videos featuring instruction from Alan for free on YouTube. Videos address subjects such as the power of breath, the purpose of Hatha Yoga and the cosmology of Tantra. While these will not give you the experience of studying directly with the master, it will allow you to learn some of the philosophy.

Alan has also published books that allow you to learn his philosophies and apply them to your practice. In addition, the ISHTA website features a page about teacher training, so interested parties can hope that a teacher will come their way sooner rather than later.