Practice Yoga On Your Time!

We all love being able to do stuff when it suits us. It always seems best when we can ignore someone else’s schedule or clock.

Maybe the best advantage of practicing yoga at home is being able to hit the mat whenever your heart desires. Plus, you never have to squeeze your mat into a cramped space during those crowded studio sessions.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that some yoga studios have become so crowded that students have started to lose they’re cool while staking mat spaces in class, Crowded Classes Test The Zen Of Yoga.

Simply put, your living room or bedroom will always be open for class!

Save Money!

Those words are usually music to everyone’s ears! We all love to save money and that thought certainly applies to our fitness activities.

Let’s face it, yoga can be expensive!

In larger cities, many studio classes can cost $18.00 or more per class. Monthly memberships can climb well over $150.00 monthly and private instruction can quickly reach $100 per hour depending on the instructor.

Practicing at home with online classes saves significant dollars with most sites charging from $10.00 to $25.00 per month with a wide range of courses and teachers.

So fire up the tablet, if you love padding your wallet as much as you enjoy yoga!

Privacy!

Feel a little shy about busting out your Downward Dog?

There’s no doubt that many yogis, especially beginners, may not feel terribly confident about putting their practice on display.

Studio classes can be a bit intimidating or even discouraging when your class pals start to soar while you struggle to keep the pace. To be fair, many may also be inspired by practicing in a social setting.

However, if you’re a little on the shy side, the privacy of your own home may allow you to iron out the kinks and gain confidence in preparation for your quest into the studio.

An Instructor Haven!

Yogis love their instructors!

Another amazing benefit of online yoga is that it presents the opportunity to practice with instructors all over the world! Practicing at home gives you the chance to try classes with teachers who you would likely never meet in person.

How awesome is it to be able to take a class with Tara Stiles right from your own home! Sure, it may not be as exciting as meeting her in person, but it’s still plenty inspirational! You can also find amazing local instructors spread all around the world, like Allison Flavio at The Journey Junkie.

Online yoga no doubt gives you the ability to sample more teachers than you ever could by driving from studio to studio!

Avoid Traffic!

Traffic sucks!

Let’s be honest, one of the greatest challenges to maintaining any type of exercise routine is maintaining the discipline to get in the car and fight traffic and time!

If you live in a bigger city, then you know all too well about traffic nightmares. Unfortunately, many times we may decide to just hang on the couch. Naturally, hanging on the couch doesn’t do much for our Down Dogs!

Don’t be fooled, practicing at home requires discipline as well, but at least you can avoid the road rage!

Web Sites

There are numerous web sites that offer streaming yoga classes, some are free and some require a monthly fee. For the most part, sites that charge a monthly fee are very affordable! Monthly membership fees range from roughly $10.00 to $30.00. Many sites also offer trial memberships, but make sure you read the small print about what happens when your trial expires!

Some sites also offer the option of buying classes on demand, or in other words, you just pay as you go for one class at a time. Buying on demand is usually offered as a streaming rental or as a download to own product.

Yoga blogs can also be a great resource for your practice. Many blogs offer classes, helpful articles and inspiring stories. Product reviews are also popular on blogs, such as Ashton August’s reviews on Yogi Approved.

Streaming Players

Stream to your TV!

Streaming players have become very popular, so streaming classes to your TV is a great option!

Players include the ever popular Roku and Apple TV, but you’ll have to do a little research to find the one that best suits your needs.

DVD’s

DVD’s aren’t quite dead, but they’re barely breathing!

If you’re an old school kind of yogi, then you can always get your yoga on DVD. Amazon still offers many yoga titles on DVD, although the future doesn’t look bright for any type of fitness on DVD!

Desktops, Phones or Tablets?

Devices are everywhere!

You’ve probably noticed that we have many options when it comes to deciding which device we wish to view these days. Our phones have become handheld computers and tablets offer a hybrid mix of phone and laptop.

Google reported that mobile searches now outnumber desktop searches, so chances are you may decide to view your yoga on a phone or tablet.

Phones and tablets are great options for streaming classes although the smaller screen sizes may prove to be a challenge. Downloading classes to mobile devices can be a bit tricky, especially with Apple devices as Apple didn’t build download support into their mobile browsers for Iphone and IPad.

Generally speaking, if you plan to stream only, then phones, tablets or desktops should all work well. If you want to download classes to your hard drive, then a desktop would be the better option.

One disadvantage of buying and downloading individual classes is cost. Purchasing classes one at a time is almost always more expensive than monthly memberships to streaming sites with unlimited streaming.

When deciding between yoga downloads or yoga streaming, try to consider cost, your access to a fast secure connection, and whether or not it matters to you if you own the class forever.

Either way, happy streaming and downloading!

Whether at home or within a local studio, be careful and stay within your limits. Remember, pose alignment is critical to a safe practice!

Of course, with busy schedules it’s always difficult to find time to squeeze in our exercise. Practicing at home makes this even harder because home is filled with distractions of every kind. It’s a good idea at home to start with shorter classes, maybe 20-30 minutes, that way you won’t be as tempted to blow it off because of time restraints and you can move on to your other responsibilities sooner.

If You Have A Hardwood Floor – Use it

If you’re fortunate enough to have a hardwood floor at home, you should practice on it. Carpet will work fine for many classes, but it can also make some postures more challenging, such as balancing poses. You don’t want to become discouraged because the floor is making your practice suffer and causing frustration.

Practice In A Bright Room

Many yogis find it easier to practice in a bright room. The light can help with energy and also balance.

Try To Play Your Class On Your TV

Most of you will find it easier to practice your classes if the class is playing on a larger screen. It can be more difficult if the class is playing on a small screen such as a phone or tablet. Many sites offer Roku Channels for TV streaming, or the ability to download the class and then play it back on a larger screen.

Think Of The Money You’re Saving

Naturally, most of us have financial concerns in our life. Practicing at home can be a big money saver. Yoga classes and studio memberships aren’t usually cheap, especially in bigger cities like Los Angeles and New York. If nothing else, practicing at home can supplement your studio practice, help advance your practice and save you some money.

Take It Slow And Be Careful

Take time to know your limits. Practice classes that match your level, research certain poses to make sure you have proper alignment. There are endless videos online which offer great posture instruction. You don’t want to hurt yourself and derail your practice.