Ahh, yoga...Just the thought of it makes me sigh. Yoga is almost like massage therapy for me. It's something that every body needs, and I am finally going to commit to completing at least 20 minutes of personal massage therapy daily. Like earning money on MTurk, I practice yoga off-and-on maybe once a week. For this 90-Day Life Challenge, that's going to change.
While it would be wonderful to go to a local yoga class, I honestly don't have the $100-300 extra to spend. My solution was to check YouTube for a collection of the best FREE yoga programs. Here is a list of the 6 best channels, and my favorite video from each. We have an Apple TV that we purchased when we decided to cut down to just an internet package, and the YouTube app will play these videos.
*Shouldn't need to be said, but I do want to make it clear that I have no affiliation with these channels, I just genuinely appreciate the artists and their contributions to health and fitness.
PsycheTruth Yoga
This is a very yoga-specific channel, but the parent channel PsycheTruth has long been a favorite of mine for many types of videos: Health/Wellness, Yoga, Massage, ASMR, and smatterings of other categories as well. Much of the channel is devoted to using natural, holistic, and/or alternative therapies to aid the body in natural rejuvenation. PsycheTruth Yoga videos are roughly 20-30 minutes. The videos are accessible to beginners as well as advanced practitioners.
Yoga With Adriene
Yoga with Adriene is another yoga channel with short programs geared towards a specific focus. She currently has an excess of 250 videos available. This video is just over 15 minutes, but many of the videos run longer than 30 minutes. I like the way she tailors each routine to a very specific focus. There are some videos geared toward the beginner and advanced practitioners, but most fall in the intermediate category.
Fightmaster Yoga
This specific video is great for when I am already feeling strong and ready to take on a challenging workout. Much of Fightmaster Yoga's channel evokes that feeling. The videos are so fresh, innovative, and energetic, I'm only sad that I don't have the ability to do them all yet. If you are a skilled practitioner, you have to try this channel. The videos also have a tremendous range of duration from 15 minutes to over an hour in length.
Yoga Vidya
Yoga Vidya does not have as large a number of videos available as the aforementioned channels; however, it does have many videos detailing yogic practices, meditation, chanting, and interviews with yogis about meditation and mythology. She also posts lots of instructional videos for individual poses. There is nothing particularly unique about the videos--beginning/intermediate level, 20-30 minutes each--but her voice is so soothing. I like to exercise to Yoga Vidya when I need yoga that is more quiet and meditative.
Do You Yoga
Do You Yoga's videos are all short (less than 20 minutes). They are so simple, and great for a yoga "quickie" when you know you should exercise and don't feel like you have the time.
Yoga Yak
Yoga Yak is such an oldie but a goody. All of the videos are full length, 45 minutes to 90 minutes at the longest I've found. In addition, there are also a lot of videos offering a peaceful soundtrack to add to your everyday life. Nature sounds, music to use for private yoga practice or transcendental meditation. The practitioners are so genuinely eager to share their practice with you. I always feel like I've just attended a class lead by a beloved mentor.
Hope you are able to use these resources to fold a regular yoga practice into your daily life as well.
Happy reading,
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