Athletic-Minded Traveler

Yoga has become a mainstay in our culture and the benefits of a regular practice are undeniable. Connecting with your yoga community and sharing a space where you can move and breathe together can be an unparalleled experience. But let’s face it – many of us can’t always carve out the time in our busy day to drive to our favorite studio or teacher. The good news is that no matter where we are or how much (or little) time we have, online yoga services have made accessing top studios and teachers as easy as entering a password.

Editor's Note: Kai Trinh created this article. He is a yoga editor for Athletic-Minded Traveler and teaches power vinyasa yoga at CorePower Yoga in Seattle, Wa.

As more online yoga services pop up, it might be challenging to figure out which one is right for you. That is where Athletic-Minded Traveler comes in. We review three worthy-of-your-time online yoga services. And since time is factor, all three offer classes that range from 5 minutes to 2 hours long. FIVE minutes!!! We’ll compare:

1. the cost of a subscription to each website, 
2. how easy it is to navigate through each site’s library of classes, 
3. the variety of classes, 
4. and a few additional considerations.

As a side note, all three services are expert at cuing the practice.  More seasoned yogis can happily ignore the screen and follow the verbal instructions; yet newer yogis have the benefit of seeing how a post is done. The quality of instruction is impressive.

MyYogaWorks

www.myyogaworks.com

Cost:

MyYogaWorks offers a 14-Day free trial with a credit card. After the two-week trial your credit card is charged $15 per month for unlimited access to their yoga library until the subscriber cancels. Another option is to pay for a year upfront for $150, which offers you two months for free when compared to paying the $15 monthly fee.

Ease of navigation on website:

To simplify navigating through the library, it helps to understand that the vast majority of the videos here are all YogaWorks style classes. This just means that each class has a flow element coupled with clear and concise alignment cues.  In place of a wide variety of yoga genres, MyYogaWorks showcases the renowned YogaWorks method. As users select criteria for the type of class they want to view, options for different class types (i.e. prenatal, Iyengar, weight loss, etc.) become available. Navigating becomes much more streamlined once you understand that most videos are YogaWorks branded classes, and we think that is a good thing.

Diversity of class selection:

MyYogaWorks offers classes that range from 5 minutes to 90 minutes, so anyone can get a yoga fix during their busy day. Three different levels are offered: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. A fourth category, called ‘For Teachers’, is also offered. (I was a little disappointed with the ‘For Teachers’ category as I was hoping to find a collection of videos that specifically gave teachers tools to bring into their own classes. Instead they are the same videos found in the general library, which makes this category seem redundant.) Nevertheless, students of all levels can easily find the appropriate level of challenge for the duration of time that fits their needs. You can also follow your favorite MyYogaWorks teacher and see his or her full list of classes.

Another great feature on this site is their Journey Series. These video compilations allow students to work towards a specific posture or target a specific part of the body over the course of several sessions.

Other:

Classes are filmed from two or three different angles with one or two students being led through a practice. If there are two students one of them is usually demonstrating the modifications to make the challenging postures more accessible to students.

Who should join this website:

Anyone who enjoys clear and concise yoga instruction from a well-known yoga brand that offers a welcome balance of challenge and relaxation.

YogaGlo

www.yogaglo.com

Cost:

YogaGlo offers new clients a 15-day free trial with a credit card. After the initial trial period, the monthly subscription fee is $18 per month.

Ease of navigation on website:

Browsing through YogaGlo’s videos is very intuitive and effortless and was probably the easiest to navigate of the three websites. Their top line filters allows you to immediately prioritize what you want to view based on categories such as teacher, style, level and duration. If you only want to practice with a specific teacher, you can view his or her classes exclusively simply by selecting his or her name. If you are only interested in practicing Hatha yoga, for example, you can filter for only those who teach Hatha yoga classes.

Diversity of class selection:

YogaGlo allows you to choose classes from 5 minutes to 2 hours long and has 5 different levels of challenge. It features 28 different teachers, 10 different styles of yoga, and certainly boasts the largest library of videos of the three websites.

Other:

The YogaGlo teachers are some of the most distinguished teachers currently making waves in the yoga community. Each teacher contributes to the YogaGlo brand through his or her individual style and personality.

Most classes are filmed in a live class setting to give the viewer a feeling that they are attending class with other students. The class is filmed from one stationary point of view with the camera zooming in and out every so often. They also offer a wide number of classes filmed only with the instructor and without any students present. This offers students the feeling of a private class without breaking your bank.

Who should join this website:

Anyone who is looking for a wide variety of classes i.e. different yoga styles, different teachers, and a huge selection of classes to choose from. 

Udaya

www.udaya.com

Cost:

Although Udaya does not have a free trial for new clients, they offer the least expensive monthly subscription for unlimited use compared to the other sites in this review. The monthly subscription cost for Udaya is $12 per month. 

Ease of navigation on website:

Like the other sites Udaya allows users to select classes based on things like length, level of challenge, style and teacher. The one noticeable disadvantage with Udaya is that viewers aren't able to filter for multiple levels. For instance, if a student would like to select for a 60 minute class, he or she will be shown all the 60 minute classes offered regardless of yoga style or difficulty.  We suggest they change the search feature to correct for this.

Diversity of class selection:

Udaya gives its users the choice to select classes based on duration from 5 minutes to one hour and offers 4 levels of difficulty. Subscribers can choose from over 150 videos and 16 yoga teachers. Those yogis who like a long 90 minute practice may feel wanting.

Other

The Udaya teachers are not only skilled but have colorful personalities to match, which seems to be a selling point for this brand. Udaya is not shy about showcasing their various teachers’ best assets (e.g., humor, appeal, and knowledge). This “extra personality” can be a fun class enhancement and welcome distraction.

Of the three sites the production quality from Udaya is the most noteworthy – very sleek and well-directed

Who should join this website:

Anyone seeking teachers with a strong personality matched by solid yoga-know-how.

CONCLUSION

The level of instruction for each of these sites is top notch.  You can easily focus on your practice without having to look up at your television or computer screen. Like any class, you may have to peek up every once in a while if the instructor is teaching a pose or transition that is new to you or if you are a beginner. Also, you can expect each website to make you sweat since each offers a rigorous practice for those who are seeking it. With so many great classes just clicks away and monthly subscriptions priced lower than a drop-in class at many studios, there shouldn’t be any reason we all can’t enjoy a regular practice. Namaste!