Yoga Online: Subscription Services or Not?
As yoga makes its way around the world, the practice is coming online on a more consistent basis. There’s YouTube, which has made yoga accessible for everyone but beyond simply using YouTube, there are a variety of subscription and paid services for yogis who want to spend a little bit more.
But is it worth it?
What do you actually get from paying? The unfortunate answer is that it depends. Each subscription service offers different kinds of yoga classes and various pricing structures for yogis. But you might be wondering what makes a subscription service worth it? Why not just hop on YouTube? One option: downloadable classes. This is ideal when you live someplace with bad Wi-Fi or you’re traveling and don’t know the quality of Internet where you are going.
YogaDownload for example costs $10–18 USD per month or $90 USD per year. They offer over 700 videos that are downloadable at any time, offering anything from beginner to advanced courses. There are also PDFs, audio classes and even classes that deviate from traditional yoga — such as pilates, and barre.
Another popular online resource is YogaGlo which costs $18 USD/month for unlimited access to their classes. While there’s an option of downloading with YogaGlo, the service offers classes anywhere from 5–120 minutes long and states that YogaGlo works on any device, whether it be Android or Apple. An even cooler feature is the option to either watch classes with other students or alone — depending on what kind of experience you want.
Like trying out studios, you can also try out online subscription services.
Many sites offer free trials where you can test out the platform and decide whether you like it or not. Yogavibes offers a 15-day free trial where you can try out classes with well-known teachers like Ana Forrest or Kino MacGregor. Yogis Anonymous also offers a free trial and might be perfect for Los Angeles locals who might not be able to afford attending a studio but want to see local teachers.
Udaya is yet another service that offers something unique. Instead of purely yoga classes, Udaya has Pilates and barre classes. Even more unique? They also have nutrition classes and recipes for the healthy yogi looking for something new to try in the kitchen. Udaya also offers five new classes every week — so you don’t have to worry about finding new courses or repeating old ones.
Another benefit to subscription services is the different styles of teaching. Sites like Dirty Yoga are more geared towards those students who don’t like spiritually-focused yoga. Ekhart Yoga is actually based in the Netherlands, giving yoga a European twist for anyone who wants to try it.
So, what should you look for?
Let’s say you’re interested in spending a bit of money on a subscription service. What should you look for? Obviously the first thing any yogi should think about is the cost. Is this service more or less expensive than a studio and are you willing to pay it? Once you’ve decided on a price that suits you, the next question is whether the site has enough diversity of classes and how easy is the website’s navigation.
Keep in mind that you want to feel like this service has enough to keep you interested and motivated. Lastly, take a class. Decide on whether you like the teaching style, the way each video is filmed, if you want classes in a series, and what teachers speak to you. It’s just like joining a yoga studio, except it’s online.
