Relaxation is the name of the game. Some people play guitar to calm their nerves, others use Crossfit to get their energy out, but nothing beats a nice yoga winddown. There’s no dearth of online yoga classes these days; whether you’re browsing through Insta, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, you’re sure to come across a range of different yoga classes. They aim to help you do everything from holding 30-second handstands to opening up your hips to just relaxing and leading a stress-free life. If you’ve long been attracted to the mystical and more importantly, practical, convenient and useful nature of yoga and want to start classes, online yoga courses are a great option to get started off.
Online yoga courses let you pursue your practice at your own pace, for your own purposes and as per your own schedule. However, as we mentioned, these courses are everywhere and given the high number of options out there, you may be at a loss at which course is the right one for you! To help you out on your journey, here’s a roundup of our top online yoga courses; whether you want to be the next Iyengar pro or just want to better your quality of life, there’s a course to cater to your needs!
Basic Strength — Yogi Approved
We start our list with this basic yoga course that aims to help practitioners build full-body strength through improving their flexibility and conditioning their bodies. It also incorporates strength training, aiming to tone the whole body, build muscle definition, reduce the risk of injury, decrease the time needed for recovery and instill a sense of self-confidence in students. The program is just 3 hours long, consisting of 3 videos, making it a quick and easy program; if you just want a taste of yoga before deciding whether you want to pursue it with more commitment, this course is a great option! However, it is open to all levels of practitioners.
Grokker
For those who want to incorporate yoga into their regular exercise routine, Grokker is a great option. The site doesn’t offer you courses as such, but it does offer access to a range of classes, including a 30-day “get fit” challenge, as well as high-quality yoga videos exploring everything from weight loss yoga to yin yoga to morning yoga. There are classes to cater to every fitness level and not just yoga classes; you can try everything from HIIT to kickboxing to Pilates to ab workouts. If you want to venture outside your yoga zone and try something different, this site is a great option; if you want to stick to just yoga, then too, this site is a great option! Additionally, it has forums where you can interact with fellow fitness freaks and yogis, get a range of questions answers on a variety of topics (or answer them) and stream your classes from a number of supported devices, including Apple TVs, computers, iPhones and iPads.
Gaia
Formerly Gaiam TV, Gaia, like Grokker, offers unlimited online classes that you can stream for a monthly membership and not a course as such. The site, already famous for its affordable yoga gear and DVDs, has found many takers for its online videos that explore a range of different types of yogas (including pre and post-natal practice) and asanas and cater to a range of purposes, ranging from fitness to meditation. You also have access to documentaries on spirituality, living consciously and eating healthily, along with a host of articles on these subjects and others. With over 250 yoga classes led by experts of the field, you can even have classes tailored to your goals or enlist the help of guides and programs on the site to help you accomplish current goals, or reach new ones!
Journey Series — MyYogaWorks
One of the largest repositories of yoga classes, MyYogaWorks has 1,200+ classes up its very rich sleeve, but one of their standout offerings is their Journey Series, a range of classes/videos that focus on various aspects of the practice, such as getting a handstand, perfecting your downward dog and even yoga for the office. Of these, the 28-day yoga challenge particularly stands out, where students are led through daily flows (ranging from 5 to 44 minutes), stretching, restorative poses, and meditation; the aim is to help make you build on your daily practice and fine-tune it with the details you learn in the course. In an era where beer yoga and goat yoga are also legit things, you can also involve your doggo in your yoga session with the site’s “doga” sessions! Additionally, on signing up, the site also recommends classes that will best fit your goals and needs.
Another great thing is that part of this series also has classes designed specifically for yoga teachers, helping them find inspiration and motivation to advance in their practice. There’s also a very handy “Focus” option that lets you target weaker areas and easily accomplish poses you’ve been trying to nail for ages!
Modern Day Healing — Yogi Approved
A highly relevant course in today’s world, the “Modern Day Healing” course aims to correct bad posture, decreased energy levels and chronic pain caused by our relationship with technology. A sedentary lifestyle with over 11 hours per day spent in front of screens has become the norm and that is exactly what this course seeks to reverse. Ideal for people who spend long hours on their feet, the course takes students through yoga stretches, movements and poses that help prevent injury and decrease pain while increasing mobility.
7-Day Detox — Alo Moves
Alo Moves is a great site to start off your yoga practice with, led by Instagram’s yoga celebrities, including Kino MacGregor, Dylan Werner and Patrick Beach, to name a few. Whether you want individual classes or programs, the site has something for everyone; one of their standout programs is the 7-Day Detox. Twist, flow and sweat it out to find your healthiest you in this 7-day yoga course, with classes focusing on a range of goals such as finding balance, building lean muscle, sleeping well and improving digestion, to name a few. A great course when you need to recharge, refresh and restore yourself mentally and physically, you’ll boost your energy and mental clarity, increase flexibility, tone your body and detoxify it with this course.
Tone In 20 — Yogi Approved
In a world that’s constantly moving, it may sometimes seem like it’s hard finding time to breathe, let alone hitting the gym. However, the dream of achieving a healthy, fit, toned, strong body is one that doesn’t die, regardless of our inability to squeeze in gym hours! That’s where this 6-class yoga course steps in; the “Tone In 20” course targets all your body parts (legs, arms, core and glutes), giving you a full-body workout followed by a quick cool down. With each class being only 20 minutes long, there really is no excuse to not workout anymore, even on your busiest days, and even in your office, your home or your hotel room!
Beginner Flexibility — Alo Moves
If your hips are stiff and split seem an impossibility, the “Beginner Flexibility” course from Alo Moves is one of your best bets to improve flexibility. Great for those who are new to the flexibility training game, the program helps you improve your flexibility in a safe, fun and effective way, leading to a better range of motion and breaking your perceived limitations. The 5 classes in the program focus on functional movement and its different aspects, focusing on the ones we need in daily life, such as back and shoulder opening exercises, twists and side bends, hip openers and forward folds, as well as full-body practices that tie all these exercises together. Apart from improving your functional mobility and flexibility, you will also reduce the tension and pain in your body and learn how to modify poses to suit your body type.
Glo
Glo is about more than putting together vinyasas and doing fancy things with your newfound strength; this site with its standalone classes doesn’t just give you access to unlimited yoga, but Pilates and meditation classes as well. The classes can range from a mere 5 to 90 minutes, letting you work out conveniently according to your schedule. One of the things we love about this site is its representation of diverse body types through its instructors and community, as well as its many programs that center around a theme, such as detoxing and doing yoga with weights. The site also picks classes for you based on your needs when you sign up!
Intro to Ashtanga — Yoga International
A course for all the advanced practitioners out there, this course pushes you to your limits, just as all the classes on this site do; it’s a site meant for advanced practitioners, challenging them but also helping them achieve their goals in simple, effective ways. This 2-hour ashtanga course explores the tougher elements of practice, including backbends, deep folds and arm balances. It also helps you master skills easily and deepens your practice via an effective combination of asanas and discussion. You receive a certificate of completion and have unlimited access to the course once you sign up; it also counts for 2 CEUs. Though it isn’t necessary, you’ll find the course more enriching if you complete the Primary Series on the same site.
The Final Word
Whatever your yoga goal is, these courses cater to a range of goals as well as a range of skill levels. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned yogi, these courses have something for everyone. Whatever your reason for doing yoga, though, you’re sure to experience better fitness, better health and overall better quality of life with it, so start your yoga journey today with one of these courses!
