When You Can't Go on Retreat, Create Your Own: Part 3, Yoga
Moving our bodies can be an incredibly therapeutic and purposeful way of refocusing and re-centering. You might use running, walking, weightlifting, or a workout class to clear you mind after work or to start your day with intention. Yoga is another common way for people to move and to be mindful. It’s unique in its origin of being a mind-body practice.
While yoga classes and centers are closed for the time being, digital resources are an excellent way to continue or to start your own yoga practice. Many people prefer to have a private, home-based practice, and there are numerous options for your perusal and use. You will find below primarily free resources to move you through your yoga practice at home.
Yoga Programs: If you’re looking for a series to follow throughout a month or more, these programs offer guided yoga flows that work with a variety of methods and areas of focus.
Yoga with Adrienne hosts an incredibly popular YouTube Channel dedicated to teaching yoga. Her website offers multiple series of free month-long yoga programs; she also has paid courses available on her website and an app.
Cat Meffan hosts in-person yoga retreats and has a popular yoga YouTube channel. On her channel you can find several years of what she calls “Yoganuary": 30 days of yoga flows.
Podcasts: If you like to follow guided yoga flows and have experience with yoga poses, you might enjoy an audio experience.
Sarah B. Yoga Sarah Baumert is trained in traditional yoga and Feldenkrais. Both of these focus on the connection between movement and the mind. She believes in that mind-body connection to mindfulness. Each episode of her podcast is an individual class.
Jivamukti Yoga with Jessica Stickler Jivamukti yoga is based on the belief that, through yoga, one can become better connected to all this is around them. Jessica’s podcast features guided yoga classes.
Yoga Flows: If you are looking to try some teachers and new classes, these might be for you.
Seane Corn is a yoga teacher, public speaker, and author. Her work focuses on using yoga to awaken your spirituality. She believes that faith and movement can come together in a beautiful way. On her website, she offers a free, 60 minute flow from her paid series, “Yoga of Awakening”.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts is a yoga teacher who primarily focuses on restorative yoga flows. She is also the founder of Yoga, Literature, and Art Camp at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. This restorative flow is hosted on Lululemon’s Youtube channel where you can find other flows, including more of Dr. Roberts’.
Foundational Teachings: If you are looking for more information about some methods and guiding ideas for many yoga practices, these may be useful.
Apps: If you want easy access to yoga as exercise or mindfulness on your phone at any time.
5 Minute Yoga is a free app that offers quick yoga workouts for a variety of levels. The purposefully short flows are ideal for fitting them into a busy schedule.
Glo is a paid app that holds yoga, pilates, and meditation classes. There is a free trial available to test this before committing.
Websites: If you are looking for broad resources with more information about yoga, these may be useful.
Holy Yoga is a website founded by Brooke Boon based in the foundations on Christian faith and yoga practice. She believes that faith can be bolstered and supported by elements of traditional yoga including breath work, meditation, and movement. The site offers trainings, free classes, blogposts, and more.
Yoga Journal was founded in 1975 as a magazine. It now encompasses print and digital text, as well as video resources. The website offers an abundance of information on yoga and meditation: articles, full guided classes, detailed work on specific poses, and much more.
