Yoga is not the kind of workout that will make you leave a puddle behind but it has its own unique benefits compared to other ways of exercising. Besides helping you become more flexible, yoga can improve your balance and through some advanced poses increase your muscle strength. For me, yoga is the best cure for back pain (no pill or other exercises managed to be this effective) so keep that in mind if your job and other activities are forcing you to stay behind the desk for many hours a day. But the best part is you can do it practically anywhere – all you need is a mat, that when rolled takes very little space in your car’s trunk or your luggage.
With the Internet being overwhelmed by dozens of new Yoga sequences every day (just do a quick search on Pinterest if you don’t believe me), using a yoga app can be much easier while you’re on the go. Also, such apps can offer some inspiration and valuable instructions on how to do yoga poses and improve your practice. Many of them are also highly recommended for beginners making it easier to jump in the yoga bandwagon for someone who’s never done it before. Here are some of our favorite yoga apps in the hopes you’ll find at least one or two that suit your needs.
Daily Yoga – iOS, Android
Price: Freemium
This app has a comprehensive library of more than 50 yoga classes and 400 yoga poses, illustrated in HD videos with background music. Beginners can start their yoga journey with 7 yoga plans tailored for this purpose, although more advanced modules will require a subscription. Even so, the free workouts are available in a variety of durations and exercise intensity, which is perfect to get you started in the basics of yoga without risking to invest in it before you decide if you like it or not.
Furthermore, beginners will probably enjoy the clear voice-over instructions and the videos that show the poses as it can’t get more straightforward than this, unless you plan on joining a yoga class.
Yoga Studio – iOS
Price: $3.99
Yoga Studio is another versatile yoga app, packing 64 yoga and meditation classes with durations varying between 10 and 60 minutes and lots of difficulties to choose from. Classes are also sorted by category so there are collections offered for beginners, intermediate and advanced yogies, and a special set for specialty classes such as yoga for runners, fast 10-minute workouts and deep meditations.
Also, the app lets users make their own yoga sequences using the built-in library of poses and ‘pose blocks’ (groups of poses) along with the option to customize music and sounds but also to schedule classes that will sync with your calendar.
YOGAmazing – iOS, Android
Price – $4.99
YOGAmazing offers hundreds of podcast episodes in which instructor Chaz Rough guides you through themed sequences such as ‘Yoga for Office Workers’ or ‘Weight Loss Flow’. With such specialized workouts you will surely find some you didn’t even knew you needed.
You’ll have to listen to an audio ad read by the instructor before most classes, but it’s worth tolerating them as the instructions he offers are clear and you can choose between the video format and the classlike format.
Pocket Yoga – iOS, Android
Price: $2.99
Pocket Yoga uses animated cartoons to demonstrate poses but the drawings and the UI in general are very clean and easy to understand. The app includes a selection of practices each for a different goal. For example ‘mountain’ practices use power yoga (yoga for strength), ‘ocean’ practices focus on cardio workouts and ‘desert’ workouts are made to help you detox your body and become more flexible.
There is background music included in the app but you can easily create playlists using your own music. Another thing worth noting about Pocket Yoga – it will guide you when to inhale and exhale during instructions, something very important when practicing yoga and not available in most yoga apps. Lastly, you can see an estimate of calories burned at the end of each workout.
Simply Yoga FREE – iOS, Android
Price: Free
There’s nothing glamorous about the interface of this app, but just like its name states it’s incredibly simple and you can start practicing yoga as soon as you open it. The practices are demonstrated in videos at a somewhat fast pace and a calming background sound that can be disabled.
This is a basic yoga app offering 20, 40 and 60-minute level 1 workouts, so it’s worth using it if you are a beginner. However, if you’re already an experienced yogi or want to advance to the next level you’ll have to upgrade to the premium app for $3.99 to get the higher-level sequences. The app also has a scheduler that lets you set times and dates for your practices and be reminded of them via notifications.
iYoga Premium – iOS (iPad only)
Price: $5.99
If you love the science-y stuff that happens when we exercise you’re going to like the muscleman that leads you through yoga routines in iYoga Premium. This app is a bit on the expensive side compared to most others but it is highly customizable.
There are seven ready to use yoga sequences, each about 20 minutes long, and you can make your own yoga workouts using the 80 poses offered by default or even expand the library to 190 poses via a $1.99 in-app upgrade.
5 Minute Yoga – iOS
Price – $0.99
If lack of time is your problem when trying to stay committed to regular workouts, an app like 5 Minute Yoga can help. You get over 350 short yoga routines to choose from – a library large enough to ensure you can squeeze a different yoga workout in your busy schedule every day.
The yoga sequences are made from illustrated poses with comprehensive instructions and a timer that helps you perform them for the right amount of time. Also, you can set your own music to play during each session.
Beautiful Belly Pre & Post Natal Yoga – iOS
Price – 30 Day free trial with IAPs
Yoga during and after pregnancy can offer an impressive number of benefits and this app was created exactly with this goal in mind. Beautiful Belly Pre & Postnatal Yoga includes a collection of video guides including a large number of yoga routines designed for each trimester as well as a postnatal set of yoga sequences. The HD videos are of high quality and the app also includes a weekly practice calendar you can customize with your due date.
You can try the app for 30 days at no cost and them you can buy individual sets of trimester videos for $4.99 or the entire collection for $10.99.
Yoga.com – Android, iOS
Price – Freemium / $3.99
Yoga.com bundles a large library of 300 yoga poses and breathing exercises for both beginners and more experienced yoga practitioners. The 37 predefined yoga programs come with HD video instructions and users can edit any of them by adding other poses and variants among others. The app has its own community where members can share their custom programs, as well as a scheduling function to plan your workouts in a calendar.
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