Chinweike JudeWhat is Yoga? This question is important because how people practise Yoga has largely depended on what they understand Yoga to be. The best yoga apps help guide you down the path, once you have made a choice.
For millions who practise Yoga daily, it is done to keep the body and mind fit and healthy. For them, it is more than just exercise, it is tradition and discipline.
For some others, it serves as an exercise for everyday needs. Here, the body enters into a variety of positions that target and influence various body parts. Yoga is mainly geared toward maintaining your body’s flexibility and fitness; it is not an activity for growing muscle.
For the more eccentric types who do it for exercise and meditation, Yoga could include visualizing washing away stress and anxiety every time they take a shower.
They concentrate on the feel of the water on their skin and imagine that it is washing away negative thoughts. They let it all go down the drain and they start to feel lighter.
The best yoga apps are a combination of experience, skill, psychology and humanity and they are designed for all types of people who may be interested in practising the ancient Hindu art called Yoga. This article sheds light on the things you need to know about Yoga and the best Yoga app.
Table of Contents
Does yoga actually work?
Yes, many have testified to how much Yoga has worked for them. Yoga works for people mentally and physically as many people have broken into tears during a session as it connects with their feelings, senses and their being.
Yoga apps help you not only exercise your physical body but combine the physical with an aspect of mindfulness which many understand to be meditation. Mindfulness was used here as what makes up meditation is still subject to a lot of contest.
Here the Yogi is given a set of instructions which can vary in terms of what they are meant to achieve. The instructions can range from as simple as sitting or lying down to taking a complicated stance and either allowing thoughts to flow or processing them in a certain way.
What cannot be denied is the fact that when they are practised as described, they bring immense benefits to the Yogi. Many more people just need to be receptive to trying new things and giving these things enough time to work.
Are Yoga apps worth it?
This question was laid to rest during the 2020 pandemic when many could not attend physical group meetings, or have their personal trainers over due to travel and movement restrictions and the general consensus was that Yoga apps are worth it. Let me explain how.
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The average yoga practitioner knows what they would like to feel or derive from the practice but doesn’t know how to get there. This means that in group meetings, while the exercise may be good, they are not nearly as satisfying as they would love them to be. So what do you have? Personal sessions.
Personal sessions offer many the privilege of tailoring the exercises to fit their needs. The best yoga apps help here as well, and this is because it leaves you with the choice to either go with group lessons or go private with professionals or well-known Yoga masters.
Research from Ibisworld shows that there are 48,547 Pilates & Yoga Studios businesses in the US as of 2023 and the number of businesses in the Pilates & Yoga Studios industry in the US has grown 5.3% per year on average over the five years between 2018 – 2023.
Health benefits of Yoga
The Sanskrit word “yuj,” which means to connect or merge, is where the term “yoga” originates. In order to create a condition of inner peace, balance, and harmony, yoga practice strives to bring the mind, body, and spirit together.
Here are a few health benefits of doing yoga regularly for your body;
- Flexibility:
Flexibility improvement is one of the most well-known advantages of yoga. Several yoga positions involve extending and stretching the muscles, which can gradually improve flexibility. Enhancing flexibility can also assist to lessen discomfort and avoid injuries. - Reduced blood pressure:
Heart disease and stroke are only two disorders that are made more likely by high blood pressure. - Strengthening:
Yoga may aid in strengthening as well as flexibility improvement. Your body weight is used as resistance in many yoga positions, which may aid in strengthening your arms, legs, and core muscles. - Improved posture:
Back pain and headaches are only two health issues that can be brought on by poor posture. By empowering you to sit and stand up straight and strengthening the muscles that support your spine, yoga can help you to improve your posture. - Decreased pain:
Yoga can aid in the reduction of many types of pain, including chronic pain disorders like back pain and arthritis. Many yoga postures can ease pain and increase mobility by stretching and strengthening the muscles and joints.
In addition to its physical advantages, yoga is renowned for its psychological and spiritual advantages. Frequent practice using any of the best yoga apps available can promote inner peace and relaxation as well as an increase in attention, concentration, and mental clarity. These are the benefits of practising with the best Yoga apps.
Best Yoga apps for your fitness
Listed here are the best Yoga apps for your fitness with their advantages and the amount they charge. Ranked based on content, GUI, popularity, and user reviews.
1 – Daily Yoga
For beginners and experienced users, ages 18 to 50+, daily yoga is preferable. By providing a wide library of exercises, routines and information from highly trained teachers, Daily Yoga is perfect for individuals new to yoga and expert users seeking a challenge.
It’s a great app for people looking to advance and improve their skills because it also includes educational tutorials, enlightening blog posts, and skills testing. Daily Yoga’s free version has limited functionality and frequent pop-up ads, but these are only minor drawbacks given all the other features it offers.
With its colourful user-friendly interface, informative resources, and strong community, Daily Yoga has surely solidified its place in the market’s best yoga apps for beginners and experts.
At the time of writing this, Daily Yoga charges $20 for its premium subscription and is available on both iOS and Android.
Signup for Daily Yoga
2 – Down Dog
The Down Dog Yoga app requires a premium subscription, which costs $9.99 a month at the time of writing this. Also, this membership grants you access to all the Down Dog family’s fitness apps, including HIIT exercises, prenatal yoga, and a meditation app.
You may test out this awesome, beginner-friendly software for 22 days without having to buy a membership. Its routine-generating function also means you don’t have to spend time planning your exercises since the app does all the thinking for you. This makes Down Dog Yoga a wonderful software for novices.
Other than workouts, rival Yoga apps only provide a few supplementary functions. There are few progress monitoring options, and there are no community or social elements. The main focus of this app is yoga and its proven itself to be one of the best yoga apps.
3 – Yoga Studio by Gaiam
You may choose a time limit, and ability level, and focus on the Gaiam yoga app. Based on this, you may discover positions and comments to follow along. Choose from more than 150 pre-made classes that are 15, 30, or 60 minutes long if you don’t want personalized material.
Classes can be filtered depending on the topic and themes (e.g., back problems, and pregnancy) (balance, strength, flexibility). There are also some well-known instructors, like as Rodney Yee, the author of a best-selling book on pranayama. With weekly, monthly, and annual memberships, it is free to download.
Regardless of ability level, the Gaiam yoga app has something to offer everyone and is one of the best yoga apps for beginners on the market. The UI, personalization choices, music, and commentary receive high ratings. For beginners, the free version is ideal, however, you cannot select the music.
Yoga Studio offers a monthly premium service that costs $7 at the time of article publication and is available on iOS, Android and Apple TV.
4 – Glo
Glo is a very user-friendly app made for both beginning and experienced yogis. You’ll be questioned about your objectives, amount of experience, and the types of yoga you’re interested in exploring when you first join up for Glo.
Also, you will have the option of choosing an inspirational, demanding, or fun instructor. You can change these settings as your yoga practice progresses and become more aware of your alternatives.
Also, Glo has a section devoted to education where you can read articles on various subjects that are inspired by yoga and find guides for improving your practice.
Yoga and fitness experts with a variety of certifications and training are available at Glo. You may locate both live and recorded sessions, as well as download lessons for offline use.
Glo’s tools in your library make it simple to commit to practice at home. You may create a future class schedule and bookmark your favourite classes and instructors. To assist you in achieving long-term objectives, you may also develop programs.
Glo offers a free and monthly premium service that costs $24 at the time of article publication and is available on iOS, and Android.
5 – Pocket Yoga
As one of the best Yoga apps, the premise of Pocket Yoga is that you may practice yoga anywhere, anytime with the help of the app. This yoga app strongly advocates that you may reap the advantages without having to attend courses. Start putting everything into practice at your own pace in the comfort of your own home.
You may continue your practice in the comfort of your own home with the Pocket Yoga app at your own speed. The Yoga app will walk you through the full practice if you simply lay out your mat and put your device in front of it.
This yoga app for the iPhone provides clear, soothing voice and visual instructions that walk you through each posture. This app is among the top yoga apps because of the well-created exercises by qualified yoga instructors.
Of course, it’s always advised to find a peaceful area where you may stretch out and utilize your mat while completing the exercises before beginning any of them. Pocket Yoga allowed a monthly premium service that costs $3 at the time of the publication of this article and is available on iOS, and Android.
6 – Simply Yoga
If you want to try yoga but aren’t ready to pay for an app, the Simple Yoga app is a great alternative. Simple Yoga is free, has basic yoga training, is accessible to both new and experienced yogis, and gives clear demonstrations and directions.
If you end up choosing Simple Yoga, you may spend $23.99 to upgrade to the Pro edition, which has additional features and no commercials. This is the amount at the time of the publication of this article.
Traditional yoga sequences are included in the conventional routines offered by Simply Yoga. Sun Salutations will be the starting point, followed by standing, balancing, and sitting positions, and then Corpse Pose will be the last posture.
If you don’t want to do the posture that is being shown, you may alternatively click the “next” button and go straight to the next one.
FAQ
How often a week should someone practice yoga?
Depending on their health and fitness objectives, beginners should practice yoga three to five times per week. Maintain a regular schedule when easing into a new discipline.
As you advance and your level of fitness rises, you can increase the quantity or intensity of your weekly workouts. Our list of best yoga apps helps you pick an app to maintain a schedule.
Which of the best yoga apps promotes weight loss the most?
The best yoga apps for weight reduction are Daily Yoga, Down Dog, and Yoga Studio by Gaiam. If we had to pick just one, Daily Yoga would be our pick for the greatest high-intensity exercises and weight reduction advice. It stands out from the competitors since it is excellent for both experienced users looking for a challenge and beginners to yoga.
What are the prices of yoga apps?
There are a ton of cost-free yoga applications available. Nevertheless, they frequently have a paywall and only provide a small amount of information. Paid yoga applications either have a one-time price of between $3 and $5 or provide a membership that costs $5 to $20 per month or $99 per year.
Conclusion
To examine every free and paid version on Android and iOS devices, however, is a Monumental undertaking. To reduce the danger of beginning practice and to highlight which yoga apps might be challenging for more experienced students, we have put together this article on the best yoga apps for you.
We assembled a flexible collection because we know there are several motivations to use yoga applications. Every app on our list of the top yoga apps has one or more benefits that will persuade you to use it, and it was prudent to leave that decision up to you.
References
- https://regularfitness.live/benefits-of-yoga/
- https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/number-of-businesses/pilates-yoga-studios-united-states/
- https://www.dailyyoga.com/
Elizabeth
Erica Ofure
Godswill
