8 Yoga (and Fitness) Apps to Bring Your Practice With You at Home and On the Go
Image: Yoga Studio
If you find yourself intimidated by extra-bendy humans, fear not. Pocket Yoga’s instructor is a flexible, faceless illustration no more threatening than your run-of-the mill emoji. Her soothing, disembodied voice tells you when to breathe and guides you through the poses against a backdrop of your choosing to help you “disconnect from everyday life.” Namaste.
Image: YogaGlo
With a wide range of session lengths, these professional–grade classes keep yoga on your schedule and wherever you are. Among the app’s 2500+ classes, you'll find multiple styles of yoga, from practices that tone, clarify, and center to even more with specific goals like sleep, focus, and healing. You can also get your guru on with yoga scholars, whose talks and workshops are streamed over the app.
Yoga DVD and podcast pro Chaz Rough expands on his repertoire with an app that grants access to a rotating selection of 50 guided sessions, monthly bonus sessions, and yogi art. The founder keeps himself accessible to his followers and creates many episodes through user feedback. He explains, “By the time I’m at Shavasana, the resting pose, I’m at peace.” Go Chaz.
Image: Sworkit
Want to work in 5 minutes of fitness a few times a day? This new, free app for iOS and Android was created by former military fitness pros and is like Pandora for fast, fun workouts. Select the time you have to spend, from 5 minutes to over an hour, then choose yoga, strength, cardio, or stretching—then hit go! The app taps into a database of hundreds of activities and poses to create a custom workout for you and your goals, complete with clear videos showing how to do the moves and a classy accented woman motivating you to "swork" up a sweat. We're fans already: the Portland Monthly office uses this app to take active breaks throughout the day (when we're not spinning on our DeskCycle).
A handheld studio, Yoga Studio uses HD video against a clean white background for uncluttered classes. With 65 classes at different levels, durations, and purposes, there are multiple ways to get physical or find your zen. The app also allows you to get creative by mixing and matching over 280 poses to string together a custom class and still get the studio instruction vibe.
Ashtanga, or ‘eight limb,’ yoga purifies the body by detoxing your muscles, organs, and mind. Pictures and descriptions for step-by-step instruction, as well as short videos that explain the yogic path and Vinyasa breathing pattern, lend a modern-day update to the two thousand year old Yoga Sutras. Plus, Sting does it.
Image: Salute the Desk
When you notice an extra slouch in your sit at the workplace, Salute the Desk provides a moment of peace to refocus throughout the eight-hour day. With over 2 hours of brief warm ups and relaxation guides, the app counts your minutes of meditation, showing that a few minutes a day can add up for more holistic wellbeing (and better posture).
Best for beginners, these speedy sessions choose from a variety of simple poses to energize, relax, and wake you up. Each practice comes with a timer to keep you on schedule and lets you know exactly how long to hold your pose, demonstrated by a ponytailed CGI muscleman. Simple but effective, this app keeps yoga easy and short for stress relief throughout the day.
