By Nikki Harper
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
Most of us are familiar with the many physical and psychological benefits of yoga, from reducing stress levels to toning up muscle and increasing flexibility, not to mention the spiritual benefits too. Fitting a regular yoga practice into a busy lifestyle can be a challenge, however. That’s where yoga apps come in.
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Whether you’re an advanced yogi or a newcomer still getting to grips with the basics, yoga apps can be a blessing in helping you to stay on track with your yoga practice. There is a bewildering array of apps to choose from, but here is our pick of four of the best available in 2019.
Best for Beginners: Down Dog
This very popular app has a wealth of free features and no adds, even if you choose not to upgrade to the premium version. It’s beautifully designed, giving the feel of an upmarket yoga studio, and has an easy to use interface. A mix of vocal instruction and background music helps to keep the app interesting.
Users can choose from six different levels, starting with an introductory level, through beginner, intermediate levels and advanced. You can also choose your practice length from as little as 10 minutes to as long as 110 minutes.
You get a new sequence each time you use the app, so you won’t get bored, and the well-designed instruction means that this app is ideal for beginners as well as those with more yoga experience. Overall a very well-designed app with a lot going for it.
Best for Fitness Goals: Daily Yoga
The Daily Yoga app is ideal for those looking to use yoga as a fitness tool. It covers all levels of practice, from beginner to advanced, and has more than 200 guided classes and over 50 workout plans. It’s not only yoga either, as it also incorporates pilates. Careful instruction is great for mastering more difficult poses, and you can choose the practice intensity and duration.
Crucially, you can also customise your practice to focus on different fitness targets such as weight loos, strength or sculpting. The premium version allows you to track calories burned and workout times too.
The subscription for Daily Yoga is more expensive than some, but if you’re motivated to use yoga in a serious way and you’re looking to improve your fitness, it’s a handy and motivating app which will keep you moving forwards and making progress.
Best for Vinyassa/Flow: Pocket Yoga
If you love vinyasa style yoga, then Pocket Yoga is the ideal app for you. It’s best suited to those who already have some basic yoga experience and are able to keep up with the steady flow of poses provided.
Pocket Yoga allows the user to choose from cardio, power or flexibility priorities in each practice, and you can select a practice time of 30, 45 or 60 minutes, as well as choosing your experience and intensity level. There is a library of over 300 poses, so you won’t get bored easily, and the soothing voice helps to maintain the flow without being jarring or out of place.
This app is good for improvers too, as every pose provides detailed alignment and breathing instructions to help you be sure you’re doing it right. There’s a built-in motivation factor at work as well, with new environments available for unlock as you progress with your practice. Because it doesn’t require a connection, you can use this app anywhere, anytime.
Best for Busy Lifestyles: 5 Minute Yoga
If you’re really struggling to fit yoga into your life, then 5 Minute Yoga could be the answer. Only the first day is free, but this app is inexpensive and does provide a huge variety of daily routines. The basic premise is that 5 poses are put together into a sequence for you, and a timer counts down 40 seconds for you to hold each pose, making each sequence doable in less than 5 minutes.
5 Minute Yoga has a simple and easy to use interface, and provides clear images of each pose, which you can view from different angles. There are no videos, however, only audio commentary, so it may not be suitable for total beginners.
The library of included poses is great for relative newcomers through intermediate level yogis, although there is probably not enough challenge here for advanced practitioners. Nevertheless, if you’re keen to fit yoga into your life but struggling to find the time, these quick and easy 5-minute sessions are ideal and may give you the bug to create more time in your schedule too.
Recommended articles by Nikki Harper:
- Harnessing the Power of Synchronicity
- Beyond 11:11 – The Significance of Repeating Number Patterns
- A Time to be Born and a Time to Die: Can Astrology Predict Death?
- Premature and Caesarean Birth: An Astrological Misinheritance?
- The Benefits of a Daily Divination Practice – and How to Start One
- 7 Ways to Find Awe in Your Everyday Life
- Need Answers? Looking for Insight? 7 Ways Astrology Can Help
- Alone But Not Lonely: 6 Amazing Benefits of Solitude
- Dancing in the Rain: 6 Reasons We Should All Be Pluviophiles
- Finding Time for a Daily Spiritual Practice – How and Why to Devote Your Time
- 7 Simple Steps to Start Communicating With Nature
- Getting Started with Remote Viewing: Step by Step to Strengthen Your Psi Abilities
About the author:
Nikki Harper is a spiritualist writer, astrologer, and editor for Wake Up World. She writes about divination, astrology, mediumship and spirituality at Questionology: Astrology and Divination For the Modern World where you can also find out more about her work as a freelance astrologer and her mind-body-spirit writing and editing services. Nikki also runs a spiritualist centre in North Lincs, UK, hosting weekly mediumship demonstrations and a wide range of spiritual development courses and workshops.
Say hi at Questionology.co.uk or on Facebook.
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