The Ultimate Online Yoga Experience: Live Yoga Classes

Historically it has been difficult to generate the same sense of motivation and connection inherently found in-studio classes when you are practicing alone at home. But now, practicing yoga at home has never been so good. Practitioners have access to live online yoga classes offered in realtime, which bring the in-studio experience home.

It’s taken me 10-years to establish an at-home yoga practice. To be clear, I love my yoga. Since I walked out of my first yoga class in 2010, I began organizing my life around my yoga classes. For almost a decade now, my yoga practice has been synonymous with going to the physical studio space and interacting directly with the community who frequented the studio as I did.

#momlife

And then I became a mom. Suddenly my schedule revolved around my son and childcare.  I became acutely aware of the actual time commitment required to attend an in-studio yoga class.  It’s the combination of the time it takes to: drive to the studio, get changed, visit with a few other practitioners and do a few stretches before class starts, and then at the conclusion of class the time it takes to: enjoy a 30-second savasana, shower, get dressed, thank the teacher, say goodbye to everyone and drive home.  Consequently, a 90-minute class actually takes about 3 hours.  Twice the time.

Don’t get me wrong, there is tremendous value in any time spent at the studio.  I love my yoga studio.  It is a home away from home, and a place to connect with my teachers and my friends.  In the last year, I’ve had to accept that my pre-mom class attendance rate is no longer a feasible reality. I now try to get to the studio as often as I can; adhering to the old Bikram adage: “if you can, you must and if you can’t, keep trying.” 

And yet just when I was getting used to my new-normal lifestyle, the COVID-19 pandemic altered my reality and made a daily yoga practice a possibility.  All at once it seemed the whole world was at-home like me and everyone was looking for creative ways to stay active and connected. 

The beloved group In-Studio experience

Since the inception of group yoga classes, the format had been limited to in-studio offerings.  Attending a yoga class required you to leave home and go to a studio. But the temporary closure of yoga studios sparked an evolution in how yoga was offered.  Thanks to the advancements in technology, teachers began offering live online yoga classes streamed right to your home. 

As you may well know, each class in-studio is unique.  The combination of students and the words of the teacher culminate into an experience that cannot be replicated.  That if recorded, the practitioner listening remains outside the true experience of the class; the class is from another time. 

Bringing the in-studio experience home with live online yoga classes!

Being able to attend a live online class creates this same phenomenon: a unique gathering of individuals and the organic unrehearsed words of the teacher, create the experience of yoga.  Yoga is the practice of being present and in this sense, the connection of students and teacher in real-time is most reflective of how yoga can continue to imitate life. This allows practitioners to practice yoga at home, as they would in studio.

Now I realize that many individuals may be apprehensive about joining a live online yoga class and being live on camera.  At first, I too was apprehensive about putting myself out there in this way.  And there are still days, I chose to keep my camera off.  The thing to remember is that it’s your choice, turn the camera on or keep it off.  It’s up to you.  It’s similar to the first time you stepped into the yoga room and felt on display in the mirrors in front of you.  In time, your confidence and desire for connection will make the concept of being on video less daunting. 

Create a Space

So I set up a yoga space in my home.  A dedicated space for my practice.  I invested in an infrared heater (below), which is probably the best investment I’ve made in years! And I seconded my son’s elephant-shaped humidifier.  Of course, my practice feels different.  It’s a different space, my body doesn’t move as it did in the heat and humidity of the hot room. There are also many different distractions (the sound of my son banging around upstairs or the dog barking outside) but at the end of the day, I can sense the improvements I’ve made in concentration, strength and flexibility.  And now I practice yoga at home every chance I get.