Yoga on a Shoestring

Lets face it, yoga classes today are not cheap.

I spend £13 a week on yoga classes. This pays for 2 classes; 1 class (subsidised by my gym) with the lovely Babs, and 1 class (block booking discount) horribly early on a Saturday with the don of yoga, Sam Rao. Block booking/gym classes are my attempt at saving money on yoga, but that £13 per week still equates to £56 per month which is the equivalent of membership of a very nice gym. Not that I am complaining. I enjoy yoga immensely and feel that it really adds to the quality of my life; it's well worth the cost.

The problem is the pricing is making yoga exclusive. At a typical drop-in price of £10, those weekly classes are become a luxury  for middle-uppers or professionals (yuppies) like me who work in well paid jobs with manageable financial commitments, not an affordable option for lower paid individuals or those who struggle to pay the bills. In financially trying times as these, can you really afford the luxury of a weekly/twice weekly yoga class?

I object! Yoga is a right, not a luxury. Something that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, can benefit from. But what option is there? We can ask that yoga teachers return to the days of yore when classes where a few quid for 1.5hrs of stretching in creaky church halls. But I like the cozy studios, and yoga teachers need to pay their bills too. With the ever increasing cost of yoga teacher training, and top up courses, it's not cheap to be a yoga teacher either, especially a good one with the necessary accreditations.

The alternative to is cut back on in-person classes, and dial up on home practice. My problem is that I know a few postures, and have a few flows I like to fall back on, but I rarely learn anything new on my mat at home. Home sessions at best a reiteration of known poses in peace and quiet (often 'forgetting' the challenging ones), and at worst confused bumbling that ends prematurely when I get a text message/am interrupted by the shout for dinner. Oops.

There must be another option... and after some online research, and a bit of testing, I have seen the light. Online yoga classes! These are 15-75 min guided, carefully thought out sessions, often created and let by the best in their field. They are accessed via the internet and can be audio descriptive, or led with the help of video footage, and are widely available.

I've been trialling these for the last few days and I'm utterly converted. From the comfort of my home mat, personalised yoga teachings have been beamed, via the net, to my ears. With the help of some pretty awesome teachers I've dabbled in Om Yoga, tried some far out Vinyasa flows and ahhhed my way through some far out relaxing sessions. Home practice is increasing... I find myself looking forward to rolling my mat out at home and trying the latest download. Next up Anasura Yoga... can you tell I'm excited about this?!

More....

The ups: There are thousands of classes out there that can suit any mood, of any imaginable type of yoga, led by the best and brightest of the yoga world. Forget repetitive yoga dvds/cds... there are literally thousands of hours of classes out there at the click of a button

The downs: You typically need an internet connection, and a laptop/smartphone/touchpad to view/listen to the class from your mat. A decent grounding of yoga and yoga poses is arguably necessary also; if you make mistakes or get into problems you will not have the benefit of personal guidance and adjustment that you typically get from an in-person yoga class. If you are a beginner I'd suggest attending a good class weekly, at least in the beginning, is important.

Useful sites and resources:

• Yoga Journal - Offers short online yoga videos. String several together or embed in your usual home practice.
• YogaDownload - Offers 20 min video/audio classes for free, also pay a monthly subscription fee ($10/£8) for unlimited streaming of videos up to 75 mins in length, and download of up to 6 classes per month. (There is also myyogaonline, which offers a similar service, but I found YogaDownload more intuitive, and it offers the free classes)
• Youtube - Good classes are there to be found. Be careful to chose classes led by reputable teachers rather than keeno amateurs, especially if you are fairly new to yoga.
• Podcasts - Using iTunes or similar podcast software you can stream/download any number of  classes and videos. Check out the YogaDownload 20 min classes, YogaJournal, Yoga Today... there are so many!
• Smartphone Yoga Apps - Don't bother... after trying several I came to the conclusion that they are clunky, don't offer good value for money and are generally utterly outshone by the above. You've been warned!