It is time to roll out your yoga mat and discover the online pathway to learn a combination of physical and mental exercises that have been there for many years and has hooked yoga practitioners around the globe. The beauty of yoga is that you don’t have to be a yogi or yogini to reap the benefits. Whether you are young or old, overweight, or fit, yoga has the power to calm the mind and strengthen the body. Don’t be intimidated by the fancy yoga words that are used in asanas. Yoga is for everyone.

It is now due to the pandemic that yoga teachers and practitioners have taken to online classes to practice yoga. For a person like me especially, whose life revolves around Yoga and teaching others about the benefits of yoga has not been going the way it was planned. Due to this period of social distancing, my life as a yogini did come to standstill but as I have learned that the only way to go forward is to dive in and embrace the change. When you are determined to do something, you will find a way or you find an excuse. I have always been a strong independent, woman and a yogini, and through my practice of several years in yoga, I have come to realize that change is the only constant and finding means to embrace that change is very important. It may have been a hurdle initially to take up virtual classes in order to teach but I have been positive in life and things have fallen into place. I understand that learning yoga online can be disorienting at first. You can’t see me or other students. You may not be able to find the exact support you need in the same ways you have learned in the past. You may feel that learning this way is a frustrating form of sense withdrawal. I get it, it’s different. But, it does necessarily have to be impossible. There are several benefits of learning Yoga on a virtual platform.

-You can learn yoga according to your convenience.

– It is less expensive

– Beyond anything else online classes give you the flexibility to learn where you want, when you want.

When social distancing measures began in March, Google searches for ‘online yoga classes’ grew by about 530% compared to the preceding two months, signaling that yoga lovers aren’t ready to give it up without a fight.

Especially during this time, practicing yoga is essential. Being healthy has hit us hard this year and people are finding ways and means to boost their immunity and Yoga definitely helps in keeping you fit and healthy. So what if you cant step and head to a yoga studio to practice your asanas, learning yoga has now become even more convenient and you will minimize that awkward feeling of being around if you don’t know much about yoga. Trust me, I have seen several people feeling intimidated in a yoga studio and they tend to lose concentration while learning, and concentration is an essential part of learning yoga.

There are innumerable benefits of practicing yoga and now it has become even more convenient for you to start learning the amazing art of yoga.

Regardless of your level of yoga expertise, if you’re practicing regularly, you can feel better from head to toe and if you have an experienced teacher to teach you on a virtual platform, then why wait? Yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages. And, if you’re going through an illness, recovering from surgery, or living with a chronic condition, and cant step out due to social distancing and the deadly virus then yoga can become an integral part of your treatment and potentially hasten to heal. A highly experienced yoga teacher can work with students and put together individualized plans that are crafted according to one’s needs.

This method of learning yoga virtually has also proven to be sustainable. Imagine the kind of conservation it caters to. Many yoga online yoga courses are self-paced and flexible. One can gain inputs and resolve their queries from a yoga teacher according to the kind, of course, they take up.

There are several beginners who are taking up online courses, to gain basic knowledge about yoga and its benefits, this is especially great for beginners as they gain basic insights and decide to further pursue courses or not.

There is also a variety in these courses, One can gain access to a huge number of online yoga videos. It won’t be the same routines over and over again, and maybe that can help avoid yoga ruts.

With variety comes learning. Online yoga videos make it easier to learn new styles, new poses, and new approaches compared to what can be learned at a studio. Attending one to three live classes on ZOOM a week can only provide new learning; as well as access to hundreds or thousands of videos, the sky really is the limit.

Once you are familiar with online yoga courses, one can usually find a session that fits perfectly for a particular need, including duration, style, intensity, and level. For example, if someone only has 20-minutes and is tired at the end of a day, one can find a gentle 20-minute yoga routine to squeeze into the day. If on the other hand, someone has a free afternoon and needs a good sweat, one can look to a 90-minute intense ashtanga routine.

There is a different sense of satisfaction in both varieties, but the need of the hour is good health hence the idea of online yoga classes cater to the current scenario.

One can first experiment with online classes and choose a style that aligns with them and then choose a full-fledged option of yoga classes. You could be an absolute beginner, or you may be familiar with Yoga and are looking for some inspiration online to get into a routine by following a particular teacher or style of yoga, or you may have specific health goals such as weight loss, back pain, anxiety, etc and are looking at specific yoga classes, or you may be a regular practitioner and are looking at deepening your practice; whatever it may be, online Yoga classes have it all.

You can also participate in online zoom sessions which are very useful if you have never done yoga before. These classes offer personalized attention and being a live session, you can get real-time alignment correction and learn the right techniques without the risk of any injury. When choosing an online class, be it pre-recorded sessions or other apps or live classes, make sure you first decide on what it is exactly that you want to learn. Yoga has many forms like Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Vinyasa, Power Yoga, Restorative Yoga, etc and though most of the forms cover all aspects of Yoga, such as breathing and meditation, there are teachers who plan their classes with equal (if not more) emphasis on these aspects.

You may thus come across sessions that fully focus on therapeutic yoga or relaxation techniques or themes as chakra balancing or deep meditation. Thus, before you start it is important to know what is it that you expect from the yoga practice and how yoga can help you achieve these goals and accordingly choose your session or teacher or yoga school.

The times are tough and challenging and the search results on boosting immunity and leading a healthy lifestyle are absolutely high, whether you are a student looking to learn Yoga or a teacher make sure you choose the right platform and right resources that will help your build-up although on a virtual forum. There are several trials classes that don’t cost anything, so you can choose an option to first learn the basics and acquaint yourself with Yoga. One can analyze the outcome only once experienced. Hence give online yoga classes a shot.