The Best Yoga Apps for Stretching, Sweating and Even Sleeping
Sure, we’d all love to have the time to drop by the yoga studio on the reg, having a yogi lead us through our paces. But the best yoga apps offer something equally valuable: a way to get fast, fun and on-the-go workout sessions that can help us to getter better abs, more energy and sounder sleep (some in only 5 minutes!). Here’s the rundown on the 13 best yoga apps, ranked by their superpowers.
The Best Yoga Apps At-A-Glance
Best All-Around: Alo Moves
Best for a Lifestyle Makeover: Asana Rebel
Best for Toning: Obe (yoga sculpts)
Best for Variety: Glo
Best for Beginners: Yoga for Beginners
Best for Form: Bad Yogi
Best for Spin Devotees: Peleton
Best for Stress Cases: Find What Feels Good
Best for Energy: Yoga Wake Up
Best for Customization: Down Dog
Best for Sleep: Gaia
Best for the Busy: 5 Minute Yoga Workouts
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1. Alo Moves
Best All-Around
Pros:
Available for iOS and Android
Fitness challenges
Two-week free trial
Con:
Pricey ($20/month or $199/year)
Everyone from beginner yogis to experienced practitioners will find something to love from this app, designed for phone, iPad and Apple TV, that offers not only yoga but also HIIT, Pilates, strength training and barre classes. Bonus: Your homebound workout will be that much more inspirational when you’re following along with videos shot in jaw-droppingly lovely vistas including Morocco, Positano and Malibu.
2. Asana Rebel
Best for a Lifestyle Makeover
Pros:
Available for iOS and Android
Sort classes by intensity and time
Diet and sleep suggestions for full wellness
Con:
Some free classes, but $16/month for full options
This yoga-fitness app includes more than 100 workouts designed by yoga instructors and tailored to your fitness goals. We like the short questionnaire at the beginning of the user experience, which helps the algorithm sort through the sessions (some lasting less then ten minutes) that are right for you. There are sleep meditation, too, which we happily listen to with headphones in bed, no yoga mat required.
3. Obe
Best for Toning
Pros:
More than 20 live classes daily
Yoga Sculpt classes
New members get one year for $99
Con:
Non-yoga options won’t please yoga purists
Immersive training programs range from a 15-video yoga deep dive to a weight training sequence simply titled “Hard AF” in this app, which asks users for a time commitment of five classes a week (three strength-based and two cardio). Some are super-short, like the ten-minute abs class, and we stan the talented, energetic teachers of the nearly 300 yoga sculpt classes that use one- to three-pound hand weights to safely pump up the toning benefits of standard yoga sequences.
4. Glo
Best for Variety
Pros:
Wide range of global teachers
5 or more live classes daily
iOS and Android
Con:
Pricey ($24/month or $245/year)
More than 4,000 on-demand classes range from yoga to Pilates to dance HIIT (a serious mood-lifter). We appreciate the wide range of not only top-notch talent guiding users through classes of so many disciplines and levels, but also that a sizable amount of the sessions last around a half-hour, which we appreciate as being the sweet spot of accomplishment and brevity.
5. Yoga for Beginners
Best for Beginners
Pros:
Clear instruction
Affordable ($30/year)
One-week trial
Cons:
Only available on iOS
Finer alignment tips aren’t prioritized
Want a slow and clear set of instructions for your jumping-off point in the whole yoga journey? Yoga for beginners is a non-intimidating place to start, from its gently paced flows to the easy-to-follow animated figures demonstrating the poses. While a more advanced practitioner might find it too elementary, this app is a great one for beginners of all ages to get something out of a session.
6. Bad Yogi
Best for Form
Pros:
Detailed body placement tips
Affordable ($10/month)
iOS and Android
Con:
TK
We’re surprised it’s taken this long for a yoga app to embrace body positivity and inclusiveness as a core value, and as expressed in Bad Yogi, we’re here for it. The classes range from 20 to 60 minutes and are unique in not only the “let’s all have fun and not be perfect” vibe but also the way you can directly contact teachers with questions.
7. Peloton
Best for Spin Devotees
Pros:
Integrates with Apple Health
Running, yoga, HIIT and cycling programs
iOS and Android
Con:
Multi-day programs can’t be paused
“I am new to yoga, but I love using the Peloton app for yoga classes,” says commerce editor Olivia Kappler. “I like that you can pick your instructors and modify by length, difficulty and body part focus. The beginner classes are awesome for newbies who need some help with form and breakdown of poses.” Fans of this popular spin bike subscription will be pleasantly surprised by how much yoga adds to their fitness regimen.
8. Find What Feels Good
Best for Stress Cases
Pros:
Soothing-yet-challenging series
700+ classes
Con:
Limited to meditation and yoga disciplines
After YouTube’s Yoga with Adrien became a must-stream hit for people longing to stay fit and manage stress during the pandemic lockdown, the titular yoga teacher developed this expanded app version that has challenges, workshops and more. You’ll follow along as Adrien cheerfully encourages you to deepen your downward dog or really stretch into your upward dog, without judgment…even for her blue heeler dog Benji who regularly steals the show just at the edge of the frame.
9. Yoga Wake Up
Best for Energy
Pros:
5 to 30-minute length sessions
Yoga alarm clock
Con:
Only available on iOS
Feel like your day goes better when you begin with some exercise, meditation or stretches? This app wakes you up with voice-guided prompts to start moving through asanas before you’re fully awake. With bed yoga options, you start moving through sequences while still on your mattress.
10. Down Dog
Best for Customization
Pros:
Free 18-day trial
Multiple camera angles make positions clear
Con:
TK
This app suggests a class for you, based on your preferred pace, style, level and even length of savasana (up to 15 minutes, bless!). You can also select which voice prompt you want, and direct which type of music. With so many options, it’s the closest thing to having a private yoga instructor we’ve experienced via app.
11. Gaia
Best for Sleep
Pros:
More than 25 yoga nidra classes
Teaches active rest
Con:
TK
Yoga Nidra is a form of yoga that focuses on meditation, relaxation and breathing as a means to induce a waking state that’s as restful as sleeping. It can be used as a midday break or as a pre-bed wind-down, and this yoga app has a wide selection of yoga nidra options along with hundreds of other single classes from this respected yoga authority.
12. 5 Minute Yoga Workouts
Best for the Busy
Pros:
Great for moms of small children
Ideal for beginners
Con:
Only on iOS
It’s daunting to sign up for an app subscription, knowing you’ll probably not have the time or ambition to follow through. That’s next to impossible with this app, which consists wholly of five-minute sessions that aren’t rushed or half-explained. The trick to getting benefits in such a short time? You’re instructed to hold five poses, each one for about a minute…and that’s it. We’re stanning this app for its no-frills, low-effort that tricks users into establishing a new, healthy habit.
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