Choosing a Yoga App for your Fitness Goals
Yoga is known to be one of the ancient methods that promote physical and mental health, the benefits of which science has supported. Although yoga is an old fitness and therapeutic art, its adherents have taken up the modern stretches of technology to promote it. Today, yoga participants can use yoga apps to get audio and visual guides for the practice without necessarily going to the gym or a retreat center. With the increase in the number of yoga apps, however, it can be quite overwhelming to identify the best application for your fitness needs. This article provides insights into the modern yoga practice, including the different aspects that define various yoga apps.
Benefits of Yoga
While some forms of yoga focus on relaxation, most types of the art emphasize poses and breathing techniques. These applications of the yoga practice come with multiple benefits, including the following;
- Stress Management
Yoga is well known for its capacity to ease out stress and promote relaxation. Studies show that practicing yoga reduces the level of the cortisol hormone in the body. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for stress and anxiety. Experts recommend a mix of yoga and other methods of alleviating anxiety to keep stress levels in check.
- Physical Strength
If you are looking for an art that will promote strength and endurance in your body muscles, then yoga is the right practice for you. Most of the yoga styles are very physical and vigorous, keeping your muscle tone in check. Also, the learning of poses emphasized in the yoga practice go a long way in building strength in the upper body, abs, quadriceps and the hamstrings.
- Improved Breathing
Specific yoga practices, such as yogic breathing, are focused on promoting breath control through breathing techniques and exercises. Recent studies verify that yoga can be useful in improving one's breathing.
- Promoting Sleep
Scientific studies indicate that practicing yoga can go a long way in promoting the quality of your sleep. This is because yoga has a significant impact on factors that create sleep problems, including stress, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression. Yoga alleviates all forms of sleep disturbances, resulting in better sleep patterns and duration.
Differences between Yoga Apps
Different yoga apps are designed with unique specialties. Here is a look into the defining elements of some of the best yoga apps.
- Daily Yoga
The Daily Yoga app comes with over a hundred meditation and classes, with daily practice programs that make it easy for users to achieve their fitness goals. The app is suitable for use by both yoga fanatics and beginners as it has beginner and advanced class levels tailored for different types of participants. On achieving your set fitness goal, the app rewards you with points that encourage you to pursue higher targets. One thing that distinguishes the Daily Yoga app from the other applications is its unique Community feature. This feature enables users to interact and make inquiries with other users and yoga experts. Although the Daily Yoga app is rated as expensive, it is worth your time, considering its broad base of yoga poses.
- Fitstar Yoga
The Fitstar Yoga app is suitable for users of all training levels. The app comes with personalized workout classes that change with the user's progress in training. This means that as your yoga skill levels increase, the workout sessions change to suit your new level. The Fitstar Yoga app also comes with over 300 different poses that help you to build your yoga flow. Yoga sessions in this app are featured in up to six languages, with audio tracks that allow customized selection of music.
- Pocket Yoga
If you are the kind that loves solitude and peace when doing your workouts, then the Pocket Yoga app is your ideal choice. The app features up to 27 poses, with a description of the right posture for each pose. Pocket Yoga also guides its users with breath control techniques when doing a workout. You can determine how long you need to exhale or inhale in every session.
- Sworkit
The Sworkit app comes with myriad exercises, allowing users to create personalized workout sessions. The app also features up to 50 workout plans that are designed by professional yoga trainers. This means that there is a plan suitable for anyone. With Sworkit, users can interact with personal trainers, physical exercise teachers, sports trainers, and therapists.
- Yoga Studio
Yoga Studio is preferably one of the most popular yoga apps, with over 65 created workout sessions. Whether you are a beginner or an intermediate yoga participant, Yoga Studio has features that are tailored to meet your needs. This includes the capacity to create unlimited workout sessions and to adjust settings as per your training level. With over 280 poses, Yoga Studio allows users to schedule workout classes based on one's convenience. The app also features over 1700 video clips to enhance your training sessions.
In Summary
Yoga goes a long way in enhancing mental health, physical fitness, and stress alleviation. Fortunately, with the advancement of technology, it has become possible for yoga participants to enjoy yoga sessions at the comfort of their homes. Yoga apps make it easy for anyone to access workout sessions and fitness training without going to the gym. Some of the popular yoga apps include Yoga Studio, Sworkit, Fitstar, Pocket Yoga, and the Daily Yoga app.