The best online and YouTube yoga classes: Workout from home

Flow on the go with these top online yoga classes.
Try yoga at home with online classes

Online yoga classes enable you to get a decent yoga session in wherever you are – and there's plenty of free and paid-for videos to try out.

We've put together this list of the absolute best online yoga classes, including apps, websites and YouTube channels that will suit you for anything. A sweaty vinyasa session? Got it. A relaxing yin yoga class? No problem. A source to teach you the craziest, most impressive poses that your regular class won't cover? Absolutely.

What's more, we've chosen sources that are created by expert yoga teachers – there's a ton of content out there that may look great, but not have the knowledge or instruction to help you practise safely. We've sifted through the internet to find the absolute best for you.

So, read up, find the one that looks good and get ready to line it up at home, at the gym or in a hotel room, then start practising yoga.

Best all-round yoga

Udaya

Udaya is a collection of literally thousands of yoga videos, an HD streaming platform featuring classes lasting from five to 60 minutes with styles ranging from classic hatha and ashtanga to adventurous acroyoga. Among their many teachers are big names in the yoga world, such as Boys of Yoga founder Michael James Wong and former ultra-marathoner Adam Hustler.

Udaya offers a 14-day free trial, after which you're required to subscribe to their Standard ($14.99 a month) or Enhanced ($18.99) package. The only real difference is the Enhanced package provides access to Udaya's specialised programs.

These include videos series such as a START one-week immersion programme, an Animal Spirit yoga series and Practising for Two, a pregnancy series with four classes each for the first, second and third trimester plus post-natal.

With its massive array of classes, Udaya is suited just as well to a highly committed yogi as it is to a total beginner or someone looking for a cross-training activity. The amount of content for the monthly subscription is remarkable – a brilliant all-round online yoga source.

Find out more

Yoga with Adriene

If you've read anything about yoga and the internet in the last couple of years, you've probably heard of Adriene Mishler. She's the founder of YouTube channel Yoga With Adriene, home to over 400 yoga videos and 4 million plus subscribers, and her videos were reported by Google to be the most searched workout in 2015.

Adriene's channel features a new video every Wednesday, but her extensive back catalogue won't leave you wanting for anything. Her playlists include compilations of yoga practices for all levels, for boosting flexibility, athletes, weight loss and more. What's more, there are multiple 30-day programmes to follow, helping those dedicated enough to stick with Adriene develop gradually and steadily.

Adriene also creates adapted practices to aid particular areas of the body like the neck, hips and lower back. Being on YouTube, you can flick through her uploaded videos or search for a particular theme – with all videos available unlimited and for free.

Find out more

Asana Rebel

If you're looking for an all-rounder app that'll give you sweaty workouts, challenging strength work and relaxing meditations, we've got it. Asana Rebel's workouts come in five different themes: strength, fat burn, flexibility, balance and focus, and breathe and relax – essentially covering all bases you could possibly want in a fitness app. Their fat burn and strength workouts in particular are ideal for yogis on the go: they blend simple but effective bodyweight workouts that will make you feel the burn without needing a gym membership or tons of equipment. The app is free to download, but if you want access to the full range of workouts you'll need to subscribe – it's $37.99 for three months or $58.99 for a year.

Find out more

Best for runners

Yoga Download

Streaming service Yoga Download provides a huge range of yoga styles including jivamukti, power yoga and yoga for kids, but our number one choice from this site is the Yoga for Runners package.

It includes six yoga videos and three audio classes with PDF pose guides for eight and a half hours of content in total, all designed to increase strength and mobility to improve your running. One video even has different length options, so you can opt for a longer version or keep it short if you're low on time.

The package has yoga practices suitable for before and after your runs that target the main running muscles: the hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors and calves. You have the option to pay a one-off $30 for the full package, or alternatively it's included with Yoga Download's unlimited packages ($18.99 a month or $120 a year).

If you're not sure you want to invest, try out the site's two-week trial for $6, which gives you unlimited streaming and 50% off programmes and packages.

Find out more

Best to feel the burn

Fiit

The Fiit fitness app offers classes from three different studios: cardio, strength and rebalance, the latter of which is home to their yoga content.

Classes are led by fitness industry pros such as former rugby player turned yoga expert Richie Norton, and feature sweaty energising flows and power yoga suitable for all levels.

Fiit is free for download and class access, but there's also the choice to upgrade to Fiit Premium. This includes a heart rate monitor chest strap that pairs with the app for live stats, plus personalised training plans.

Whether you choose to splash out the extra fee (£45 every three months or £120 a year) or not, Fiit is a versatile app that's great if you don't want to be confined to just yoga.

Find out more

Best for beginners

Beachbody On Demand – 3 Week Yoga Retreat

Yoga newbies can immerse themselves with the 3 Week Yoga Retreat programme from workout video streaming platform Beachbody On Demand.

The programme is designed for beginners, and takes you through the basics of yoga over 21 days. Each week has a set level: week one is foundation, week two is expansion and week three is progression – though, being a streaming service, you can repeat any of these if you feel like you're not yet ready to move on.

Alongside the full set of 10 to 32-minute classes, the 3 Week Yoga Retreat offers 12 videos on all the essential moves and techniques you'll need to get started, such as how to engage your core, breathing techniques and how to tell the difference between cobra and upward dog poses.

Find out more

Pocket Yoga

At just $2.99 to download, the Pocket Yoga app is a budget-friendly way to figure out whether yoga is for you. It has a dictionary of 200 yoga poses with illustrations, so you can get to grips with what a downward dog/scorpion/cat-cow is before heading to a face-to-face class, or experiment with the 27 sessions included in the app itself.

These sessions have varying levels of difficulty, but you can preview them before starting to make sure they're at a level you're comfortable with. It's available on both iOS and Android devices, and with the former can connect to Apple TV via AirPlay.

Find out more

Best for weightlifters

Yoga for Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Body-Building

A guide to the best online and YouTube yoga classes

Learning and development site Udemy has courses on everything from video production to guitar playing, but we're very much here for the Yoga for Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Body-Building course led by yoga instructor Kassandra Reinhardt.

The vinyasa flows and yin yoga sessions target the key areas hit hard by lifting – your hamstrings, quads, calves, shoulders and chest – to improve mobility, correct your posture and reduce tension. At £49.99, it's a little steeper than some of the other options on this list, but that's for lifetime access to 6.5 hours of video.

Find out more

Best for mindfulness

Gaia

An online streaming platform dedicated to all things wellness, Gaia's titles cover everything from alternative health and mindfulness to metaphysics – and, obviously, yoga. Their extensive collection of yin yoga classes are our number one piece of content, though.

Yin yoga is a calming, slow-paced yoga practice where poses are held for up to five minutes at a time – perfect for relaxation, mindfulness and easing out crazy tight muscles. With over 60 videos ranging from 20 minutes long to upwards of an hour, Gaia is a brilliant yin yoga resource. It's £8.99 per month or £75 per year to subscribe, though there are usually intro offers you can take advantage of too.

Find out more

Cat Meffan

A guide to the best online and YouTube yoga classes

Blogger and yoga teacher Cat Meffan is well known on Instagram for her stunning asanas and dog-inclusive flows. At the beginning of 2019, she launched a yoga membership programme through her website, which includes three 60-75 minute yoga flows, a guided meditation and one or two movement breakdown videos per month.

A £15 monthly membership fee gives you access to her entire archive too, including 31 30-minute practices. Cat connects closely with the emotional side of yoga and gives each month's content a theme, with past ones including Coming Into Kindness and Be Empowered. For those who like a single teacher to connect to and want to focus their practice around mindfulness, this yoga membership is a great choice.

Find out more

Best for advanced moves

Alo Moves Skills and Techniques

Yoga apparel brand Alo Yoga has launched its own subscription streaming platform, Alo Moves. It features all the usual yoga styles you'd be used to from the gym – vinyasa, hatha and ashtanga – alongside more fitness-focused workouts like barre and Pilates.

Our number one section, though, is their skills and techniques category. This section's classes focus around building up to challenging yoga poses, like handstands, arm balances and backbends.

The classes last anything from a few minutes to an hour, so you can introduce yourself to difficult techniques or simply work on mobility and core strength, depending which level you're at. Alo Moves offers a generous 14-day free trial – a good way to test it out and get an indicator of whether you want to subscribe at $20 per month or $199 per year.

Find out more

Tags:    Yoga
Tagged    Yoga