3 Best Free Yoga Platforms

3 Best Free Yoga Platforms to Take Advantage of 🧘🏻‍♀️

*Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, somewhere around 2013/2014*

06.19.2022 - By: Anastasia Barbuzzi

I’ve always been an active person, and I’ve always enjoyed being active. I played basketball from when I was a little kid until I finished high school, and it taught me a lot about training in the gym. As a result, I felt confident about working out on my own.

Over time, I grew to love running outside of practice, especially at a distance. I ended up running track and continued to implement getting on the road as I started to develop my at-home workout routine in my teens.

Around 15 years old, I began practicing yoga. I’m now 25 and still practice numerous times a week.

Compared to other disciplines, yoga has taught me a lot about patience, balance, mind-body awareness, being comfortable in silence, and prioritizing form over pace to avoid injury. I have a deep love for yoga for these reasons and the way it grounds me, and I find myself utilizing its techniques every day.

At one point in my early twenties, I was suddenly forced to restrict physical movement beyond walking and light stretching to yoga. More specifically, one of the gentler forms: Yin.

Suppose you’ve been following along with $HMONEY for some time and know a bit of my backstory. In that case, you know that part of what inspired the creation of the platform was my experiences with intense physical injuries, mental health battles, and financial struggles resulting from a life-threatening car accident. I could not work for months on end, and my injuries prevented me from moving my body for long periods.

Again, as someone used to pushing their body and enjoying the energy and release it gave them, the inability to move felt like a huge blow. It stifled me. I was the most hurt, tense, and fragile I’d ever been.

As the months went on, I became more independent again and eventually moved back into my condo. Being on my own was scary, and it certainly wasn’t pretty at first. Fortunately, through my co-passenger in the accident’s car insurance, I negotiated a year-long membership to my favourite yoga studio in the neighbourhood, which I could’ve never afforded at the time.

An injury to my kidneys left me unable to roll onto my back or apply pressure to it, so one of my doctors recommended that when I ease back into movement, I stick to gentle yoga. And please, God, don’t let anyone touch my back! And be careful adjusting me!!

Walking to the studio at least three or four days a week was revitalizing. Getting on the mat helped me feel like I was returning to myself, to something important to me. I believe this period was central to my healing journey, and so was yoga. I finally stretched muscles that hadn’t been tested in half a year and started to rebuild my core strength, and man, it’s hard to describe that feeling.

Even before this happened, I always enjoyed my solo at-home yoga practice, and now I do more than ever. Today I attend in-studio classes sparingly, but when I do want to switch things up, try a new class, or want some guidance, I love to pull up one of my favourite online resources. There are so many free YouTube channels and platforms that professional instructors operate through, and these remain my favourites:

1. Boho Beautiful

One of the best for yoga-lates fusion classes, (yoga-pilates mix), but I love their long, sweaty flows and morning classes as well. I really enjoy Juliana as an instructor.

2. YogiApproved’s YA Classes (Free Content on YouTube!)

My friend and darling podcast guest, Ashton, is the founder of YogiApproved and YA Classes. She created this incredible app that has an array of different classes and workouts for every level. She also granted me a free year-long membership to the app that I’m oh-so grateful for. Thank you Ashton! xx

3. Yoga with Adrienne

Adrienne was one of my go-to’s when I was slow-to-go during my recovery. If you’re just starting to practice yoga, she has plenty of classes that cater to beginners and offers lots of modifications. She’s also so sweet and pleasant!

If you’re on a healing journey of your own or simply looking for a way to change up your exercise routine, I encourage you to check out the fantastic free content these platforms provide. It’s always nice to know what resources you can take advantage of that won’t cost you anything but benefit you significantly.

Hot tip: Don’t be afraid to explore your resources and ask questions when you need financial assistance. You know what they say, “You will never know unless you ask.” For example, I didn’t realize I had the option to sign up for a membership to help me recover until the insurance representative I was working with suggested it.

What are some of your favourite channels or platforms that $HMONEY’s community can check out for free? Let me know in the comments! 💚