Happy International Womans Day! Treat yourself to a bit of self-love and care by completing an online yoga or meditation class this weekend. Here are a few favourites to choose from -B xx

I thought I would share with you today some of the best online free yoga and meditation videos that I tend to come back to time and time again. I think it is absolutely always better to attend a regular yoga class if you can because then you get the community and the guidance of an experienced teacher to help check your alignment etc. It can also be really motivating to go out to a yoga class and have that as a special thing to look forward to each week.

Online videos are a great addition or fall-back for those extremely busy weeks when you can’t make it to a class. They are also fantastic if you want to get started with a daily yoga routine as you can make a goal to do a short video each day. You can start small with 10 minutes and then build up to half an hour or even an hour each day.

If you can’t make it out to a class for any reason, perhaps you work irregular hours or have a small baby then online yoga classes are great because you can do them from the comfort of your own home! I suggest that you set up a little space somewhere that has storage close by for your yoga mat, perhaps a yoga block or some light weights and a cosy blanket and small pillow for meditation.

Five Of The Best Free Yoga + Meditation Classes/Communities!

1. Yoga With Adriene or the YWA community:

Yoga With Adriene is a huge online community built by Adriene Mishler. This is the intro video to her 30 day ‘Dedicate’ yoga Journey which she ran throughout January of this year. I would say Adriene does more of a beginner’s style yoga, there is more hatha style yoga, more floor work, breathing exercises etc.

Because of this she really appeals to all ages and different levels of yoga experience so her community that she has built up is really diverse and also really supportive of each other. Her You Tube comment section is lovely!

If you are new to yoga this is a really fantastic series as it starts off slow and then she includes some more challenging poses as you get more into it! It is also quite slow and relaxing so perfect at the end of the day as a wind-down before bed.

As I mentioned before Yoga With Adriene is the perfect go-to for before bed yoga. This ‘cosy yoga’ video is perfect for when you are tired and sleepy or having a rest day. Sometimes when we are sick and can’t work out it is important to still keep moving in whatever way you can! This video was my go-to when I was sick in the middle of last winter.

2. Yoga By Candace or the YBC community:

When I first started getting into daily yoga a few years back Yoga By Candace was my favourite for daily yoga video motivation. Candace has a huge free yoga video database on You Tube. This video is one of her older ones so the production quality is not as great as her newer ones. However, I still really prefer many of her older videos over her newer ones.

This is a great heart opening practice. When we sit at a computer for large parts of our day our posture can be affected with our shoulders rounding forward and sinking inwards. This video helps to strengthen your upper body and open your heart.

“Any suffering we experience is actually the separation from the love that exists in our heart of hearts. Unveiling our innermost heart to ourselves is what removes this pain. It is important to keep our heart open not just to receive love and light but to let the light and love that dwells in our hearts shine forth” – Monica Gauci

I would say that Candace does more of a vinyasa flow or power yoga type practice. She does have a few beginner videos that are sprinkled with a few intermediate poses so overall I would say that she is more of an intermediate yoga instructor.

If you can’t do some of the poses at first you will be amazed how with consistent practice over time you can get into some of the harder poses like headstand, shoulder stand, wheel pose and crow.

3. Laura Myren for Gymra:

Laura has a wonderful, quirky personality that makes all of her online classes fun! This is an absolutely fantastic whole body opening yoga practice for women. Women are often made to feel small or grow up in environments where they are not encouraged or supported to be bold, loud, portray signs of leadership, or to share their individual thoughts and feelings without fear of judgement.

This is a fantastic, expansive practice that encourages you to open up your entire body and take up space! Connecting with your body in this way can allow you to feel more confident and empowered within your body and yourself.

I also really love this ‘pre cocktail’ yoga flow from Laura Myren. It’s fantastic to do a yoga flow before you go out and socialise. Doing yoga before you head out helps you to be more present and grounded in your body. It also generates inner happiness and confidence and you might even find that you are better able to be more authentic and connected to others without even needing those cocktails!

Laura Myren also has several yoga with weights videos online, they are often referred to as ‘hybrid yoga’ or ‘yoga sculpt’ if you search for them. They are all brilliant and I often alternate between Laura’s weights videos and then Adriene’s wind down videos.

Using weights is a great way to add some strength training into your yoga flow and really helps to strengthen your upper body. This is a really great 10 minute work out which you can easily fit into your morning routine!

4. Faith Hunter for Do You Yoga:

This is a great intro to meditation program by meditation and yoga teacher Faith Hunter. It is guided so if you are new to meditation and have never meditated before this is a really good introduction.  Simply watch the video each day and follow the easy intructions. They are also really visually beautiful so you won’t get too bored when you are first starting out!

Another thing that is wonderful about this series is that they cover many different meditation and mindfulness techniques i.e. visualisation, breathwork etc. within the series which keeps it interesting plus it exposes you different ways of meditating which can help you to find out what really works for you!

5. Juliana from Boho Beautiful:

Another gorgeous guided meditation series is by Boho Beautiful which is a husband and wife lead lifestyle brand and online community. Juliana also has many yoga and pilates videos online but I only really follow her for her meditation videos. Her voice is really calming and soothing.

They have put so much effort into making them really aesthetically beautiful and they will often have a 1min intro which you can watch to help get you relaxed and in the mood for meditation. Boho beautiful meditations are also guided and then you will have gaps of silence where you can independantly work to clear your mind.

I think both these sessions and the Faith Hunter programme are really good ways to ease yourself into meditation. Each video is roughly around ten minutes so if you aim to do one each morning before you start the day it can be a really easy way to begin a regular meditation practice.

If you have a favourite go-to video please share it in the comments below!

(Photo by Kaylee Garrett on Unsplash)