Learning Yoga Online

If you type “Yoga Online” into a search engine these days, you’ll come up with about a million sites. Yoga’s popularity is exploding worldwide and the Internet is helping to deliver this ancient practice to anyone with a computer and a connection to the web. But is it a good thing? Can the ancient art of yoga really be conveyed to a student through the medium of technology, without the face to face interaction of real human beings? The answer is both “yes” and “no”, and like yoga itself, it is a matter of balance. Gurus and Gigabytes Ideally, yoga should be learned one-on-one with a spiritual leader, someone who has a deep understanding of both the spiritual and physical aspects of yoga. This person should be available to you daily to guide you in your practice, to consult and advise you, even to assist you in your meal and nutrition choices. It would also helpful if this person was a medical doctor and had a PhD in psychology. No problem – if you are independently wealthy and do not need to work, raise a family, or have any pressing responsibilities or commitments. Yoga Online – A Worthy Alternative For real people who live real lives, yoga brought to you by the Internet can be an acceptable choice. Interestingly, those of us who lead hectic, stressful lives are the ones most in need of the calming, rejuvinating experience of yoga, but we have the least amount of time. The job, the kids, the bills, the dog, the shopping, the cleaning, the laundry all take precedence. We are lucky if we can make it to a yoga class once a week, and if it doesn’t fit into our schedule, forget it. But many online yoga sites offer streaming yoga video and audio classes that can be accessed anytime, night or day, thus fitting into even the most demanding schedule. Furthermore, sites like The Yoga Learning Center (http://www.yogalearningcenter.com) offer a wide variety of practices which make it easy to find something that suits you. It may not be what the wise gurus of ancient India had in mind, but it is definitely better than the alternative – no yoga at all. The Optimal Choice: Both If you can make it to a live yoga class a few times a month, and suppliment your practice with online yoga instruction, you are way ahead of the game. Live instruction by a qualified teacher is hard to beat, but if you can’t make it to a live class, online yoga instruction is your best alternative. Live or Online? As in everything, strive for balance.