Consider online yoga as a key piece to a successful personal practice.

The Case for Online Yoga...

The digital age has given us access to everything we could ever need, from new fresh dinner recipes, to transcendental meditation practices.  In this blog I share how online yoga helped me dive deep into a personal practice, inspired me to become a teacher, and gifted me a global community of spiritual seekers.

While the CoVid 19 pandemic wreaked havoc in many ways, it also offered some unexpected blessings. As a busy mom of four unique kids, at the time aged 7-18, I imagine my daily schedule looked a lot like that of an air traffic controller at a busy airport– landings and take-offs having to be timed meticulously to avoid a catastrophe.  The pandemic and its shut-down brought my flight schedule to a halt. When airplanes can no longer fly, the term is “grounded”. Perhaps in the world of travel, this is not desirable, but to be a functional human, this is essential. At last, I was finally able to ground myself, meaning I could surrender and relax into my own body, stop worrying about the past or the future, and instead exist in the present moment with my family. With this new embodiment, I was ripe for some emotional and spiritual healing. It was the perfect time to find soul-body connection through yoga. Unfortunately, as my life opened to this healing practice, the studio doors were all closing.

To find the support I needed to proceed with my renewed commitment to yoga and self-care, I needed to look beyond the studio. I actually found online yoga before the pandemic hit. I had been searching my hometown for kundalini classes, but could not find a teacher, class or studio offering that style of yoga. Thankfully, my search online found an endless number of kundalini classes and teachers, and I dove head first into a beautiful online world of breathwork, kriya and mantra. As the pandemic continued, I explored more yoga platforms and YouTube channels.  I subscribed to a site that held a huge library of yoga classes, from hatha to kundalini, restorative to ashtanga and instantly a whole new world of yoga opened that was conveniently available at my fingertips!  I could choose classes that would focus on the sciatic pain I was experiencing, or wind me down for bed, or energize me with powerful pranayama. Soon I had created a personal virtual yoga studio that was built around my likes and needs. For the first time ever, I was committed to daily practice.

Flashforward three years to the present, and I am still practicing daily. Surprisingly, even with local studios open, I am still choosing virtual classes more so than in person.  Overtime, I found that the benefits of online yoga such as flexibility, cost, and availability actually helped to support my commitment. Don’t get me wrong,  I still believe there is a magic that happens within the studio walls when a group of people come to practice sacred breathwork and movement together. However, believe me when I tell you, that feel good + divine connection + filled heart vibration is still attainable in a zoom class, and even when practicing solo with a pre-recorded class. If you are a brand new student to yoga, I won’t argue that perhaps in-person is the best way to start for proper instruction on form and technique. However, for those who shy away from trying new things in front of a group, there are amazing beginner classes all over the internet with amazing, qualified teachers who have a skillful way of helping you move through your first downdog, or first time practicing deep belly breathing. Choosing an online class may help you get over your fear of trying yoga, and allow you to feel all the benefits that it has to offer. If you are experienced, you may want to focus your valuable time on balance poses, or inversions. Perhaps you want a class with a meditative focus, simply search and find the class you need for that moment to meet your needs. While in-person classes are great for their spontaneity, I often wish I could remember exactly what a teacher said, or how the sequence he taught flowed. Online yoga allows you to save and repeat your favorites. In one class I resonated greatly with the way the teacher explained a philosophical concept, so I bookmarked the class and listened to that one piece for many days in a row. In another, I loved a particular flow the teacher led us through, so I bookmarked that class and still practice with it from time to time.

Online yoga also helped me save time and money. For the same price of a single class in my local studio, I had as many classes I wanted to take, in whatever style, for an entire month. I also no longer had to drive and find parking or pay a babysitter - My entire yoga session lasted maybe an hour, instead of having to arrange two hours of my day to prepare for class, drive to the studio and then return home. Interestingly, I also no longer found myself shopping for cute albeit expensive yoga “fits”. Being in the comfort of my home meant I could practice literally in my own comforts: sweats instead of lulus, t-shirts instead of bra tops, I think I even began just practicing in my pjs when I would choose an early bird class. 

I could also set up my environment in a way that helped promote my best zen. I could diffuse my favorite essential oils, light a candle or incense to burn during the practice, and have my favorite blankets and pillows for savasana. While at first I balked at the idea of finding any zen in a small house that I shared with 5 other people and 4 pets, soon I was able to look past the messy house and settle into a portable little yoga nook.  Perhaps the biggest lesson gained through this was finally understanding that the ‘yoga’ doesn’t happen in a studio. The ‘yoga’ – the uniting of myself with my spirit, my body with my breath – happens within me. 

Another unexpected gift, and perhaps my favorite, that I received from online yoga was a new global yoga family.  When meeting in a zoom room for a live class with one of my beloved online teachers, I would meet others from around the world that loved her classes and the yoga just as much as I did.  While we may have been limited to waving at each other from our zoom boxes, or chatting one another up in the chat box during workshops or at the end of class, it never felt like we were strangers, instead it was one of those moments when you meet someone that you feel you have actually known for lifetimes.  I went on to go to a number of teacher trainings, with some of the most knowledgeable and experienced teachers on the planet, all online. Honestly, I never would have been able to participate in those trainings prior to covid and the emergence of online yoga. My family life and home on the island of Oahu, would have made planning, costs and travel nearly impossible. Although not in person, the classes still had an intimacy and a group bond. The content was full of videos that I could go back and rewatch to go over anything I missed the first viewing.  I could argue that I learned just as much if not  more using this digital platform than I may have in a traditional in-person training.  

As the pandemic came to an end and the yoga studios re-opened, I celebrated, along with many others, the return to live classes. However, I have to give credit to the online yoga world for helping me solidify my commitment to my daily practice. As a student, I never worry about missing a day because I know I have so many options that allow me flexibility. As a teacher, I love teaching online and I love teaching in the studio. The virtual world of yoga has also allowed me to offer advanced students and clients digital courses for their own self study and self healing process. A new era of learning has arrived and I’m grateful that the yoga world has found a way to embrace it and use it to share the healing powers of asana, breathwork, and meditation. The opportunities for us to learn, heal, and expand are truly limitless in today’s new digital age. 

Wendy Ferri, MS RYT 500 is an Energy Healer, Kundalini Yoga Instructor, Breathwork facilitator and lifestyle coach. She uses Kundalini Energy Yoga and Therapeutic Breathwork to help people release the patterns of the past so they can live fully in the present.