I am really picky about yoga videos. I have tried for years now to establish a home-based yoga practice, so I didn’t have to shell out $14 a class to go to a yoga studio. I tried leading my own little sequence, but ended up just staring straight ahead and doing forward folds on repeat. I also tried the yoga app for Mac computers, free YouTube videos, and Rodney Yee’s yoga DVDs (which I didn’t hate).
But for the most part, I’ve decided I’m a yoga studio kind of girl. I love being in a beautiful space, with incense burning, Buddhas on the wall, and meditative music playing (or in the case of my new favorite instructor at my studio – Grateful Dead jams playing). Something about being in this atmosphere, surrounded by other yogis, gives me better focus and helps me be more intentional about my yoga experience.

But sometimes you’re just stuck in a situation where you can’t run out to the nearest yoga studio. I get that. This week I was visiting my parents in the suburbs of Chicago, where yoga costs at least $17 per class, and I couldn’t justify going to a studio. It was pouring rain, so I couldn’t go for a run outside. Feeling restless, I finally searched and found a free class online that I liked! The instructor’s sequence reminded me a lot of the Grateful Dead guy’s class, and her music was appropriately meditative (Zero 7 is always a good choice). Plus, it was 45 minutes long and left me feeling pretty tired, which Rodney Yee’s class never seemed to.

So without further ado, here is my new favorite free yoga class from Fightmaster Yoga: