• Join thousands of others on my my mailing list

    Join thousands of others on my my mailing list

7 Super-Cool Smartphone Apps for Yogis (hint: not all are yoga apps)

IMG_1906Hey, Yogis with smartphones.

QUESTION: How often do you whip out your smartphone along the path of your yoga journey?

At it’s best, it’s a smart tool designed to be of service to you. To help you realize your dreams, be free, at ease, find the truth.

Kinda like yoga. (You know what I mean.)

I don’t know if it was a lack of good apps– or me being adverse to using apps in relationship to my yoga practice– but…

For the longest time I (sort of) kept a no-smartphone boundary around my yoga life. 
Sound familiar?
 

(…And no, I’m not talking about using them during class. Or letting them distract from practice in any way…)

 
Here are apps that have helped me LIVE MY YOGA– in the broad sense.
Really cool apps that are the best of their kind.

(…And I’m wondering which apps help you in a similar way…)

So, without further delay, let’s get appy:

1. Charity Miles

This is my personal FAVE. For the cause-oriented Karma Yogi in us all.

This app tracks every mile you run, bike, or walk and donates a corresponding amount of money to charity on your behalf. The money comes from big-name corporate sponsors.

Any way you slice it, everybody wins. Especially those in need. If this isn’t AWESOME, I don’t know what is.

If you walk as much as I do, this app turns you into a walking gold mine for charity. (I intend to use this app for the rest of my life or as long as it exists.)

You just choose causes and hit the road.

Cost: Free. Available for iOS and Android.

2. Everest

This app can help you climb Mount Everest — literally— or your symbolic Everest. Step-by-step encouragement and tips from other users help you surmount the bigger, or more challenging goals.

I’ve used it to adhere to special diet plans and– during more chaotic periods of my life– to stay consistent with practice.

In Sanskrit, “Abhyasa,” steady effort.  A lot of what yogis essentially ARE is based in consistency, repetition of form and staying the course for the long haul.

The app can help you:

      • set smaller, more incremental goals that build to the mightier ones
      • send you reminders
      • take photos
      • share on social media

If you struggle with longer-term routine, this app is your routine-homing-device.

Cost: Free. Available for iOS.

3. UP

UP is a wellness app.

      • You log your meals and mood.
      • A wristband tracks your movement and sleep.
      • The app logs and displays the data.
      • Allows a full picture of your health practices and the feelings they produce.

Yoga is about integration- as well as transformation.

This app helps with BOTH processes by showing you the interplay between your diet, movement, sleep and mood.

Cost: Free. Available for iOS and Android.

4. Mindbody Yoga

This app is the phone version of the online system most yoga studios use. You can find nearby yoga studios and display their schedules. Then you can book a place in class.

Not that I think this company needs any help selling their product.

I suggest it for situations when having this app in hand can be the DECIDING FACTOR– whether you find a studio while traveling or when you’re running late for a popular class and need to grab a spot before they disappear.

Cost: Free. Available on iOS.

5. Office Yoga

This one helps you relax and/or get a little stretch right where you work- your desk or cubicle. (I don’t have an office job, but like many yoga instructors I’m amazed at how much time I spend at a computer.)

Office yoga apps are common enough.

This one rules them all because the guidance is very engaging and– according to reviews of hardcore office warriors– really addresses the NITTY-GRITTY experience of office life.

For example, there’s a meditation that helps you clear your head before opening your email inbox. Brilliantly clear, simple and even kind of witty.

Cost: $0.99. Available for iOS.

6. Yoga Studio

There are plenty of apps that help you create sequences. This one lets you choose your own music as well as adjust the degree of instruction according to your UNIQUE needs.

Cost: $2.99. Available for iOS.

7. Viz Video Downloader

This one can download videos from the internet and then play them WITHOUT an internet connection.

So, download your favorite teacher’s practice video from vimeo, bing videos, and other sites. Take the vid with you to aid your practice in your favorite exotic off-the-grid locale.

Teachers! Got online videos? Make sure they’re on platforms this app can access!! (Youtube not available due to licensing agreements.) AND– make sure your peeps know about this app, so they can engage with your videos more often!

Cost: Free. Available on Android.

+

BONUS: Okay, I said 7 apps but here’s one more (because how many of us are language scholars?)….

Sanskrit Primer

I’m far from a Sanskrit speaker, but scholars as well as total newbies recommend this app very highly.

I like it as a glossary. On the bus on my way to class I can look up that Sanskrit term that sums up the class theme, for example.

Maybe some day I’ll actually start using it to it’s full potential– to teach me Sanskrit from scratch.

Cost: Free  Available for iOS and Android.

_________________________________

Enjoy these apps as yet another way to connect.

Used SKILLFULLY, they can actually help you stay present on your path with:

  • more unity
  • more love
  • more health
  • more happiness
  • more freedom
  • more motivation
  • more steadiness
  • more of what floats around the point on the map where the yogi’s compass is always headed, or seeking to find.

Stay tuned for 2 more lists like this one:

  • Apps for Meditators
  • Apps for Asana (postures)

NAMASTE!

 

Related article you might also dig into: 10 Modern Books for Modern Yogis

→ Tried any of these apps? Apps to recommend? Share your thoughts in the comments below.