Review: Pocket Yoga

From 2002 to 2009 the popularity of yoga stagnated. Then in 2010 yoga began a clear rise in popularity and according to projections by Google Trends and Statista, it will continue to grow. The app market has taken note, as there are dozens of yoga apps to choose from in the App Store, Google Play Store and the Amazon Store. Right now through the Amazon Store and for Android devices, the Pocket Yoga app is free to download.

As someone would be classified as an interested novice in yoga, I wouldn’t bother paying the normal $2.99 just to try an app. Free? That is the right price for me to give it a whirl, and Pocket Yoga has impressed me. It features three different practices, each with 27 different preset routines to pick from. Within each routine you can pick the duration — 30, 45 or 60 minutes — as well as choose between beginner, intermediate and expert. There is also the ability to pick a home, studio or office environment, though the only difference is the background setting in which the app runs.

In addition to the preset routines there is also Sun Salutation A and B where instead of a time limit, it is based on how many repetitions you’d like to do, ranging from two to 108 (both A and B also have the option to choose which difficulty and environment).

Throughout each routine the digital instructor gives cues on pose changes as well as helping you regulate breathing, but I found myself struggling to get into the correct form before the next pose. The app does allow you to pause each routine — and pick it up where you left off — or even preview the routine before you get started.

A built-in index of the different poses in alphabetical order is incredibly helpful, and if you’re a fellow beginner, I strongly recommend looking at the preview and the list of poses before jumping into a routine.

Pocket Yoga tracks your completed practices and routines and once you finish a session you’re given the option to share the accomplishment via Twitter, Facebook and a number of other social networks.

As even the beginner routine was challenging to me, I’d recommend Pocket Yoga to someone who has more of a working knowledge of yoga. For Android users, make sure to download it through the Amazon Store as it is still $2.99 through the Play Store. The same goes for iOS users. Still, it is hard to fault the app for me not being as flexible as I was in my youth, though after a few weeks of using Pocket Yoga, I should be back in form.