Whether you’re doing yoga to clear your mind, shape your body, improve your flexibility or to shift stubborn weight, there’s an excellent range of options built into the prime membership package.
Just accessing yoga through Prime is relaxing. No more fights to the death with the DVD remote. No more trying to find where you left off during a previous episode if you were interrupted. No more gritted teeth as you try to convince your laptop that you want to PLAY your DVD, not burn it to your video library.
Even better, if you find that you’re not quite getting along with the video you’ve chosen, it’s a short hop back to the main screen to pick something else.
To save you time hunting through all the options, we’ve selected five for various different aims (weight loss, flexibility, morning wakeups and stress management). Because some of these are one-program wonders instead of series, we’ve listed another three honorable mentions in our little buyer’s guide on what to look out for when you’re expanding your yoga practice repertoire.
Itching to get your mat, towel and block out? Here’s our top pick.
Top 5 Best Yoga Videos on Amazon Prime
OUR TOP PICK
30 Day Yoga for Weight Loss with Julia Marie
EDITORS CHOICE
Yoga Sweat – Beginners Power Yoga For Weight Loss
BEST VALUE
Yoga with Adriene: Morning Yoga
OUR TOP PICK
30 Day Yoga for Weight Loss with Julia Marie
Opening with a prep episode to tell viewers what to expect across the 30-day series, Julia Marie explains the approach she’s going to be taking to balance serious calorie burning HIIT aspects with continuous toning and some gentler meditative exercises. The focus of each day’s practice is set out clearly in the chapter description so that you can see what kind of session it’s going to be.
Other than the encouraging opener, the episode length is pretty consistent at between 26-35 minutes. This makes it easy to schedule into your day in a predictable manner.
Her focus is very much on tracking progress. She sets homework at the end of the sessions, and one of the key elements to this 30-day program is to keep a journal.
This is not insisted upon in any onerous way. She’s working from feedback that shows a strong relationship between mindful eating and exercise, and people’s ability to maintain their weight painlessly in the longer term. Keeping notes on the way that your day has gone isn’t about rating your own performance—it’s about identifying any instigating emotions or events which led to food choices which you may have been happy or unhappy with.
Learning from experience on a visceral level gives you the best chance of long-term success, even when the 30 days is done. There is no calorie counting involved in any of your food tracking.
Also, it’s great to look back on your day 3 notes on day 20 and realize that you’ve totally bossed a pose which defeated you not so long ago.
Pros
- Julie Marie has a very chilled but encouraging demeanor
- The focus is on manageable, long-term success and not just on meeting 30-day goals
- She appears to encourage realistic expectations and is gently motivating
- For fans of the presenter, there are several other series in the Prime package that you can move onto
- She addresses mental and physical health in a nicely balanced way
Cons
- Some reviewers felt that some of the very challenging poses (the crow, for example) were introduced a little early
EDITORS CHOICE
Yoga Sweat – Beginners Power Yoga For Weight Loss
This is a single-episode presentation by Dean from Body by Yoga. It’s just under half an hour long, so very easy to slot into your morning, or after work.
His focus is very much on the powerful feeling of invigoration following the workout and the endorphin rush which gives you the motivation and stamina to keep going with your weight loss routine. His style combines the holding of poses which raise the pulse rate to the point of productive perspiration while toning the muscles.
Muscle toning is certainly an under-rated means of raising the metabolism 24/7 and is often relegated behind cardio as a means of losing weight. This workout will lead quickly to greater fitness and a higher muscle ratio without you having to run for miles to achieve the same effect.
Dean is very conscious of moving slowly and putting emphasis on holding challenging poses so that you can learn and apply the technique anywhere. The episode is well-paced for beginners in terms of getting to grips with the correct position in your own time.
Pros
- Male teachers are few and far between
- The instructions are clear and well-coordinated with the actions
- Good pacing
- If this isn’t part of your prime subscription, then it doesn’t cost a fortune (one episode)
- It does make you feel as if you’ve worked hard
- If you like the presenter, there are several intermediate and advanced programs available
Cons
- The pose routine is a little repetitive
- Some felt that this was initially labeled for ‘beginners’, though the effort level is more extreme
BEST VALUE
Yoga with Adriene: Morning Yoga
Adriene Mischler has a great following on YouTube and Facebook, and you can’t move for tripping over her free 30-day introduction series just after New Year’s Day.
These very brief yoga sessions are awesome for getting you set up for the day. There are three videos of a maximum 16 minutes. The idea is to make you feel rested, flexible, and capable of more when the video ends and it’s time to begin your working day.
She is informal but not overly chatty, which has won her a large fandom. Recurring compliments are that she’s authentic, and that she doesn’t fill the quiet with chatter about how you should be feeling through each movement.
She also has an intuitive and empathic sense for when you might be struggling with a pose and offers an alternative. You never feel as if you’re on the back foot or left behind with her presentation style.
This brief three-part series is not about burning calories but getting you into a calm and focused state of mind and body which will make the rest of your day go a little easier.
Pros
- Her talking focuses on the movements—no silence-filling fluffy commentary
- The pace is restful and gives you time to wake up
- It leaves you feeling refreshed and limber
- She has an exceptionally chill presentation style
Cons
- It’s easy to outgrow her routines quickly
RUNNER UP
Flexibility Yoga 30 Minute Workout To Boost Mobility – Julia Jarvis
Okay, so here we’re moving from wakeup calls to repair work on the body.
If rest, recuperation, and regeneration are what you need, then this is an excellent one-shot program to gently improve your flexibility without eroding your energy levels or putting you at any risk of aggravating an injury. It’s suggested that you do this a couple times a week to build on the flexibility benefits.
Her approach focuses on opening the hips and realigning the spine to dispel much of the tension that gathers in situations of ongoing stress or chronic pain.
What viewers like about her presentation style and pacing are that it’s easy to follow her instructions even with your eyes closed. This is just as well given the focus on the downward dog, which is not really compatible with keeping your eyes on the TV for the next change in movement.
The half-hour slot is good for the morning or evening with a neutral presentation which is neither aimed at waking you up or winding you down for bed.
Pros
- Versatile presentation
- Experienced instructor with calming voice
- Video leaves you feeling refreshed
- The flow improves strength in your legs and hips over a course of weeks
Cons
- She doesn’t spend much time explaining how to modify difficult poses
- Several poses are not very friendly for people with poor balance
RUNNER UP
Yoga Meditation for Stress & Anxiety Relief
This 22-minute video by Katrina Repman is very highly spoken of as an indisputably effective way of getting yourself grounded before a stressful day ahead, and for decompressing at the end of it. She has a gentle and overtly compassionate style which makes you feel as if this time is for you, and that it’s not about keeping up with other people.
The focus, as you would guess, is on mental health and learning to move the body to allow energy to flow through it again when you’re feeling exceptionally tense.
She guides viewers slowly through the movements and creates a truly soothing ambience in her session. This is the video to watch if you’re apprehensive about an upcoming confrontation to the point that it’s putting you off your food.
It’s also a good reintroduction for people who simply haven’t done yoga in a long time, or who are miserably aware of feeling out of shape. You can supplement this ‘warm-up’ video with a more cardiovascular form of exercise if you want to.
People suffering from the soreness Poly/Fibromyalgia or the exhaustion of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) have found this video invaluable to help them get moving again and push away the Damocles Sword sensation of sustained inertia.
Pros
- It’s gentle and easy to follow
- It’s easy to fit into your day
- It’s effective for stretching your body and help you to clear your mind
Cons
- Some have commented that they would’ve welcomed a small series for this purpose instead of one episode
Best Yoga Videos on Amazon Prime Buying Guide
At the time of writing, all these programs/series are included with the prime membership, although the packages can change over time. Because that element is unpredictable, our only budget-focused tip here is to select ‘purchase’ options and go for the cheaper, SD version of any series or program which isn’t free on Prime.
Hopefully we’ve helped to highlight some of the most popular yoga videos on offer. If you get through these quickly and you’re looking for more variation, then here are some honorable mentions to check out:
Quick Yoga Workouts For Weight Loss & Toning
3-part higher intensity yoga workouts of maximum 21 minutes. Popular trainer is easygoing and yet energetic at the same time. A difficult balance to strike.
Couch To Confident 14 Day Yoga Challenge with Julia Marie
This is a great option for intermediate yoga practitioners looking to improve their technique and stretch their comfort zones.
30 Day Yoga Power Up! For Strength and Confidence
Julia Marie again with a faster flow and a Vinyasa base to the month-long evolving challenge.
How To Find Even More Yoga Videos for Your Practice
To start, search based on your personal aims
The easiest way to search is to use your PC or laptop, and once you’ve established the names of a few Prime videos you’d like to check out, then you can search for them through Amazon Prime on your TV. Finding them directly through the TV can be a little frustrating and limiting.
On your computer, look directly below the search bar for the ‘Prime Video’ option. When the page has refreshed, then it’s worth trying specific keywords for:
- Intensity (Easy, fast, intermediate, advanced)
- Practice Style (Hatha, Vinyasa)
- Or goal (Toning, weight loss, injury, etc)
It’s worth doing this because the more generalized course terms (weight loss, reduced stress) tend to sit on the front pages of the ‘Yoga’ search, hiding the titles which may be more relevant to you.
Search based on the presenter’s name/production company name
How a presenter comes across is entirely subjective. The lady who becomes one viewer’s guru may be the source of endless grimacing for another viewer. For example, an athletic, high-energy presenter (like Tigger after ten Red Bulls) may either motivate you, or make you feel spherical and exhausted by comparison. This is counterproductive. You need someone whose company you think you’d enjoy if you could actually speak to them.
However, don’t narrow your future searches unnecessarily by mentally writing a presenter off after a single episode. Some presenters excel in a particular area, but have been “nudged” into widening their audience. It’s possible you’ve first encountered teaching a discipline that isn’t their favorite. It’s often worth seeing how the same person performs in a different series.
Plan ahead according to program times and moods
As above, if you are not a morning person (no matter how much you’ve tried), then some workouts (and presenters) are just not going to hit the spot before 7am. Figure out how much time you have, and look for series which give a good range of episode lengths.
Yoga practitioners who are time-poor sometimes download entire 30-day challenges simply for the benefit of being able to choose 7-minute or 33 minute bursts of activity. If you’re a little experienced already, then you’re absolutely not committed to redoing a whole series in the correct order. Nobody is going to tell on you.
Finally… How to handle frustrating captions
Every program we picked has the closed captions option available. This means that you can switch them on and off.
If you typically rely upon captions for TV, films or the news, then you’ll need them for the yoga videos too—at least to begin with. Sorry about that. It’s logical to assume that you can follow along just by watching and copying, but there are two problems with this:
- The instructor often keeps talking while stretching until their nose either faces the ceiling or touches the mat. This is not conducive to successful lipreading. It also means you miss important information, like: “don’t stretch like this.”
- You miss the countdowns or vocal warnings for the transitions. This means you’re nearly always taken by surprise by a shift in the routine.
It does kind of suck that not a great deal of thought goes into the placement of captions on screen during informational programs.
Take cooking programs for example. It’s pretty annoying when the chef announces, “this is the only quick way to fine-dice a squash,” only for the vital dicing action to be totally obscured by the caption block. Likewise, “See the color on this chicken over that nice 15,000BTU flame?” (nope) “Check out the super-hot temp I’m setting the oven to, here…” (Cue invisible dial.)
You get the idea. It would be nice if they could put the captions at the top of the screen, over the top of those copper pans which always seem to dangle dangerously from the ceilings. Likewise, most of the caption action in yoga videos overlays the floor action taking place on the screen. “See how these abs move when you lift your shoulders a half-inch off the mat?” (nope).
This can get very old very quickly. However, the deaf yogis of Facebook have spoken and given some great advice. It requires a little pre-planning and kind of nukes any feeling of spontaneity, but it least it means you can choose whether to use the captions.
- Watch the first episode in advance. With a generous flashcard to hand (4×6”) note down the pose and transition order.
- Also note the video times where this changes, or if there are a specific number of reps you need to so for a particular exercise.
- Keep the card next to you when you’re participating for real.
A little planning can take the stress right out of things, which will return Yoga to your list of things to do which help you to chill out.