Yoga International has online classes but are they worth paying for? We bought a membership and decided to share our experiences in this unbiased review.
Note: We don’t have a commercial relationship with Yoga International and don’t earn referral commissions from our content.
Yoga International Review
We have bought a membership to the Yoga International platform to show you exactly what’s on offer. This is because we know the cost of $20 per month can be expensive, especially when you could get a coupon or get free content on YouTube.
We decided to break down this entire Yoga International review into sections so you can see everything holistically through a step-by-step approach.
Let’s begin.
Joining Yoga International
Once you enter in those payment details to get your free trial, you’ll then come to this page:
From here, you’ll get an instant offer to upgrade to the annual plan:
After that ‘pitch’ is done, you’re taken through a sequence to help you better use the platform. They do this to cater the content and Dashboard specifically to where you are in the journey right now.
You can use the platform to set goals for both your asanas and meditations:
And again, more questions on your specific needs so the app is geared specifically for you.
From here, we can see the vast range of yoga styles within Yoga International. From AcroYoga to Ashtanga, Jivamukti and Lyengar, to Kundalini and Restorative:
And finally, we can see here the teachers inside Yoga International:
And then finally, we’re on the inside of the actual Dashboard. As you can see, we just joined:
So, we’re finally inside. Where to next? Obviously we want to see some yoga classes, right!
Yoga Classes
Now we’re into the yoga classes. We’re going to see a summary of each one as there are hundreds of classes in total.
They kick off with the recommended classes:
Over time, the algorithm detects the types of classes you like and will show recommendations based on your preferences.
Also, you will find teaches who you most resonate with:
From here, we’re into Lyengar yoga:
And then breathing exercises:
Need a break? Get into some Pranayama Practice:
Then we have the Conditioning classes:
Following this, find a partner for some Acroyoga:
For a more traditional approach, there is plenty of Hatha Yoga:
Ashtanga yoga classes are available for those who have the heat:
As we mentioned, Jivamukti classes are open:
So are Vinyasa and Vinyasa Flow:
Those who are needing a more Restorative approach will enjoy these:
For the new mums, Prenatal and Postpartum yoga:
And for those needing to really relax, plenty of Yin Yoga:
Followed by Forrest Yoga (which is definitely a 1st for us) with multiple classes:
Diverse movement yoga:
And finally, Kundalini yoga:
Yep – we’re done with the classes. Clearly plenty of content here and worth the small investment. They do provide a trial so you can see if this is worthwhile before staying on board with the monthly plan.
Now you can choose to go into a beginner, intermediate or advanced program which links on the navigation panel on the left hand side.
From here, we’re on to Meditations. While each class has a mild Savasana meditation as is normal with studio yoga classes, it’s always good, for just 15 minutes per day, to find a good escape.
Meditations
Just like the yoga classes, you’ll generate some recommended meditations over time once the system learns your preferences:
If you see the ‘thumbs up’ on each video, this is similar to YouTube where it shows the amount of people who have liked that particular meditation.
From there, we’re on to guided meditations:
And breathing exercises:
Followed by guided relaxation:
And of course, Yoga Nidra! Who could forget the sleep of the yogi! Plenty of meditations here:
Most of these meditations from our experience range from 3 minutes to 10 minutes. Some go for longer and as constructive criticism, we would like to see some longer meditations in here around the 20-minute mark. Only Yoga Nidra has the longer meditations.
Next, we’re on to the articles.
Articles
Yoga International isn’t just training videos or yoga classes. Sometimes simply reading (as you are doing within this review) is enough to learn.
They have an entire catalogue of well-written content for yogis and yoginis. We’ll start with the recommended articles:
Followed by practice:
And then yoga therapy:
Ayurveda and natural therapies:
Correct forms of yoga poses:
And content for existing yoga teachers:
Short tutorials based on their video series:
More Pranayama exercises:
The philosophy of yoga:
The lifestyle of yoga:
Argubly, some of the content here was a few years old.
And finally, this series closes with Spiritual Growth:
The Yocean Yogi team enjoyed this series though most people probably don’t have the attention space these days to read through all that content. Some of the articles we noticed are from 2017.
Courses
Within Yoga International, there are in-depth courses on offer. Some of these are free and some of these can be really experience. Essentially, yes…these are the upsell.
Through other similar online yoga classes, a lot of this content can be found for free. We chose not to buy any of these upsells but will give you a glimpse of what they are:
Like usual, there are recommended courses:
If a course says ‘Members Only’ then this is included within your subscription to Yoga International. That is – you won’t be charged any extra to access it.
From here, we can see the featured courses as well as the high prices charged:
Then we’re on to Asana:
Followed by Ayurveda:
Want to watch some pre-recorded conferences? Then this is where you can do it:
This is followed by yoga challenges which are all free:
Then in-depth training courses for teachers:
Personal transformation series:
Yoga therapy courses for individuals:
And finally, courses from The Himalayan Institute:
There is certainly some value here and we imagine that some people do indeed buy the upsells.
Other benefits
Now that we’ve really shown you what’s on offer here, let’s outline some of the other benefits you’ll have when joining Yoga International:
- Access to the Peace Out, The Yoga History and Women Seekers + Leaders podcasts.
- Given the current state of the world, the MoveTogether Live series where you can join other yogis from around the world on live-streamed yoga classes every single day.
- You get to connect with other community members through the dashboard.
Really – there is immense value here.
Yoga International criticism
Now we’re not the naysayer type here at Yocean Yogi. We’d love to say that everything is perfect with Yoga International, but it isn’t. We’re realistic and want all online yoga teaching platforms to improve.
To give some criticism to Yoga International is something we decided to do, only because we’d love to see them get better and become the #1 teaching platform in the world.
So essentially, here’s where they can improve so we can rank them higher in our review:
- Some of the audio quality isn’t ideal with a strong echo in classes. This seems more apparent with the newer teachers who haven’t invested into a clip-on microphone.
- The upsells into associated courses isn’t something we’re a fan of, especially as similar content is found on other online yoga training platforms for free.
- With so much content, it can be overwhelming to choose a class. I guess this is why they ask a questionnaire at the start.
Really – that’s it. It’s otherwise fantastic and something which is highly popular. Thousands of people are already enrolled on to their platform.
The ideal student
The students we’ve seen vary in their pursuits in the practice of yoga, but they typically fit this category:
- Prefer to do yoga at home with genuine yoga teachers and without the distractions and advertisements on YouTube.
- Want to be apart of the private Facebook group to interact with others on the journey.
- Are serious about the journey ahead and without the intimidation of a yoga studio
- Are in the early stages of their yoga practice. The majority of the students within Yoga International are total beginners.
Essentially if you’re looking for a platform to really increase flexibility, then Yoga International is one of the better platforms out there with content being added all the time.
In summary
There are some wonderful online yoga learning platforms around where you can practice Asanas at home through the TV. Some are great and some just aren’t so great.
Certainly we rank Yoga International much higher than others with good value for money. It certainly isn’t the cheapest, but we believe you can get a discount/coupon code to reduce that cost.
What’s most important is that you take this journey seriously from start to completion.
Have you used Yoga International in the past? Are you a student now? If so – let us know in the comments below.
