Review of Yoga Today

At a time when Americans are paying exorbitant sums for their peaceful Eastern exercises, Yoga Today founder Kim Whitman realized that by putting the content online, she could “bring free yoga to the world” with only minimal advertising and produce daily one-hour lessons with no charge. With the help of Instant Media, Whitman has been posting regular episodes in HD with the beautiful mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as her backdrop since June 14, 2006.  

Each episode is led by one of three instructors (Adi Amar, Neesha Zollinger, and Sarah Kline) and two students. They introduce the show’s focus (be it breathing, meditation, or rooting your feet to the ground), break to a few minutes of commercials, then start class, teaching 9-10 poses and ending with guided meditation. What’s great is that the students have different skill levels and the instructors interact with them to adjust to their training, making it a worthwhile lesson for all viewers. When weather permits, classes are held on the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

, providing an outright gorgeous backdrop for the at-home viewing experience. Each new episode can found on the main page, but only the last three episodes are kept in the Archives. However, if you keep caught up with the daily sessions, you won’t need them.

One particularly amusing episode attempts to connect yoga to Star Wars. Sarah Kline does indeed sound a little like Yoda when she compares fire breathing to the sound Darth Vader makes, tells you to suck in your stomach like the force that brings the Star Wars spaceship into its landing pad, and treats her students like Jedis, developing their powers so that they can create harmony in the world.