Yoga in the time of Quarantine – Down Dog App Review
While the first week of social distance quarantine was an experiment, this second week has started feeling surreal. Rain in back in Atlanta (YAY! – said no one ever this winter), work and school has gotten into a rhythm. Many states like California and the NY tri-state area has already given order to “Shelter in Place”. These rules are also in effect in Spain, France, to name a few, in order to curtail the spread of Covid-19 attempting to flatten the curve. Runners in Spain have reported being stopped by police if they were out running without a dog or without appearing to shop for groceries. We in Atlanta have the luxury of going outdoors with the 6ft social distancing, inspite of increasing calls to the governor to implement Shelter in Place.
Even with the social distancing gyms, yoga studios, etc. have shutdown. But a lot of places have gotten very creative with their classes and are offering it free to the public (atleast they did last week). Plenty of local yoga studios have FB-Live classes that you can access for free. (I’m already seeing some places offer discounted memberships for online classes, so I don’t know how long these free classes will be available especially if the Covid-19 days drag on longer).
I’ve been checking out some apps and FB live classes and particularly like the “Down Dog” app on the iPhone and iPad. The developers are offering the app free until April 1st.
It’s a very customizable yoga workout app where you select the “style” of yoga, you level, what it is that you want to focus on and the duration of the practice and it will customize a workout for you.
I’ve done normal flow and Yin style for 15min focusing on hip flexors and hamstrings and it has been very easy to follow with the simple instructions. I’ve never felt obligated to spend an entire 45min-60min like I’d do in a class; even though I’ve sometimes spent that time in 3-4 different focus areas.
I don’t know how much the app normally costs, they are definitely winning me over with their free days and I might even subscribe it regularly!
Fun tidbit – Even the healthcare workers in the frontlines of fighting Covid-19 take yoga breaks!
Have you taken advantage of the free yoga sessions during the time of Covid-19? Is there a particular app you use for Yoga and like?
