THE PROGRAM: Pure Yoga Online
WHAT YOU NEED
Computer/Tablet ideally, but phone is ok too – wifi required
Yoga Mat
Water Bottle
Towel (some classes require a towel to move with)
OVERALL REVIEW
We stumbled upon Pure Yoga’s online program a couple months ago when we were browsing the class schedule for their Liberty Village studio – which is also awesome btw, review here. Simply put, we are SO TOTALLY into it. Facilitated through a platform called Namastream (so clever) you can browse hundreds of yoga videos that range from 5-minute arm balance tutorials to 90-minute flow classes with many different instructors guiding you through a yoga class like a good ol’ fashioned workout video. The difference? It’s online, SUPER affordable, structured like a monthly membership, and has over 118 vids that are added to regularly so you never get bored. We’re writing a review now but this has become a staple in our regular lives, especially when we’re travelling or have had crazy days and only have 15 minutes to move. We’re big fans. Big. Huge.
LOCATION
One of the best parts about this program is the convenience, you can do this anywhere! All you need is wifi or a working internet connection to log-in to your account from wherever you are. Unfortunately you can’t download the videos for offline use so wifi is necessary. Considering many of our studio reviews focus on Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton right now, our At Home and online classes share the love to everyone across Canada, North America, Europe, wherever you may be, and we love that! Pure Yoga films all videos from one of their Ottawa locations, where Pure Yoga originally started between two best friends, Amber Stratton and Jen Dalgleish. We pull up a class everywhere from our hotel rooms when travelling, to our friends houses where we can all do classes together, to the sanctuary of our balcony amongst our flowers and fairy lights – that one’s our favorite.
CLASS SCHEDULE + PRICE
With over 118 videos on Namastream, there are beginner, intermediate and all level options available and within each video are plenty of modifications to make them more difficult or easier. The types of classes range as well with multiple options in yin yoga styles like meditation, yin and restorative to the higher heart-rate, muscle toning yang yoga styles like sculpt, core, power and flow. One of our favorite features is the tutorials, that focus on breaking down particular poses and balances to best explain how to do them correctly and build you’re strength up. Our current obsession is trying to land a handstand and the eight angle pose. Class schedule is obviously not as relevant for this one but it is worth noting that video’s aren’t typically removed and they add 4 new classes every month. Also coming soon are live streaming classes!!
As for the price and memberships there are 2 options; annual and monthly, and both offer great value. The monthly unlimited pass, which is what we started with to try it out, gives you 30-free days and an opportunity to cancel before billing starts. It’s a great way to test out how much you’d actually log-on, since it’s easy to start off optimistically keen that you’ll downdog 3 times a week when first signing on to a membership, only to realise that reality allows for a max of 1 (or maybe thats just us :)) Even if you only log-on once a month, $15 pre tax is cheaper than any drop-in yoga class in Toronto we’ve been to! The annual membership drops the monthly rate to $12 before tax and includes the same access. They’ll both auto-renew unless you cancel.
- Monthly Unlimited – (30 free days) – $14.97 per month
- Annual Unlimited – $140 per year ($11.67 per month)
VIBE
Since there isn’t a studio for us to walk through, the only thing for us to really comment on is the quality of the videos, ease of use of the website and the vibe of the classes. The quality of the videos are great, take under 5 seconds to load and aren’t high def, but the quality does the trick. The navigation of the website is very easy to use and intuitive, with different filter options depending on what length of class you want, style, teacher or difficulty level. The classes themselves are, mostly, one instructor on their mat (like at the front of a classroom) demonstrating an entire class but also talking through all verbal queues so you can listen and follow. Sometimes there is background music, some classes have student assists with the instructor spending the class physically correcting a student with common form mistakes, and some classes are literally a regular yoga class that has been filmed with a room full of students.
INSTRUCTOR
In the 118 videos that are available, they are taught by over 29 instructors so you get a great variety. You can search by instructor if your jiving with someone in particular. All instructors are very good at explaining the poses, sensations you should feel and talking through visual queues so you don’t have to feel forced to watch the screen the entire time. All of the instructors teach at the Ottawa locations of Pure Yoga as well so, if you’re in that area, check their schedule and take a class IRL!
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY
WAY HARD | HARD | MIDDLE OF THE ROADSIES | CHILL | HELLA CHILL
Considering there are so many variations of levels and styles of classes, we’ll give an overall rating of Middle of the Roadsies for the program as a whole. We’ve taken about 10 classes so far including the 35-min Grounding Flow for Hips, 30-min Half Hour Power, 15-minute Core, 20-min Morning Mandala flow, 15-min Traditional Morning Flow and the 80-min Energiser Flow (we were super ambitious that day), so we have taken a variety of levels and lengths to try to get a well-rounded perspective. As promised, our most challenging classes have been what are categorised as Intermediate (30-min Half Hour Power & 25-min Mini Core Flow for example) and they were quite challenging, we worked up a sweat and we were significantly soar in the days following in our deep core muscles (win!). We definitely recommend that more familiar yogi’s take these classes (or at-least take them with a more experienced yogi) so that you can get into your flow and not interrupt the sequences with constantly trying to stare at the screen to understand what each movement is. With more experienced yogi’s, they often know the names of poses, have a particular flow in their bodies to trust anyway which allows the students to get more out of these classes than a newer yogi.
The beginner class instructors do an excellent job of slowing down the pace and describing the movements clearly and with more detail. With the classes being centred around yoga basics, it’s a great way for a new yogi to challenge themselves to follow verbal queues rather than watch the instructor to build their understanding of their practice. Considering they are slower pace and made for beginners, these are easier classes but valuable for any experience level all the same.
The morning and end-of-day flows are our personal favorite’s (Traditional Morning Flow, Better Than Coffee, and End of Day Relax) and they are all categorised as ‘all levels’. Often shorter, they are the perfect wind-up or wind-down’s to your day and we try to squeeze one into our daily routine, some are only 15 minutes! Even if yoga is not something you regularly practice, Pure Online is a great and affordable way to dip your toes into the namaste pool and take some time for yourself each and every day. Do it, guys. Like L’Oreal says, you’re worth it.
To try this class or anything else on their schedule, see Pure Online’s contact info below.
Pure Yoga Online Web: https://app.namastream.com/#/pureyogaottawa E-mail: dan@onlinepureyoga.com Instagram | Facebook
