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This App Has Changed My Life

I normally don’t gush over apps (except, apparently, Candy Crush) but I read about a yoga app in a post that I was editing for BlogHer and decided on a whim to download it since it was only $2.99.  Uh, now Googling it, I can see that there is an opportunity to preview a beginner class at the bottom of that app page.  But I bought Yoga Studio without knowing anything about it.  And it has advanced me ever-closer to my goal of never leaving my house.

I used to do yoga daily at a studio (and I’m honestly not sure how well I’d do with this app if I had never taken a yoga class and had no frame of reference for these poses).  It didn’t really fit in my schedule and was expensive, but I wanted to take a yoga class, so I schlepped out daily, eating up over 2 hours of my work time to exercise.  Then the yoga studio imploded with a very public fight on the town listserv, and when everything rose from the ashes, I decided to step back from yoga for the time being and reassess.

Since last October, I haven’t done yoga.  To be honest, I’ve barely exercised at all.  I tried a spin class, which I don’t love but my friends drag me to from time to time.  I sometimes run, but not very often.  Yoga wasn’t really about exercise though.  It helped my back, and I stopped getting knots in my shoulders.  It helped me sleep at night, shaving hours off my insomnia.  (Yes, it can take me hours to fall asleep.)

I cleared a space in the living room and set up the iPad on a table.  The instructor’s voice is deceptively calming as she leads you through chatarungas.  I’ve been doing mostly the intermediate levels, and I created my own unique Vinyasa Flow class with dozens of sun salutations so I can break a sweat.  The ChickieNob named the virtual instructor (who also calls out reminders for alignment during the class) Lily.  She sort of looks like a Lily.  We like her very very much.  She is the yoga instructor I hoped to find; who never lets me down.

I’d love to also download a few yoga videos for those days when I want to cheat on Lily with a different instructor, but I need someone to recommend one from iTunes.  Any videos you like?  I prefer ones that are fast moving and filmed in normal locations… such as yoga studios.  Yoga on sand dunes is a pet peeve of mine.

Also, I just told you a life-changing app.  Now you tell me one.

15 comments

1 Jamie { 08.04.13 at 7:24 am }

I’m curious to hear the video suggestions. I enjoy yoga too but the local studio just doesn’t fit with my life. This app sounds neat.

My current most-loved App (besides blog readers and Instagram) is MyFitnessPal. I’m sure you already use it. 🙂

2 Ms. Future PharmD { 08.04.13 at 8:11 am }

I really love Total Baby. It saved my sanity as a student & new mom. It also acts as a virtual baby book so I can record cool stuff she gets up to quickly.

3 Kate (Bee In The Bonnet) { 08.04.13 at 8:31 am }

The Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood app changed my life. It allows me an extra 5-7 minutes of eating time in a restaurant without a kid-explosion.

Seriously, though, I’m very new to the world of iPhone, so I have no idea. I love the Pulse app on my kindle, since it so perfectly aggregates many, many news sources/humor sites/a few blogs, etc.

4 Jennifer { 08.04.13 at 10:08 am }

I don’t know about iTunes, but I have been doing prenatal yoga using videos from YouTube.

5 HereWeGoAJen { 08.04.13 at 10:27 am }

I like Pepperplate for meal planning and grocery shopping. And I have another called Keyring that keeps all my store loyalty cards which is really handy.

6 Amy { 08.04.13 at 11:12 am }

I use tideapp quite a lot…living in a flood zone makes it necessary to see when high tide corresponds to a big storm. its not sexy, but it is necessary

7 Mali { 08.04.13 at 12:27 pm }

Like Amy, I use Geonet, our local list of earthquakes! But my current favourite is OsmAnd, a free, offline GPS-enabled map, so when I get lost here in Italy ( or anywhere) I can find where I am quickly and easily. It has saved my bacon a number of times (and countless dollars of roaming data charges). Also loving the italian- English dictionary. How did I travel before this technology?

8 Lori Lavender Luz { 08.04.13 at 5:02 pm }

I’m glad you found your way back to down dog.

How about Mindfulness Bell? It’s a Tibetan ringing bowl that randomly bongs at an interval you set (mine is at once every 2-ish hours) and prompts me to stop what I’m doing and take just a moment to be present. I then return to my task feeling more connected to the Divine, to mySelf.

9 a { 08.04.13 at 5:40 pm }

My useless phone doesn’t have any life-changing apps, but it is nice to be able to continue to listen to the idiot morning radio show when I leave the car and walk into work and want to hear the next salacious segment. Also, the Groupon app was handy at lunch today – and it saved paper. Google maps is handy on my phone when I’m lost but with a general idea of where I need to be.

10 Kate { 08.04.13 at 6:39 pm }

2 apps: Runtastic (also for many different types of exercising, not just running) and Pepperplate.

11 Justine { 08.04.13 at 9:27 pm }

I don’t have any awesome apps. My kids like FindMyFriends because they use it as a homing device for me when I’m on my way home. But Yoga Studio sounds pretty awesome. Especially since I can never get to yoga any more, and can’t get to exercise during the week at all.

12 Battynurse { 08.04.13 at 11:23 pm }

So I’ve wanted to try yoga for quite a while. I have chronic pain issues, much of in my back and neck and I’d love to see if it helps. I’ve never tried actually going to a class though. I did buy a couple of DVDs that are supposed to be for beginners but it seems like they move through the poses fairly rapidly and I have a hard time keeping up which is discouraging. Hmm, wonder if I should try this app.

13 jen { 08.05.13 at 1:14 am }

The app that gets the most workout on my phone is still my trusty old kindle app….books anytime, anywhere make me happy. I also like Artkive for organizing all of E’s art….makes everything else less cluttered since I don’t have to keep every scrap of paper for my sentimental heart.

14 Mina { 08.05.13 at 8:18 am }

FilmOn – British and some French Tv channels streaming live. Among others I do not watch. If one is at all into that sort of thing.

15 Shelby { 08.05.13 at 12:18 pm }

I have nothing to offer here, but I am excited to see all these suggestions. Especially Pepperplate–I HATE meal planning. Trying it out now…

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