Now here's five pretty damn good reasons to go ahead and do it.
5. You can tell the teacher to “f*ck off” at any time.
Online, you're running the show here, not some teacher. There's no one in your living room but you. That's real discipline – what happens when no one's watching.
Plus, 45 seconds or so into a high plank hold, you don't have to hold back from telling the teacher to “f*ck off”.
4. You can fart with impunity.
You don't want to overdo it for your own sake – and you might refrain from bringing this particular practice into your local studio with you – but there's no one there who cares if you stink up the place a bit with your warrior II or with your own special brand of funk.
3. Take child's pose without reservation.
I take child's pose whenever possible...“Meet us in down dog”...I fix my ponytail...“join us standing”...nah...I like to take child's pose early and often.
Few of us are immune to the subtleties of yogic peer pressure... Positively employed it can push you to a new threshold or past a prescribed limit, but sometimes the force of the mob is not a desired part of the practice.
At home, no one judges you for child's pose...at least no one but you.
2. It's Better, Cheaper, and MORE Convenient.
Let's be practical here – with worldwide competition, any yoga site worth a salt has to strive to stay competitive in terms of content, pricing, and variety of offerings. Big-box yoga chains are immune (or ignorant) to outside pressures, and local studios just don't have the same sort of reach to able to compete.
In my hometown of Denver drop-ins regularly go for $20...you can get a whole year from Yogadownload.com for $90 bucks. And it's available to me 24/7...
And my favorite reason I can think of to practice yoga online –
1. You're in charge!
When you practice online your practice and personal growth – along with your consumer dollar – are in the hands of one person, and one person alone...you.
Svadhyaya a sanskrit word sometimes translated as self-study, can be one of the most challenging of the niyamas and is a critical step towards reclaiming of the unique responsibility for the creation of your life, the sole authorship of your story.
Bold choice if you ask me.
Either way, no one gives a shit what you wear, or gives you shit for being late, leaving early, or even walking out of class altogether – a few pretty great reasons to practice your yoga online right there...
By Justin Kaliszewski
Justin Kaliszewski is a reformed meat-head and former amateur cage fighter. He brings a lifetime of travel and world's worth of experience in battling the ego to the mat. An avid student, artist, and treasure hunter, he infuses a creativity and perseverance into his teachings, along with a distinct blend of humor and wisdom that redefines what it means to be an Outlaw and a yogi...He teaches Outlaw Yoga across the country and is happy to call Denver home for now. Author of Outlaw Protocol: how to live as an outlaw without becoming a criminal, you can find him at www.outlawyoga.com.
Outlaw Yoga is coming to YogaDownload in January 2015!