summer is upon us so if you’ve been one of those people hibernating through winter (like me), you’re going to have to move quickly to get from jelly belly to bikini hot bod in time for your beach holiday. I can see some of you shifting guiltily in your chairs. The sad truth is that even though most of us really do want to live a healthier lifestyle, we just don’t always have the time or we often can’t work a session into our routine. I have been scouting for yoga classes for weeks now and I have found that the choice is pretty much between incredibly expensive private studios or a larger gym where the classes fall at awkward times like 10am or 6pm (which means if you do a 90 minute class you only get home by 8pm). Frustrated, I searched Yoga Apps and thank you technology, there was one for me. Let me introduce you to Yoga Studio.

This app is great if you’re just having one of those days and the thought of going to the gym too makes you break into tears. This is a paid app that is available to download from the Apple store for $3 onto your iPhone or iPad. You have access to 30 pre-planned classes that go from beginner to advanced, and the classes have different lengths so if you are really busy you can go for a 15 minute session and if you want something more intensive you can choose the 60 minute session. And if you have worked through all these you can create your own classes by combining over 280 available poses into your own HD video workout, which also means you can customize exercise routines to focus on your problem areas.

This is also a great app if you are interested in Yoga but you’re not sure if you are ready to join a class. Poses like “reclining pigeon”, “Crab”, “Bird of Paradise” or “Banana” might not conjure up images of exercising at all, so it helps to work through this app and get familiar with the various poses beforehand while building strength.

The videos are all HD, with clear instructions and directions that are easy to follow even if you are just starting out. Since working these into my day for a week now I have felt an overall improvement in my posture and I experience less tension in my body. I am still going through the beginner classes and so far they have focused more on relaxation, stretching and getting the poses right. As far as I can tell the more advanced classes will concentrate on the difficult poses that require greater focus, balance and strength. I would say this is great combined with a regular cardio routine.