Gaia TV Review – Is it Really the Best Online Yoga Service Out There?

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The All-In-One Yoga, Meditation & Mindfulness Online Course Package

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GaiamTV aka Gaia

Quality

Variety

Devices

Price

We like

  • Much more than just a yoga online class service
  • Classes about pilates, thai chi and even dancing
  • Offers documentaries & short movies about fitness and a healthy lifestyle

We didn't like

  • Not really focused on yoga
  • Easy to get distracted by all those documentaries
  • Design and structure is a bit too noisy. We prefer it a bit cleaner.

Summary: If you are looking for a holistic yoga online service you can stop looking. Gaiam TV (now Gaia) is what you need. It offers a wide variety of yoga classes but also documentaries and short films. If you are just looking for a super focused yoga class, this might be a bit much for you though.

First Month $0.99 then $9.95 / month

I love staying busy, but being too busy really cuts into my ability to do the things I love.

Specifically, yoga always goes to the wayside when I’m busy with my kids or their numerous extracurriculars.

They always make it to dance and baseball, but I can’t say the same for getting myself to yoga. Because my schedule is hectic at best, I’ve been cruising my way through a variety of online yoga class subscription sites.

If you’ve been following along, I’ve tried YogaVibes, YogaGlo, Dirty Yoga, and MyYogaWorks so far. Next on the lineup is my Gaia review.

Things to Consider Before Subscribing to Gaiam TV​ / Gaia

Gaiam TV is by far the most unique subscription option out of all the sites I've reviewed so far. While YogaGlo, YogaVibes, Dirty Yoga, and MyYogaWorks have all been devoted solely to streaming yoga classes, Gaiam TV offers yoga classes plus documentaries and films.

gaiamtv homepage screenshot

I'm quite fascinated with this aspect, but you might not feel that way. If you want something that's strictly yoga, then you might not like Gaiam TV. But if you're interested in films and documentaries focusing on leading a physically and spiritually healthy life, this is absolutely something I recommend you try.

I didn't watch a lot of the films and series because I can't get into independently produced films, but I'm just here to review yoga, right?​

About Gaiam TV​

Gaiam TV isn't just videos, classes, and films. The site also has an extensive list of articles geared towards helping you reach your highest potential as an individual.

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Gaiam TV Overview

Number of classes: There are over 250 yoga classes on Gaiam TV. This doesn't include the other fitness classes.

Founded: 2011

Teachers: Learn from some of the best including Annie Carpenter, Kino Macgregor, Kia Miller, Tommy Rosen, and Sianna Sherman.

Class Length: Classes range from five minutes to full 90-minute classes.

People who have been looking for a channel filled with mindful practices, longevity advice, and spiritual growth will rave over this unique collection of written and multimedia information.​

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  • Gaiam TV is more than fitness and yoga. It's about developing complete physical, intellectual, and spiritual health.
  • Gaiam is known for their yoga DVDs and items, but their online classes expand into pilates, dance, and even tai chi.
  • Short films and documentaries will rev up your intention to live a mindful, healthy lifestyle.
  • Gaiam TV isn't so much an online yoga subscription service as it is a website devoted to health and health-related media.
  • You might log on looking for a yoga class, but it's easy to get sucked into a number of documentaries or films instead.
  • There is a lot of information packed into one website. I find the site to be a bit too stimulating and resource-heavy when I'm simply looking for online yoga classes.

Breaking Down the Many Faces of Gaiam TV

I mentioned Gaiam TV having a lot of information, so that means I'm about to hit you with a bunch of information of my own. Are you ready? You might need a green smoothie for this.

The My Yoga Feature​

Since you're reading this review to find online yoga, let's start with the main reason we're all here. Gaiam TV's My Yoga channel is quite comprehensive, but when I clicked on "All Yoga", it basically was a massive advertisement for Rodney and Colleen Saidman Yee.

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The entire first page of "all yoga" classes was nothing but classes and talks by these two. While Rodney and Colleen are extremely respected in the yoga industry, I kind of feel like they're Gaiam's biggest money makers and they're pushing hard to prove that.

I'd have liked to see some other names. If I didn't know there was a search option, I'd have assumed this site was nothing but their classes.​

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gaiamtv search screenshot

Anyways, once you slog through Rodney and Colleen's videos, you'll see there actually are other teachers, and you can search for yoga classes with a couple different options.​

Levels​

There are three difficulty levels to choose from:​

The beginners' level is intended for newer students or yogis who simply want a slower, more gentle practice. Flows will be slow and not very complex. You won't find any advanced postures in this level.​

Moderate level classes start to heat up with faster flows, challenging sequences, and more advanced asanas. Moderate classes will introduce and/or strengthen arm balances and inversions.​

Advanced classes are for students who have been practicing at least a year and are proficient in the core poses, need very little guidance, and are practicing arm balances and inversions. Sequences are challenging, complex, and build a lot of heat.​

STYLE​

Gaiam offers a slew of styles to choose from. Try your hand with a sweaty Fusion class or explore the Ashtanga primary series. Included in your subscription are Kundalini, restorative, yin, vinyasa, Hatha, and power classes.

Got a bun in the oven or a baby napping? Calm and rejuvenate yourself with a pre- or post-natal class.​

TEACHERS​

YogaGlo and Gaiam TV are the two services where I know who a majority of the teachers are. If you're active on Instagram or read Yoga Journal, then you'll probably recognize a majority of the names, too.

There are your big names like Seane Corne, Gina Caputo, Giselle Marie, and Shiva Rea. You might recognize yogis like Meghan Currie and Sadie Nardini from Instagram and Facebook, too. I'm really enjoying the teacher lineup as there are a few I wanted to try classes with, but they don't teach online anywhere else.​

DURATION​

Choose from classes that are less than 15 minutes and as long as 60 to 90 minutes.

FOCUS​

The focus search feature is pretty much identical on all of these sites, I've found. You can search for classes focusing on backbends, hip openers, and yoga for athletes.

However, Gaiam does do have a few unique focuses like pranayama, anatomy, and stress relief. Sometimes it's nice to branch out from my hamstrings and work on some other issues I have with my body.​

Guides​

Much like MyYogaWorks and YogaVibes, Gaiam TV offers guided programs to accomplish a certain pose, challenge yourself, or to halt the endless browsing of the hundreds of classes. Unique to Gaiam TV is the length of these programs.

You can join a program that's as short as seven days or opt for a full 30-day challenge. You'll get an email every day reminding you of the challenge and what you have on tap for that day.

I've done enough of these challenges at this point to know how the basic ones work, so I opted for two of the more interesting sounding ones.​

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My favorite was the Sacred Power of the Goddess guide. This 11-day guide introduces you to the Gods and Goddesses of Indian mythology and lets them guide you in enhancing and deepening your practice.

As you're working a mystical flow, your teacher guides you ancient wisdom to draw out your Inner Goddess.

My favorite class was with Gina Caputo that focused on the warrior goddess, Durga, who protects humans from demons.

Gina started the class with deep pranayama work and builds to powerful and empowering Warrior poses for a dancing but strong warrior flow.​

The other guide I tried was the Greet the Sun Yoga Challenge. This 21-day program is designed to get you into a habit of starting your day with yoga.

It takes a lot to get me out of bed before I absolutely have to, but I've found my time management is so much better if I'm up early and get a yoga practice in before my day officially starts.

Each class is less than 45-minutes long and varies in length day to day. I can't recommend this program enough if you're not a morning person. The first week was hazy, but after that, I really found these morning sessions to be the bright spot in my day (minus bedtime, of course).

I really liked that a majority of these classes were filmed outside. From a rolling ocean to mountaintop meadows, it was nice to see some of nature's beauty while I'm still in my pajamas.​

The Other Channels​

Once you've practiced yoga, reward yourself with some of Gaiam's other channels. Surely I'm not the only one who likes a good marathon TV session after a brisk yoga class, am I?

The Health and Longevity channel features a ton of films, documentaries, and series about all aspects of your health. If you've been meaning to change your eating habits, the Healthy Eating videos should interest you.

Watch some popular food-related documentaries like FoodMatters, Hungry for Change, and Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.

The Healthy Living section features videos to help you soothe common ailments like back pain, diabetes, and stress. Besides the yoga channel, this was the other channel that got most of my attention.

I prefer to watch things that I've heard of or I know other people have liked, and this channel seemed to have the least obscure videos.​

I'm a total geek for all things paranormal and/or supernatural, so the Seeking Truth channel certainly piqued my interest.

Did you happen to see the movie The Conjuring? If you did, then share my excitement with "Beyond the Conjuring" where we learn about what happened to the Perrons after their infamous exorcism.

Do you have a soft spot for conspiracy theories and cover ups? Check out the Secrets and Cover-Ups section for a healthy dose of intrigue.​

The Films and Series channel contains independent films, family-friendly movies, series, and short films. I haven't explored this section very much because a lot of them seem like they're low-budget or just poorly done. I think if I'm going to watch movies or TV series, I'll stick to my trusty Netflix.​

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Technology​

Supported Devices: Since Gaiam has so much content, the company has made the website accessible on a variety of platforms. Basically, if the device has a streaming capability, Gaiam TV is probably supported by it.

Watch it on your XBox 360, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Apple and Android devices.​

Video Quality:​ All videos are usually in high quality.

Loading Speed: You should have at least a 10Mbit​ connection for a smooth viewing experience.

Trial & Price

Gaiam TV wants you to give their service a whirl, so new members get their first month for only 99 cents.​

A monthly subscription to Gaiam TV is only $9.95. That's a pretty considerable steal when you see what you have access to.​

Alternatives to Gaiam TV​

Gaiam TV doesn't seem like a good fit? Never fear; I have plenty of recommendations for you!

Grokker

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​Grokker is a premium subscription service which has over a thousand videos to offer, covering a wide range of topics: from yoga and pilates classes to healthy recipes.

You can try out Grokker’s amazing service for yourself for free with their 14-day trial. After that, your exclusive access to their amazing range of content will only cost you $14.99/month - or $9.99 if you sign up for a year!

With Grokker you’re not just gaining access to their impressive variety of content - you also get the chance to become one with a community of likeminded people.

At the Q&A cafe members can ask and answer questions; and you can join in discussions on any topics of particular interest to you.

Whether you are looking to perfect your alignment, deepen your meditation practice or add a new spin on your current fitness routine: Grokker has it.

Read our in-depth review of this fantastic new service here.

YogaGlo​

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YogaGlo is the most popular online yoga streaming service. I'm not sure if it's because of the quality of filming, the caliber of the teachers, or the diversity of the classes, but people love it and so do I. You get a very well-rounded practice with classes added every week in vinyasa, Hatha, restorative, Ashtanga, and yin styles.

  • You get a lot more for your money with Gaiam TV's $9.95 subscription. YogaGlo is $18 a month and only has yoga videos.
  • The teachers are excellent in both YogaGlo and Gaiam TV. If you're basing your decision on the teachers, good luck!
  • If you want to learn about specific yoga traditions and philosophies, YogaGlo has Beyond the Mat classes lead by leading scholars.​

For an in-depth review of Yogaglo check out my opinion here.​

MyYogaWorks​

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MyYogaWorks was founded by the people behind the renowned Yoga Works studios. Known for their excellent teacher training and the famous teachers they've churned out, Yoga Works wanted to make their top-notch teachers' wisdom and classes available to everyone.

Over 800 professionally filmed classes give you a wide range of options to get your yoga fix no matter where you're at or how much time you have.​

  • MyYogaWorks doesn't have super well-known teachers, but their credentials are top of the line. Yoga Works produced Kathryn Budig, and who knows, maybe one of these online teachers will be the next KB.​
  • MyYogaWorks doesn't have as many classes as YogaGlo or YogaVibes, but it makes picking a class much easier.
  • The Journey Series are great for meeting specific goals, but classes are repeated multiple times, so their guides/programs aren't my favorite.

Click here for the full review.

Reviewing multiple streaming yoga class sites has been a blast, and I've been getting a ton of yoga in. Gaiam TV was a pleasant surprise because I wasn't expecting to see their yoga DVDs available for streaming or to see some of the teachers they have online.

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Final Verdict

Quality Rating:

If you're looking into online yoga because of schedule conflicts or a low budget, Gaiam TV will be a great fit for you.


I am pretty excited about this service for its yoga classes alone, and I really like the guides for getting myself motivated to try something new or keep a regular practice.

I hope you liked my review of GaiamTV. Do you have a friend who could find this review useful? Then share it with them right now by clicking the buttons below.

3 thoughts on “Gaia TV Review – Is it Really the Best Online Yoga Service Out There?”

    • Hi Rowena,

      I got this directly from their terms & services: https://www.gaia.com/terms-privacy

      —————

      You may terminate your status as a Registered User and cancel your account at any time and for any reason, by notifying us by email at [email protected] or by phone at 866-284-8058, but any such termination and cancellation will be effective only after Gaia has processed the request. If you cancel your account prior to the expiration of your pre-paid subscription period, you will forfeit the Fees paid for any unused portion of your subscription, which are non-refundable. However, you will be able to continue viewing premium content until the expiration of your current pre-paid subscription period. You also acknowledge and agree that the cancellation of your account is your sole right and remedy with respect to any dispute with Gaia.

      —————

      I personally don’t like that you have to write an email or call them directly and that the cancelation is only valid after they have processed your email/call. It is not very transparent. That is why I personally prefer Grokker since you can just cancel any time directly on their website and it just runs until the end of your subscription period.

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