I teach both online yoga and local in-person classes, so I get this question a lot. It usually comes from one of two people: someone who’s been doing drop-in classes for years and is curious about adding online, or someone who’s only practiced online and is curious about going into a local studio.
The honest answer: they solve two different problems. Online yoga and in-person yoga aren’t competing for the same spot in your life. Once you see what each one is actually for, the question gets a lot easier to answer for yourself.
What in-person classes are actually good for (local yoga)
In-person yoga builds community. You see the same people every week and you get to know the teacher personally. You start asking how their week has been, how training is going, how their knee is healing, and what they are doing this weekend.
If you want to meet people in your area, a local studio is a great place to connect with others who are also prioritizing their health. I don’t think that should be replaced and I never tell my online students to drop their local studio.
What local drop-in classes usually don’t give you is progression. You show up to class, you follow whatever sequence the teacher planned for the day, you leave feeling good, and the next class is completely different. There’s no plan connecting one class to the next, so progress is slower and plateaus are more common.
What online yoga is actually good for
I created my Progressive Yoga System because your body needs structure and progression to get stronger. That’s what all of my online yoga programs are built on. Including progressive overload in yoga means you move better, start to see progress faster, and your body starts to adapt after just 2-3 weeks of following a plan. This isn’t something that happens often in local studio classes.
The other big benefit of online yoga, especially on-demand classes, is fitting into your busy schedule. If you’re active, you don’t need hour classes to move better or feel less stiff. You only need 10-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week. And when you take out the wasted time driving to and from the studio, that means you need even less time to build a consistent practice.
Why I tell people to do both
Based on my experience, both as a teacher and a student, doing both online and local yoga classes is ideal. You build community, relationships, and accountability by showing up in a room with other people at your local studio. Then you complement that with online yoga for the structured progression and convenience drop-in classes can’t give you.
One of my students, Steph, is a good example. She only lives in my area part of the year. Without online yoga, we wouldn’t have been able to work together at all. She’s a super active person: sailing, paddling, and biking out of her home in Michigan in the summer. Before we started working together, she practiced inconsistently (whenever she could fit it in) which wasn’t often.
Today, she practices 3-4 times a week, even during busy seasons. Usually one of those sessions is at a local studio, and the rest are online with me. She messaged me this morning: “I’m really having fun learning from you. You are such an excellent yoga teacher. Never did I think I’d be doing inversions and practicing consistently. Thank you!”
This shows you how well online and local yoga complement each other. The local class gives her the in-person experience, while her online practice is what got her consistent and progressing for the first time (in her 60s).
“But online means nobody can correct my form”
This is a real concern I heard in an email this week. A woman told me she hadn’t joined my programs because she needs a teacher who can watch her do the poses and tell her what she’s doing wrong.
And this is true in self-guided programs like Outflow Studio. While this is the most affordable option, it doesn’t include that kind of direct, personal feedback. That is a real tradeoff.
And that’s why I also offer Outflow Studio Plus and VIP programs. In both, we meet on Zoom, which gives me the chance to watch you move and give real-time feedback, the same way I would in a local class. You also get access to me between sessions on WhatsApp, so you actually have more access to me than if we worked together in person. Students can send me videos of what they are working on between Zoom sessions and I can give them feedback to work on that same day.
Choosing between these options comes down to what you need most. If affordability and accessibility matter most to you, self-guided programs, like Outflow Studio, are an excellent choice. If you want direct feedback from a teacher and coach, my Plus or VIP options are a better fit. Either way, online yoga gives me the chance to work with you between sessions, not just during the hour we’re together.
So which one is right for you
If you want community and you already have access to a local studio, keep going. If you want a structured plan that actually progresses week to week and fits around a busy training schedule, that’s what my online yoga programs will help you with. Combining your local practice with online yoga is a great way to get the best of both worlds.
Not sure which option fits you best? Book a free Momentum Call and we’ll figure it out together.
