Find What Feels Good Yoga with Adriene

There comes a time in every aspiring yogi’s life when they’re sitting somewhere healthful, say Bonsai Bistro, and they let out a squeal of delight, joyfully realising they’re in the presence of a fellow cult member. Just kidding. Yoga with Adriene is not a cult.

Though at 4,5 million YouTube subscribers, a gushing fan base often crediting yoga teacher Adriene Mishler with changing their lives through her free, relatable and encouraging yoga videos, the tease isn’t without its roots in reality.

With the words “hi, everyone. Welcome to Yoga with Adriene. I’m Adriene,” launching a million yoga journeys, the YouTube channel is the first return when you Google ‘yoga’ – and for compelling reason.

For countless people too ill, intimidated, time poor, broke or self-conscious to attend yoga classes which often compute as dens of svelte, Lululemon-wearing white people folding themselves into high origami, the name ‘Adriene’ is almost synonymous with the collection of mental, spiritual and physical ancient Indian practices.

Though arguments of appropriation are worth hearing, Mishler escapes much of such scrutiny through unpretentious goofiness and charm.

Inviting viewers into her home while acknowledging barriers, episodic inability, creaky joints, lack of fancy equipment, bad days and allowing her global network of students to progress at their own pace, the Austin, Texas born yogi plays like your highly flexible and uplifting best friend.

“I love Adriene because she lets you follow along according to your pace,” says local yogi Hildegard Titus.

“She also breaks it down for you in pretty simple terms and encourages you to listen to your body instead of breaking it. She’s so warm and welcoming that you feel like she’s in the living room with you. I love that she offers such a breadth of different yoga classes and guided meditations for where you are in your practice, life, day or body. Also, she shares these gems for free. A living saint among us!”

See what I mean about the cult?

Still kidding.

Describing her yoga as “designed to inspire you to be authentic” while doing your best, Mishler’s channel is a wealth of free yoga videos and challenges for every stage of practice.

Her ’30 Days of Yoga’ challenge has 18 million views and videos featuring everything from beginner, morning, bedtime, wrist pain and travel yoga to the intricacies of crow pose which inspire viewers to think of the practice as part of life, able to see you through various aches, pains, levels, moments and moods.

“Every time I step on the mat, I am reminded that ultimately we are responsible for our own happiness, which means when we can’t do something, we don’t go into toxic thought world or get upset, we just be in the moment. We take care of ourselves,” says Mishler in her very first video back in 2012.

“Kind of an ongoing thing for me as a teacher, something I like to offer my students, is this invitation to find what feels good.”

And that’s the hook.

“Find what feels good”.

Repeated in her videos, as a lifestyle and even, inevitably, as merchandise, this call to find ease is what keeps Mishler’s legion of fans coming back for more, some for years.

“She’s amazing,” says local visual artist Silke Berens, who discovered her a few weeks ago. “It’s the first time I’m able to show up for practice regularly.”

With proof in the doing elevated by an inspiring sea of testimonials, Yoga with Adriene is available for free online whenever you need it with a summons so sweet:

“Welcome all levels, all bodies, all genders, all souls!”

Subscribe to Yoga with Adriene on YouTube for a wealth of free yoga videos and follow Yoga with Adriene on Facebook for more information.

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