If you want to practice yoga at home, you can stream classes on YouTube or download a dedicated app like Alo Moves. These are a great alternative to face-to-face classes and mean you can practice in your free time.
But even the best workout apps have potential flaws. Videos and demonstrations on your phone screen make it difficult to see the small postural changes that can make a big difference in your workout, especially yoga.
Alo Moves thinks it may have found a way around this problem for home classes with the release of Alo Moves XR, a mixed reality yoga app for the Meta Quest headset. The new app is available starting today (October 10th) and costs $9.99 per month.
There are 32 yoga classes and meditations created in partnership with virtual reality studio Magnopus. You can immerse yourself in one of the class locations or have an instructor come to your home for a mixed reality experience.
Of course, if you practice regularly, 32 sessions isn’t a lot, especially compared to the 3,000-plus sessions currently available in the standard Alo Moves app. Fortunately, Alo aims to add at least four sessions per month to build the library.
In fact, the brand announced the app earlier this year and conducted several months of beta testing to fine-tune the experience. But Alo also makes some pretty bold claims that the experience is “like IRL, but better,” so I wanted to put that to the test.
I tried virtual reality yoga – what happened
My colleague Kate Kozuch tried out a demo of the Alo Moves I love what I can do.
So I had a vague idea of what would happen if I put on the best VR headset. But since I was practicing yoga at least three times a week at a local studio before the pandemic, I was curious how it differed from my real-life experience.
At the current library, classes range from 5 minutes to 20 minutes, so I went to take a 10-minute class. The app maps the room and overlays the immersive class with enough space to practice without bumping into things.
You don’t even need a Quest controller, as the app uses Meta’s hand-tracking technology instead. I chose the immersive version of the class because it allowed me to “transport” to a space that was even more coveted than my office room.
I was a little skeptical, but despite the unusual feeling of having a headset attached to my face, I quickly got used to it. I’m sure it will get easier over time, but there were times when I would hit the quest on the floor during movements such as downward dog.
As I always find Alo Moves classes to be, the classes are well-coached and add a little movement to my day, which often involves sitting at a desk. It felt so good to be able to do it. But did it really live up to Alo’s claims of being better than the actual class?
It was certainly different and it was much easier to follow the instructor’s demonstrations than when streaming classes on my phone. But that “immersive” experience actually seemed at odds with how I had previously practiced.
For me, yoga is an extension of mindfulness, helping me connect with my body and focus on the present moment. Pretending to be somewhere other than where I am always reminded me that it was all a digital construct.
But from a technical point of view, it’s impressive. The video is high quality, but there is a slight “unreality” as if the instructor’s avatar is being beamed into the room. It was very helpful to be able to see the pose from all angles.
Based on my first impressions, I think Alo Moves XR will help enhance your practice. If you find that moving to a comfortable digital environment works for you, that’s great. But it’s not suitable for everyone. I still prefer actual classes.
Technology is great, but for me, yoga and other physical activities are so much more than just checking a task off my to-do list. And building community, learning to be present, and becoming more aware of my body is essential to me.
