Streaming yoga classes on our phones, crunches as part of yoga classes, $100 yoga pants…These might seem common now, but these are fairly new developments in the way we do yoga. And as more people practice yoga globally and we develop new technologies, yoga will continue to evolve. Like all aspects of our lives, artificial intelligence will change the way we practice. Here are some thoughts as to how.
The Apps Offering Yoga Classes
Customized Classes
You tell the program your target areas, duration, and type (vinyasa, hatha), or “in the style of” a particular teacher, and you get a customized class. Or if the software has enough information on your health status and goals, AI generates a plan for you to optimize each session.
You can also specify the type of cues you prefer. Maybe you want to hear cues that are more anatomical, philosophical, or metaphorical? I can imagine having a program that allows you to learn a bit of Sanskrit or maybe if you want, ask the program to skip the Sanskrit all together!
Adjustment Realtime
If you let the AI-enabled software see your practice, you can get verbal adjustments on your alignment. Eventually, if you have a robot like Optimus with you, they can give you physical adjustments.
The Yoga Studio and Teachers
Artificial intelligence will give us more information and personalization, but like most fears about AI, it can disrupt the workplace. I don’t think AI will completely get rid of yoga teachers. In fact, similar to how social media made rockstars out of yoga teachers, the top teachers can offer their style of teaching in any yoga studio. This can also be a way to immortalize yoga teachers. Imagine taking a class in your local studio by yoga teacher legends.
In that regard, there might be fewer opportunities for local yoga teachers and growing a local yoga community.
The Gadgets
Yoga Mats and Smart Watches
There might be attempts to make smart yoga mats with sensors to detect alignments and make recommendations, but I can’t see this type of technology taking off. If there’s a gadget that has the potential to get smarter, it’s movement trackers such as the Apple Watch. Currently, you can start a yoga workout on your Apple Watch and record your yoga session. It keeps track of heart rate, duration, and calories burned. But as these trackers get smarter, they can monitor the poses and our breathing. Overtime, with enough data, we can analyze which types of classes give us specific types of benefits., such as calming or strengthening.
