By Kin Yoga mats founder, Senior Yoga Teacher Laura Pearce
Recently, Kin Yoga mats was nominated for the Glamour magazine POWER WELLNESS list 2021. I discovered so many awesome, innovative wellness brands on the list that it's inspired me to create my very own 'Kin favourite' wellness, and fitness apps (and websites) for you to explore from home in lockdown and beyond.
1 - Boxx - This was one of the first fitness apps I discovered in lockdown, as a west London girl I could never manage to get to their East London studio but always loved the look of it, and I was thoroughly impressed with their tough, fun classes. Make sure you try Marc Laws' Yoga classes on this, he's one of my favourite Yogis!
Price - £49.99/year with 7 day free trial
2 - Centr - If you're not keen on boxing, I also LOVE Chris Hemsworth's new fitness app, and not just because he makes an appearance occasionally... His trainers really are world class, this might be one I stick with the other side of lockdown too...
Price From £8/month with 7 day free trial
3 - Couch to 5K app - As a total beginner, I never thought I'd be able to run 5K in just 2 months, but this running app did exactly what it said on the tin. It's really beginner friendly, and breaks down your goals so that they're totally manageable. It's also really fun having Sarah Millican in your ear (her and Jo Wiley were my personal faves).
Price - Free
4 - Nike Run Club - Moving on from couch to 5k, I now run a 5k every other day or so, and the NRC running app has some great guided runs for improving your speed, form and endurance. You get a notification in your ear every Kilometre of your pace etc. so you don't ever need to stop to look at your phone/watch which is great.
Price - Free
5 - Calm - My favourite of all the relaxation focussed welness apps, Calm has pretty much everything - beautiful soundscapes, interesting, relaxing, well read sleep stories, and plenty of guided meditations. Totally worth the small yearly fee.
Price - £28.99/year with 7 day free trial
6 - All Trails app - For the hikers and walkers out there, this is a great way to plan and discover new walking routes, and has some great London walk inspo too. The pro plan lets you download maps offline too which is great for true wilderness junkies.
£2.50/month with free plan available too
7 - The best Yoga app? This is a tricky one for me, as I've always found these online Yoga platforms to be even more exploitative that Yoga studios - as a Yoga teacher that's worked in London for over a decade, I want to see my peers well treated and paid, so I tend not to recommend online aggregate platforms. In lockdown I've preferred to attend my usual instructor's Zoom classes, and pay them personally for it. I do, however, understand that not everyone can afford to pay a per class fee, so if that's the case for you, I know that Gaia and Glo are 2 platforms that get pretty consistently good reviews.
8 - Liberate - An amazing wellness and meditation app created for the BIPOC community; you'll find guided meditations and talks on micro-aggressions, internalised racism. sleep, grief gratitude and joy.
Free
9 - Fitrwoman app - For people who menstruate this innovative platform tracks your cycle and provides personalized training and nutritional suggestions tailored to the changing hormone levels throughout your cycle. I love this type of innovation, and it really does work. If I could give them one piece of feedback, however, it would be to use more gender neutral wording.
Price - $100/year with 7-day free trial
10 - Talkspace - Finally I think it's really important to include a therapy app. For those who don't already have a therapist they know and love, this is a great way to connect with licenced, background checked therapists. It's easy to use and provide a diverse array of treatments, and communication options.
Try out our multifunctioning PRO Yoga mat, with enough stability for your dynamic Fitness, enough cushioning for your Pilates, and the best grip possible for your Yoga practice. SHOP NOW
