Bodhi Live on demand streaming Yoga platform Reviews

In the sea of online yoga platforms, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the abundance of options. Truly, who has the time to try out dozens of streaming services to find the best one?

Luckily for you, I’ve compiled this comprehensive review to help you decide if Bodhi Live is the right choice for you.

Led by a talented and renowned yoga teacher Tamal Dodge, Bodhi Live is a contemporary fitness streaming platform with a huge variety of instructors and classes.

Platform Overview

• A digital platform with a variety of yoga, pilates, and fitness classes varying in length and difficulty.
  
  
• Classes are led by 15 qualified yoga and fitness instructors, with plans to add more teachers in the future.
  
  
• Price: memberships range from $15 USD a month, $69 for 6 months, or $99 for 12 months. There is an option to make a one-time purchase ($150 bundle).
  
  
• Free trial: 7 days.
  
  
• Yoga styles included: Vinyasa, Hatha, Restorative, Meditation and Pranayama.
  
  
• Other movement styles: Pilates, HIIT, bodyweight fitness, weight-assisted exercise (with dumbbells), resistance exercise (with resistance bands).
  
  
• A variety of standalone classes and themed series.
  
  
• Classes range in length from 5 to 75 minutes.

Features and Functionality

Platform Design and Navigation

Overall, the platform design is user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. The clean visual style of the website and videos will appeal to the fans of modern yoga and fitness studios.

The classes are categorized in several ways, which allows the users to filter by class type (e.g. beginners, popular, pilates), duration, difficulty level, and teacher.

This type of navigation was fairly straightforward, although I wish there were a way to tick several boxes. This would provide an option to make the choices more precise.

Another potential improvement would be adding a search function. I was interested in a class advertised on the Bodhi Live Instagram page, but without being able to search by name, I had to look for this class manually.

Streaming and Video Quality

I want to take a minute to applaud the amazing video quality. From a technical standpoint, the image and sound quality are both great. Additionally, the entire composition looks well-thought-out; the modern studio background really helps the teachers stand out.

I’ve had zero problems with streaming videos on my laptop or phone. For reference, I live in a rural spot, but my average internet was able to handle Bodhi streaming just fine.

There was no manual way to toggle the resolution, and it is unclear whether the video resolution adjusts automatically to various internet speeds.

Offline Access

Unfortunately, there is no way to download videos to make them accessible offline. However, I think it is pretty uncommon for yoga and fitness platforms to have this feature.

Interactive Features

Similar to major platforms like DoYogaWithMe, you can favorite the classes so that you can revisit them in the future. Another feature I enjoyed was the ability to add a class to your calendar, which promotes commitment and accountability.

I wish there was a way to leave feedback for individual classes or series. Perhaps, this feature can be included in the future to encourage student-teacher communication and a broader sense of community.

Content Variety

It strikes me as impressive that in a short time since the platform’s conception, there is such a great amount and variety of content. There’s plenty enough choice to meet individual requirements without being overwhelming.

Class Styles

Many of the classes featured on Bodhi Live are not labeled as a specific style. Instead, they focus on a specific pose or function. For instance, you can find yoga for core strength or hip flexibility, as well as yoga for emotional release or breathing exercises.

Some of the more challenging classes are clearly categorized as Vinyasa, the rest most fall into Hatha or Restorative yoga categories.

To complement asana classes, the Bodhi Live catalog includes breathing and meditation practice.

As a runner, I was also happy to take advantage of pilates and fitness classes available on this platform. Even with ten years of yoga practice under my belt, I love challenging my body in new ways to support my athletic training.

Format

Something that stood out to me, compared to the majority of classes online, was using a student (or students) to follow the instructions and demonstrate the poses and movements.

It is an interesting stylistic choice that also allows the teacher to focus on delivering a lesson and administer adjustments where necessary.

Inclusivity

Overall, I think that the range of classes on Bodhi Live covers a broad audience. There are many classes specifically designed for beginners, as well as slower, restorative classes for students of all levels of ability.

Pairing teachers with a student who embodies the practice is a great opportunity to make the classes feel more relatable. In the future, I hope to see more diversity among the demonstrating students to include different body shapes and flexibility levels.

Teacher Overview

There are currently 15 instructors listed on the Bodhi website, with a wealth of experience teaching various types of yoga classes, as well as pilates and fitness. The team is led by Tamal Dodge, who used his experience of growing up with his family’s ashram in Hawaii and running his own yoga center in LA (Yoga Salt) to create a welcoming and comprehensive online platform for students from all walks of life.

In addition to recording his own classes, Tamal helps to direct and coordinate the others’ videos, working closely with teachers behind the scenes. “It is one of the most exciting and fun parts of working with the team,” he shared with me. 

Stand-out Instructors

To approach this review as fairly as I could, I set out to complete a class with at least half of the instructors to get a taste of their teaching styles and personalities.

In our conversation, Tamal revealed that one of the objectives is for all of the Bodhi teachers to be very clear with their instructions and be personable so students feel welcome.

It was evident that with Tamal’s direction, every instructor was adhering to a certain standard, while also retaining their individuality and letting their personality shine.

It was difficult to choose favorites precisely because of the above, but there were two teachers I absolutely adored: Sesa O’Connor and Stephen Weigand. They both have a very warm, earthly presence, and they completely won me over with their teaching.

Evolution and Design Choices

Platform History and Evolution

Tamal Dodge founded Bodhi Live as a response to yoga and fitness spaces shutting down during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. As he put it, “Bodhi Live was really created out of necessity to allow people to maintain their yoga practice from the comforts of their home.“

Even though gyms and yoga studios have since reopened and welcomed their students back in person, Bodhi continues to thrive. Its very existence is proof that for many yoga practitioners and athletes, online spaces remain a very significant source of tuition.

Bodhi Live continues to grow and evolve to match the rising demand and incorporate changes based on the client feedback and platform data. For instance, many people liked classes that were 30 minutes or less, which is now a separate category in the navigation system.

They also noticed that practitioners liked to balance challenging classes 2-3 times per week with yin or restorative classes 2-3 times per week. This helped Bodhi to determine what type of content to focus on going forward.

According to Tamal, future plans include a variety of new classes, new teachers, as well as some navigation features that will be fun for all the clients. 

Design Elements and Benefits

The choices regarding design of Bodhi Live appear very deliberate. With the minimalist backdrop of Yoga Salt, simple navigation, neutral colors, and clean lines, the entire platform comes together in a mindful and harmonious way.

The name and platform design also reflect the desire to make Bodhi Live more than just a yoga platform, but a versatile online fitness space that celebrates movement in all of its forms.

This also speaks to the platform mission and its social contribution. The primary reason why Bodhi was created was to provide remote access to physical and mental wellness and be inclusive to all. 

Conclusion

In over a decade of practicing yoga, I’ve experienced all kinds of formats: studio classes, gym classes, festivals and workshops, YouTube videos, streaming platforms, mobile apps… Suffice it to say, I’ve approached this review with diligence and care.

As such, I also want to stress that Bodhi Live is a relatively new platform (founded and launched in 2020), which means it has room to grow and improve as time goes on. One thing I can say for certain, they found their groove, which is evident by the positive response of their clients and online followers.

Personal Impact

Having the perspective of a yoga teacher made me appreciate this platform even more, since I know the colossal amount of work that goes into designing effective classes, whether it’s asana practice or meditation.

From a personal perspective, I especially enjoyed the variety of modalities included on this platform, because it expanded my exercise horizons and taught me something new!

Overall, I would recommend Bodhi Live to anyone who enjoys a modern aesthetic, charismatic teachers, and easy-to-follow classes.