What Are the Best Online Meditation Classes Available in the US?

There are thousands of online meditation classes in the United States now, and most people searching for one are really asking a narrower question: which of these will I still be doing in three months?

I am not going to hand you a ranked list of other people's programs. But I can give you the distinction that actually determines whether an online practice takes root or not, and the specific questions to ask before you pay for anything.

The Distinction That Matters Most: Apps Versus Live Classes

Almost every online meditation option falls into one of two categories, and they are not competing products. They do different things.

Recorded Apps and Libraries

These are excellent for what they are: a large catalogue, available at 3am, for a few dollars a month. If you want a sleep track or a ten-minute reset between meetings, this is the right tool and I would not talk you out of it.

What they cannot do is notice you. There is no one on the other side of a recording. Most people who quit meditation quit from an app, and they quit quietly, because nothing happens when they stop.

Live Online Classes

A live class is a scheduled appointment with a real teacher and other real people, happening in actual time. That changes the psychology entirely. You show up because it is happening whether you show up or not, and because someone would notice your absence. It also means you can be taught. A live teacher can adjust the pace, answer the question you did not know how to ask, and correct something before it becomes a habit.

Five Things to Check Before You Pay

Whatever program you are considering, anywhere in the country, run it through these.

●        Is it actually live? Many programs advertise as online classes but deliver a recorded library. Ask directly.

●        Who is teaching, and what lineage do they carry? Meditation is a transmitted skill. Look for years of teaching and a real tradition behind the teacher, not just a certificate.

●        Are sessions recorded for members? Live is better, but life happens. A program that offers both live attendance and recordings is the one you will actually sustain.

●        How large is the group? A class of four hundred is a broadcast. A small group is a class.

●        What does it cost to simply try it once? Any program confident in its teaching will let you attend a single class before you commit to a month.

The Types of Online Meditation Classes You Will Encounter

It helps to know what you are looking at, because these words get used interchangeably and they should not be.

●        Mindfulness and body scan — the most widely available style, secular and gentle. A reasonable place to start if you want no spiritual framework at all.

●        Guided visualization — pleasant and easy to follow, though the effects tend to fade quickly without a technique underneath.

●        Breathwork and pranayama — works directly on the nervous system, and translates to a screen better than almost anything else.

●        Mantra meditation — sound-based, and surprisingly powerful online, because you are producing the vibration yourself rather than receiving it.

●        Kundalini meditation — movement, breath, mantra and stillness combined. The style I teach, and in my experience the one that holds beginners best, because the mind is given something to do. And, every class is different, so the boredom factor is removed.

What Does Not Translate Well Online

Deep gong and crystal bowl sound healing is somewhat diminished through a laptop speaker. The physical vibration is a large part of the medicine, and compression takes it. It still helps. It is not the same. If you are having this issue with the online classes we have learned that using headphones or earbuds fixes the problem.

Everything else, breath, mantra, kriya, meditation, instruction, translates remarkably well. We have members who have practiced with us for years entirely online and their progress is indistinguishable from those in the room.

Practicing Live With Us From Anywhere in the US

CommuniTea Yoga is based in Vista, California, and every one of our classes streams live. Our online members practice with us from across the country, in real time, on the same schedule as the people sitting on the deck.

Classes are every Wednesday and Sunday at 9:30am Pacific, that is 12:30pm Eastern, and every class is recorded for members who need to practice later. A single online class is $15, so you can try one before deciding anything. Try one here https://www.communiteayoga.com/product-page/online-kundalini-class

Online Membership Special

Online Membership is $25 per month and includes two classes per week, focused on breath, balance, and nervous system regulation. It is the simplest way to build a real practice from wherever you are. https://www.communiteayoga.com/memberships-1

For those who want more, Private Membership at $111 per month adds four yoga, meditation and sound healing sessions monthly, full access to the Pranic Power breathwork course, Tantric Numerology, and community access. Lightbody Memberships at $150 per month includes eight sessions monthly plus a six-month astrology outlook. https://www.communiteayoga.com/memberships-1

"An app can give you a recording. Only a class can give you a teacher."

Join Us Live, From Anywhere

Every Wednesday and Sunday at 9:30am Pacific. Single online class $15. Online membership from $25/month, with all classes recorded for members.

Schedule: communiteayoga.com/live-yoga  ·  Memberships: communiteayoga.com/memberships-1

With Love and Many Blessings,

Tina, Ardas Taran

CommuniTea Yoga & Meditation · Vista, CA · communiteayoga.com