Our Picks For Local Workouts Online

Now is a better time than ever to maintain mental well-being, sweat out the stress, and stay healthy inside and out. Many fitness studios around Indy have modified their teaching formats for streaming platforms to offer remote classes. For first timers, practicing virtually presents the perfect opportunity for trying something new (without much self-consciousness) and building a healthy, consistent wellness habit for the foreseeable future and beyond. Check out these picks for keeping the mind and body in peak performance from your own humble abode. 

Put the ‘Om’ in Home

An Indianapolis staple, Kadampa Meditation Center is rooted in the fundamentals of the Kadampa Buddhist tradition. Hosted online, the center is offering free or by-donation Noontime Meditations to center yourself between typing up emails and making video conference calls.

Breathing Space Yoga & Meditation is bringing its restorative and blissful practices to your living space by streaming classes, like the 9 a.m. Meditation for Harmony every weekday for 30 minutes, to ground your being and settle any distress. Cost is the suggested drop-in rate or pay-what-you-can.

They say having a “beginner’s mind” in yoga is an admirable approach to taking on life’s daily grind. Whether you practice centering yourself every day or have only done so in informal bursts, Santosha School is offering virtual Beginner Meditation classes streamed on its Facebook page daily. Check the class schedule for more offerings. Cost is free or by donation.

The Hermitage, an interdenominational life center, is offering downloadable healing meditations addressing the coronavirus and those in need. The ZIP file format offers three recordings: “Healing Self,” “Healing Others” for private meditation, and “Healing Others” for group meditation. Access the recordings for free on the center’s Facebook page, and consider making a donation to its cause.

Dance Because No One’s Watching

Studio GCourtesy Gena Brown

Zumba, a powerful, dancey exercise sequence that combines strength and resistance-based moves, will raise your spirits to the tune of energetic beats. Check out Studio G’s $5 virtual classes, hosted at various times in the week.

Dance the morning, day, or night away with classes to get your body moving and grooving from DanceWorks Indy. The studio, which offers crowd favorites like its SWERK (Sweat, Work, Twerk) class, has live streaming and pre-recorded content available to shake and shimmy off the stress. Classes start at $10.

Fire Up Your Muscles Between Feeding the Kids

IronFit BoxingCourtesy IronFit Boxing Facebook

IronFit Boxing is offering free workout videos on its Facebook page, which include warm-up, F.I.I.T. workout, and boxing workout segments. You can also find links to free YouTube video workouts. “I’m trying to give my IronFit family workouts to stay healthy and active during this tough time. They are my second family,” says owner Stephanie Southern. “I have also made them accessible to the public who might not have anywhere to turn and need something to cheer them up.”

Prepare for strengthening and stretching with Indy House of Pilates. Hour-long beginning to intermediate Mat Pilates classes are available online starting at $10. In addition to pilates, they offer Zumba, Barre HIIT training, private one-on-one lessons online, yoga, and unlimited classes for the first two weeks starting at $39. 

Stretch Away Your Cabin Fever

Indy’s premier hot-yoga studio, The Hot Room, has an entire menu of virtual experiences, including the popular 26-posture Original Hot Yoga and Power Vinyasa classes, to help you live the studio’s mantra of “Sweat, Stretch, Transform” from the comfort of home.

The Yoga Studio is offering free 15-to-45-minute classes via Instagram Live, streaming daily and then viewable for up to 24 hours after the class ends. Practices include Slow Flow, Restorative Flow, and much more.

Invoke Studio has Vinyasa classes for a variety of skill levels—1/2 (beginner), 2 (intermediate), and 2/3 (advanced). Despite the leveling, these classes are open to all, giving you the option to take it easy or challenge yourself depending on your preference. Classes start at $10.

The Hot RoomCourtesy Michelle Craig Photography

Get Out in the Open

Keeping in mind proper social distancing protocol, getting outside can help boost spirits and maintain mental health and clarity during the self-quarantine day-to-day routine. Check out our Road-Free Guide To Exploring Indy for secluded trails worth a stroll, cycle, or run beneath a blue sky.