Yoga is extremely popular in the Western and Eastern World nowadays. Its popularity was increased with social media and celebrity dedication. Yoga is trending and the demand of yoga instructors and yoga studios are escalating. According to Yoga Statistics worldwide, yoga is listed among 10 most popular fitness activities. The number of yoga practitioners by 2020 was estimated to increase by 50 million people. That is mind-blowing how fast yoga is expanding. Thus, yoga apps have a tremendous impact on the wellness industry and allows hundreds of thousands of yoga instructors to reach their yogis. Zenia Yoga App can prove that technology can deliver the best yoga experience to the audience.

Yoga is no doubt beneficial for our overall health. However, wrong posture or wrong movement can lead you to injury and pain. Beginners need professional instructor’s control to evaluate accuracy of their asanas. Unfortunately, it is impossible to do when you practice yoga on your own with guided videos. There is nobody behind the screen to tell you if you are doing everything correctly. We all could feel that disadvantage of yoga apps while pandemic have just started and our favourite yoga studios got closed. Virtual yoga was boosted and we were left alone to do our yoga experiments.

This is precisely what makes the Zenia app so useful for yoga enthusiasts. It is packed with cutting-edge technology. The app not only provides real-time feedback and corrects your asanas but helps you avoid injuries and makes each practice safe, effective, and fun. Team developed the first-ever in the world audio application for yoga-practicing which uses neural networks and computer vision technologies. So far, it has already attracted investments from Misha Lyalin, CEO ZeptoLab, Leonid Lozner, Co-Founder of EPAM and Bulba Ventures, Natalya Vodianova, Founder, CEO at Naked Heart Foundation and worlds famous fashion model and philanthropist.

While Zenia App expanding its audience, the team is growing. The Team is about 25 people and it is mostly based in Russia. Originally, the team’s specialization is AI technology and they were working on a product dedicated to revealing the key point on the human body. That is how they found their niche. The team collaborates with numerous professional yoga instructors and they provide team with very detailed comments concerning the accuracy of the asanas.

Zenia's team of developers are using technologies based on neural networks and algorithms of classic computer vision. Accuracy of recognition of asanas makes 95%, the dataset includes about 100 thousand images. You can pick from any one of Zenia's 40+ classes, designed to help you reach your goal, such as improving flexibility, relaxing your body, or simply getting in shape. One of the challenges was to create a representative database of images of people in a particular pose from different angles. Most asanas are atypical for a person in ordinary life. Because of this, many existing systems with yoga poses do not work well.

Next challenge is related with app's ability to illuminate the object. Simply saying, the system won't be able to recognize the human body if there is too light or dark in the room. The team dedicated lots of effort to make the system to work properly in standard light conditions.

Zenia’s App is able to track human’s movement while person stands both in a profile and in front. But performing some asanas (such as Utkatasana), it is still recommended to stand in a certain way (face only). In the case of other asanas, developers recommend standing in profile, as the picture is more representative then.

This fall, Zenia has also introduced interactive classes with yoga celebrities. The app essentially transforms your house into a fully-fledged studio — and they constantly add new instructors. After each practice, you’ll get personalized analytics based on your performance and tips from the instructor. These help you make data-driven decisions and work on asanas you haven’t mastered yet. Even if you’ve never practiced before, you’ll quite literally feel right at home.

I am an intermediate level yoga practitioner and used to go to the yoga studio to feel all the benefits of guided yoga flow. Once pandemic started yoga studios and gym were closed in Canada. I was forced to look for alternatives. Until it was warm outside we could arrange yoga classes with the instructor outdoors. Then it became cold and I started downloading different yoga apps. I was lucky to find Zenia yoga and downloaded their app with free trial.

First, I was extremely curious about their project concept. Robust yoga assistant sounds interesting. That app will definitely provide unique experience. I was thrilled to try the first in the world AI-powered yoga assistant. And it was a good choice.

Apparently, it took me a few seconds to find the best location for my phone to track my body by the system properly. Afterwards, the guided flow has started. Whenever I was doing asanas wrong, the system voice guided to fix my posture. I felt that I was back to yoga studio with my instructor.

Zenia has quite a large library of yoga flows for different levels. Plus, they constantly add new workouts and create challenges. I've already tried the Boat Challenge and that was pretty fun! The app gives an amazing opportunity for yogis of any level to practice in the comfort of their home and get posture evaluation by the AI-powered assistant. If you feel that it sounds futuristic, don't be surprised. The future is already here!

You can download Zenia App here. Namaste!