A woman practices yoga in Kimpton's Hotel Palomar in San Francisco, California.(Reuters)

Once a week, Kara Weberg takes to a yoga mat and practices abdominal-strengthening and balancing poses. That is, until her 2-year-old son scampers into the living room and pounces on her.

Ms. Weberg, a 41-year-old working mother in Bloomington, Minn., used to do yoga regularly in a studio. But since the birth of her son, she has found it easier to call up digital classes via cable TV or on her phone through Pinterest.

I can do it when it suits my schedule, and I can find a workout that I like, Ms. Weberg says. Sometimes when you go to a class, youre not sure what the workout will entail.

Digital yoga classes are booming, fueled by smartphone apps, websites and offerings for on-demand TV. YouTube viewers watched 5,500 yearsyes, yearsof videos tagged yoga in 2014, more than double the number viewed a year earlier, according to YouTube data. Free offerings are becoming more sophisticated, and paid services offer access to celebrity instructors, specialized workouts and burgeoning libraries.

About 24 million people in the U.S. did yoga at least once in 2013, and participation has been increasing by 6.5% annually, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. More than 44% of people who dont practice yoga are interested in trying it, a survey commissioned by Yoga Journal found.

Digital yoga lets beginners try it out away from strangers gaze, and without investing muchor anything. It allows longtime practitioners to squeeze in short workouts or continue their practice when theyre away from their regular studio.

The rate of growth of our subscription and app content is phenomenal, says Cyd Crouse, chief operating officer of yoga-gear giant Gaiam Inc.

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Yoga apps and online classes take off

IMAGE:Pregnant women are often reluctant to use medications to ease depression. Early research suggests that yoga and mindfulness could be an attractive option. view more

Credit: By Stephanie Ewens. Courtesy of Kaeli Sutton

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- In a small pilot study, researchers at Brown University, Butler Hospital, and Women & Infants' Hospital have found evidence suggesting that yoga could help pregnant women with significant depression reduce the severity of the mood disorder.

Lead author Cynthia Battle said she learned in prior research that depressed pregnant women are often reluctant to use medications and some also have difficulty engaging in individual psychotherapy. When she asked them what other treatments they might find appealing, some mentioned yoga.

"This is really about trying to develop a wider range of options that suit women who are experiencing these kind of symptoms during pregnancy," said Battle, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior in the Alpert Medical School of Brown and a psychologist at Butler and Women & Infants. "What we don't want to do is have people fall through the cracks."

A few small studies have also suggested that yoga and mindfulness-based approaches could help prevent or treat depression during pregnancy. Battle's study, published in the March-April issue of the journal Women's Health Issues, is an initial test of whether a 10-week program of prenatal yoga, structured to be similar to yoga programs available to pregnant women in many communities, could be feasible, acceptable, safe, and effective for mild to moderately depressed women.

"What we feel like we've learned from this open pilot trial is that prenatal yoga really does appear to be an approach that is feasible to administer, acceptable to women and their healthcare providers, and potentially helpful to improve mood," Battle said. "We found what we think are very encouraging results."

Importantly, this pilot study was not a blinded randomized controlled trial, which would provide stronger, more rigorous evidence, Battle said. She and second author Lisa Uebelacker have since led a small randomized controlled trial with similarly positive results that are now being written up for publication. They are seeking funding for a larger research study with investigators from Brown, Butler, Women & Infants, and Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket in order to gather more definitive evidence.

In the newly published pilot study, they worked with Rhode Island obstetricians and midwives to recruit 34 pregnant women with elevated depression symptoms. Women attended a program of prenatal yoga classes tailored for pregnant women by registered yoga instructors. Co-author Kaeli Sutton, for example, is a yoga expert who specializes in working with pregnant and postpartum women.

In addition to practicing yoga and mindfulness during the classes, women were also encouraged to do so at home.

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Could yoga lessen prenatal depression?