Popular fitness app FitStar is adding another great series of exercise routines to its long list of ever-evolving workouts. With the new yoga curriculum, FitStar hopes to make one of the worlds most popular and oldest forms of exercise accessible to all, regardless of their budget or skill level. The yoga courses areled by superstar instructor Tara Stiles, who has helped spark a new movement to advocate the practice of yoga in the United States.

In an interview with Digital Trends, CEO Mike Maser said that adding yoga to FitStars curriculum just made sense. After all, Maser says a quarter of a billion people practice yoga worldwide and its a $25 billion industry in the U.S. alone. Many Americans love yoga, so theres already a huge user base just waiting to be tapped. Maser says FitStars goal is to make yoga even more accessible and popular.

We want to open up and democratize the yoga market, to expand the accessibility of yoga to everyone.

Weve worked hard to make our curriculum flow more like a yoga class, Masertellsus. We want to maintain the ethos of yoga, while making it more accessible to beginners.

The workouts will range in difficulty, from beginner status to expert levels. FitStars special algorithm and feedback feature will help ensure that users dontget overwhelmed by intense routines or bored with those that are just too easy.

Our yoga curriculum will appeal to a very broad audience and keep everyone engaged because the curriculum grows and changes with you, Maser says.Yoga is a great exercise in and of itself, but many people use it to augment their other exercise routines. It also has mental benefits.

The main advantage to using FitStar, as opposed to a video or attending a weekly class, is that the workout is personalized to suit your specific needs and pace. According to FitStars findings, Maser tellsus there are three main reasons why people dont take up yoga: the cost, lack of convenience, and the intimidation factor.

It can be really expensive to go to a weekly yoga class, Maser says. Its hard to schedule it in, too, and then maybe you go to the wrong class, or youre just nervous about starting yoga in general it can be tough.

Yoga memberships can number into the hundreds of dollars each year, but FitStar costs just $50 a year and the workouts are unlimited. Users can also choose the time and place for their workouts, making it much more convenient than a typical class.

We want to open up and democratize the yoga market, to expand the accessibility of yoga to everyone, Maser said.

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FitStar adds yoga workouts with superstar guru Tara Stiles

Stand-up paddleboard yoga a marries Boulderites' love of the outdoors with yoga, their indoor passion. (Mark Leffingwell / Daily Camera)

Rocky Mountain Paddleboard, Boulder Reservoir, Boulder, lisafierer.com, rockymtnpaddleboard.com

Instructor: Lisa Fierer, of Boulder, who has been teaching yoga for more than seven years and had a background in white-water kayaking and competitive rowing. Fierer discovered stand-up paddleboard yoga a few years ago. The is the first full year Rocky Mountain Paddleboard has offered SUP Yoga regularly.

The response has been huge. Many classes sell out.

"In Boulder, we're such an adventure-driven community of athletes and outsdoorspeople, and the merging of yoga, which is typically done inside, and taking that onto the water outside is appealing," Fierer says.

What is the workout? A class that fuses stand-up paddleboarding with yoga.

First, we received instruction on land, learning about the board, paddle, various strokes and turns. Then we took our boards out on the reservoir and paddled to another area of the water. We "anchored" our boards by dropping a heavy bag attached to a rope and then did a slow yoga practice while balancing on the boards.

What's different? You're doing yoga postures on an unstable surface, so you have to really balance and focus.

Fierer says the board "highlights where our natural imbalances are, so we have to recruit our ability to center and stabilize, both mentally and physically."

And because it's on the water, your practice is affected by the wind, boats, slight waves, bugs, sunshine and the natural elements.

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Boulder workout: Stand-Up Paddleboard Yoga