Review: Gaia – Conscious Media, Streaming Yoga Videos, and More

“Empower a global conscious community”

Gaia is the world’s largest streaming platform of videos related to mindfulness and expanding your consciousness with over 8,000 unique videos. The title comes from the Greek goddess of the Earth (Gaea), which embodies the essence of the self-regulation and harmony of the planet and within yourself. The name also means “I am the Earth”, which comes with the sense of being connected and grounded with the planet through mindfulness. The company, Gaia Inc., was founded in 1988 by Jirka Rysavy and became a public company 11 years later in 1999. 

The company’s mission is to “create a transformational network that empowers a global conscious community.” With a 4.3 star rating across over 8,800 reviews on Trustpilot, Gaia appears to provide customer satisfaction on their platform. Gaia calls its members “truth seekers and believers”, in relation to the seemingly endless collection of videos on mindfulness, seeking the unknown, and evolving your consciousness.

With a Gaia subscription, you can access the library of videos that are related to expanding your consciousness and embracing a more mindful life. Considering the mission and content of the company, they appear to have great contributions to using technology for mindfulness. Let’s take a look at the unique features of Gaia.

Gaia Features

Gaia has several categories of ad-free videos that include:

• Meditation
• Yoga
• Series
• Docs & Films
• Alternative Healing
• Seeking Truth
• Transformation
• Recipes
• Gaia News
• Events+

You can download Gaia on iOS, Android, Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV, as well as access it via their website, gaia.com. The app and website are very user-friendly, with a clean and simple layout.

Similar to other video streaming platforms, you can add other profiles to your account to share with up to three of your friends or family members. Gaia offers a “continue watching” feature that allows you to later access videos you’ve started, as well as a “watch again” feature so you can quickly find previously-watched videos (these features are unique to your own personal profile). The platform allows you to create playlists of your favorite videos and/or ones you’d like to enjoy later, so you never have to worry about accidentally losing some content you’re interested in.

I would almost refer to Gaia as “the Netflix of your highest self”, as the features are very similar, yet their content supports the search for mindfulness. While they have several videos related to mindfulness, they also have ones that are more controversial and not backed by science (more information below), so this is something to consider as well. 

Gaia’s Content

Gaia has many different categories of content, but let’s start with their meditation videos. Meditation is a key part of mindfulness, and Gaia has plenty of meditation content. Their guided meditation videos typically range from 5 to 45 minutes, with the average being approximately 10 minutes long. These videos focus on a variety of topics, including: kindness, healing, gratitude, staying present, happiness, relaxation, forgiveness, and more. I really enjoy starting my morning with guided meditation, and I love the variety that Gaia offers. It allows me to slightly switch up my morning meditation routine so it doesn’t get old and repetitive, yet I can keep that consistency with always having fresh meditation content. 

Similar to their meditation videos, they offer a huge variety of yoga videos that range from purposes of mindfulness to fitness and also range in time. I don’t practice yoga as often as I should, but if you’re someone who enjoys yoga or fitness, there is plenty of content to keep your body moving.

They also have several documentaries and series on health, which can be directly linked with mindfulness as there’s a correlation between gut, physical, and mental health. Some of their videos focus on nutrition and the importance of it plays in an overall healthy mindset and lifestyle. While they focus heavily on nutrition in their videos that divert from traditional Western medicine, it’s also important to note that they do have several videos on plant medicine which may not be for everyone. Many of the types of plant medicines mentioned in their videos are various psychedelics, cannabis, and others, so it’s best to take caution and not take these videos as direct medical advice. I personally don’t love the push and support for different drugs on this platform for safety reasons, so this is definitely a downside for me.

Another thing to note about Gaia is that it features content on several topics that may not be within everyone’s beliefs. They have several videos on different conspiracy theories, such as ChemTrails and aliens for example. It’s also a very spiritual platform, focusing heavily on metaphysical aspects. With this, several of their videos focus on magical elements such as: astral projection, parallel universes, clair senses, and more. If you don’t find interest or believe in these topics, you may prefer to find another mindfulness platform that aligns best with you and your beliefs and lifestyle.

Gaia Membership Plans

Being an ad-free platform with thousands of videos, it’s expected that Gaia is a paid streaming platform. They have monthly and yearly payments available for their standard plan, and you receive 30% off for the year if you choose the annual plan (opposed to paying per month for the full year).

The standard plan, whether you choose to pay monthly or annually, offers unlimited ad-free access to the full collections of videos, excluding the Events+ category. To access the virtual events hosted by Gaia, you must have the premium plan (Events+) that offers everything the standard plan does, and in addition, you’re able to attend virtual events, access past events, and talk with other members during events. They have several events that are hosted by spiritual and mindful experts, such as Dr. Joe Dispenza, Dr. Steven Greer, and many others.

In order to see if Gaia is a good fit for you, you can utilize their 7-day free trial where you’re able to get full free access to everything offered in their standard plan. If you’re interested in this type of content, the free trial may be worth a try for you! 

User Privacy

If you’re interested in mindful technology, you may also be interested in humane technology. You can read all about humane technology here, but in short, it calls for tech companies to not abuse their power for profits. If you’re worried about your privacy online, I completely understand your concern. Since Gaia is a paid subscription, it doesn’t rely on earning profit through targeted advertising, but they do tend to find many of their customers through targeted advertising. If you’re unfamiliar with targeted advertising, it is the act of collecting data on a user to find their interests via internet cookies, and then sending advertisements of products that align with your interests/demographic. If you’ve searched online for any topics relating to meditation, yoga, mindfulness, spirituality, or anything in the realm of what it offers, that would often warrant a targeted ad from Gaia.

Final Thoughts

Can Gaia help you live a more mindful life that’s rooted in the balance and harmony of the Earth? With over 8,000 videos on meditation, yoga, spiritual growth, holistic health, and more, Gaia may be a great resource for you for living a more purposeful and enlightened life. As stated earlier, they do have some content that falls in line with some conspiracy theories and alternative world views, so this is important to keep in mind if you’re deciding on a membership. Meditation and mindfulness in general are heavily accepted by science and have proven benefits to them, but some of their other videos are simply just theories that aren’t necessarily factual. However, if you have any interest in these subjects, I think it’s worth signing up for the free trial to check it out for yourself, but I wouldn’t recommend Gaia if you’re looking for just a meditation and mindfulness resource.

I personally enjoy their meditation videos, and I’m hoping to get my body moving more with their yoga and fitness videos, but I don’t necessarily like certain documentaries/series they feature and what they promote. Their pricing is comparable with other streaming services, as well as their privacy policy. Whether you’re ready to try Gaia or you’re just browsing resources on how to live a more mindful life, I wish you luck on your mindful technology journey in utilizing tech for your highest good!

Have you tried Gaia? Let us know your thoughts!