Yoga With Adriene: Why people are obsessed with YouTube star

Adriene Mishler might look like just another YouTube fitness star – but people in self-isolation can’t get enough of her. Here’s why.

One of the few plus sides to being in lockdown is the almost unlimited couch time.

But while it might be satisfying to suddenly have all day to binge your favourite Netflix show your spine might feel like you’ve been resting on a bed of nails after eight hours of Money Heist.

Making matters worse is all the uncertainty that comes with living through a pandemic – financial and health stresses mean that the majority of us are sleeping less and feeling more anxious than ever.

Enter Adriene Mishler. The 35-year-old yogi is one of the most subscribed to fitness accounts on YouTube and while popular in a pre-coronavirus world she’s reached a cult-like status since lockdowns began in March.

She also has a cute dog Benji to look at.

She’s seen more than 500,000 new subscribers since then and people watched five million more hours of her YouTube content than usual in March, according to Paper magazine.

Texas-born Adriene – and her dog Benji – is the brains behind the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel, an absolute enclopedia of yoga classes and meditations for absolutely everything.

Having trouble with sciatica? There’s a video for that. Feeling angry? Same drill, there’s a yoga sequence for that too. There are even videos for writers or those with back and neck pain, which you definitely need if you’ve been working at the kitchen table for the past five weeks.

What makes Adriene so popular seems to be her no frills yet approachable style which contrasts with other fitness YouTube accounts.

There’s no fake tan or rock hard abs on display in her videos; instead Adriene is dressed like most of us probably are at home – in comfy trackies or a singlet and leggings.

“Hop into something comfy and let’s get started,” she begins most of her videos.

I'm on day 21 of 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. I assume when I hit day 30, I reach nirvana and leave this Covid-infested world behind.

— Special J (@jamessalvona) April 29, 2020

I did not think I’d ever be a yoga person but I’m two weeks into daily Adriene sessions and I think I love it? Even though I’m shit?

— Alex (@OddSocksAlex) April 30, 2020

Introduced the husband to @yogawithadriene during lockdown. He has proudly introduced his Taekwondo training buddies to it.

— Francine Beckett (@francinebeckett) April 27, 2020

Day 8 of @yogawithadriene’s “Home” series is called Heal and when Adrienne tells you to wrap yourself up like a taquito, you do it. This is how all yoga should be forever. @Lauren_Vogue @jpv925 pic.twitter.com/s4McqTEeWq

— Katharine Smith (@Kat_2165) April 29, 2020

“Help me Adriene, from Yoga with Adriene, you’re my only hope.” - my lower back that apparently talks now.

— Kate Mickere (@katemickere) April 28, 2020

Daily @yogawithadriene yoga classes make dreary days better

— Courtney Jensen (@becomingcourt) April 28, 2020

Shout out to @yogawithadriene helping me though! Jasmine is also a big fan. pic.twitter.com/hBzRJac4tp

— Kim Dill-McFarland (@kdillmcfarland) April 29, 2020

what level of isolation are u bc I just did a yoga with adriene video and cried at the end because she said she hopes I have a nice rest, so that’s where I’m at

— aimee (@aimeeclarke) April 30, 2020

“On screen, Mishler, who is 35, comes across as sweet and wholesome, like the one popular girl in school who was actually kind,” The Guardian writes, while Paper magazine calls Adriene the “Patron saint of quarantine”.

“She doesn’t edit out her falls or stumbles. Thus, her appeal is the opposite of most influencers. Adriene makes people feel good, not bad,” Paper’s Jael Goldfine wrote.

Not only do her videos make you feel more bendy and energised, but they’re also full of life advice gems that somehow don’t feel preachy when they’re coming from Adriene.

“The awareness of my own vulnerability has made me more aware of others’ vulnerability and more loving and receptive in general,” she tells viewers in her Yoga For Vulnerability video which has more than one million views.

Adriene worked as an actor before giving it up to focus on her passion for yoga.

WHO IS ADRIENE MISHLER?

Adriene is the daughter of two actors who also dabbled in the same field, scoring roles on stage, TV and film.

She had always been interested in fitness and loved gymnastics but her life changed when she did her first yoga class at 18.

“I cried tears of joy during my first yoga class and since then I’ve been obsessed with getting people to come and experience how good it feels to practise,” Adriene told Women’s Health last year.

Adriene did her yoga teaching the same year she took her first class and described herself as working at “every gym in Austin, Texas”.

It was only when Adriene met her now business partner Chris Sharpe on a film set – who had already worked on other successful YouTube videos – that Yoga With Adriene was born.

RELATED: Home workouts with no gym equipment

She shared her first yoga video on YouTube in 2012.

“Back then, it really truly was still like cat videos on YouTube. Instructional, educational content on YouTube just wasn’t a thing. It was starting, but for us, we just didn’t really know,” Adriene told USA Today.

She posted her first video in 2012 but her rise to fame was slow and steady until “something stated to shift”.

“The cost of yoga classes went up from $8 to $24 to $30. As a starving artist who was hustling and who couldn’t afford to go to class, I was like, ‘Wow, we might really have something,’” Adriene said.

“I started to think that it’s not really fair that only wealthy people – and it seemed at the time that it was only wealthy, white people, because it was only getting marketed to them – and that got me really sad and kind of pissed off.

“So then Chris and I realised what we had. So it took on its whole other life as a fun experiment to hone in on the mission: To provide as much free, high-quality yoga to as many people as possible.”

She also has a cute dog Benji to look at.

RELATED: Workouts you can do from home

While Adriene’s popularity has been steadily on the rise for years she says she’s been blown away by the response since the coronavirus pandemic.

“What I did not expect was this crazy traffic boost, so we’re all working a little more than usual,” she told Paper magazine.

She admits to feeling an enormous responsibility to her following, many of who have said things along the lines that Yoga With Adriene has been like a therapist during lockdown.

“We received so many emails and comments and messages, it’s mind-blowing. A week ago I would have said, ‘Oh no. I’m just a girl trying to do my best,’” she told Paper.

“But I’ve realised that we’re playing a part, so I will say, I kind of do (think so). I mean, I know that as long as I’m doing my best and inspiring other people to do the same and prioritising that relationship to self.”