Need a little “me” time? Trying to squeeze more exercise into a busy life. Me too. I’ve been going to Bikram Yoga lately. It’s crazy. But I’m turning into one of those crazy hot yoga people I once mocked. I wish, though, that I had a room in my house and a source of video classes so I could fit in more of it without the commute. Hot Yoga requires more than just a mat and stretchy pants, though. You need heat and humidity. But now that I’m started on this obsession, maybe I’ll branch out to yoga at normal temperatures.

My Yoga Online offers more than 1,000 video sessions led by world-renowned instructors, though it doesn’t offer Bikram Yoga because the site is meant to be yoga  you can take with you on the road. But My Yoga Online is unlocking its entire inventory of classes for May in honor of Mother’s Day. So it’s a great time to start a new habit. The classes will be available for free until May 31^st, 2013.

So grab a tablet or fire up your computer and get limber. You don’t have to fret the yoga fashion choices.

And you (hopefully) won’t have to put up with any instructors like this one (warning: some cussing in this video):

If you find you like My Yoga Online and want more, I can get you a full year of it for free. All you have to do is like my Facebook page. I’ll send the winner a code. Extra points if you make us laugh.

I am a magazine addict. I would subscribe to everything I could get my hands on if it weren’t for the clutter. And the cost. So I am thrilled with NextIssue, a all-I-can-read newsstand for my tablet.

I run the Windows 8 app. But it is available for Android Tablets and iPads. For one price ($10 or $15 depending on plan), every magazine I want shows up on my tablet the minute it arrives on newsstands. (This is the digital version of the print magazine, not the magazine’s Web site or a subset of the print version.)

Here’s a video of the Windows 8 app in action:

I can read (almost) everything. I don’t have to recycle anything. My coffee table is happy. I’m happy. Bonus: The app stores all the back issues and I don’t have to organize or dust them.

My son will soon be a high school senior soon. So whenever he is willing to talk to his parents, we discuss where he wants to go and how he’s going to get there. I loved college. And he seems to be dreading it. So I’m jealous that he gets to go and I don’t. But since I have a job, car, house, and family I don’t think dropping everything to get a degree in Philosophy is in the immediate cards.

But that’s okay. I think I can fit some liberal arts in by cutting down on TV and email. All I really need is a laptop or tablet and a Web browser or iTunes U.

The secret, as in most things, is to have a plan. So I spent a few minutes this morning browsing around the Webernets. The result is a delightful course load that fits my schedule simply by upgrading some of my leisure time. I dropped the URLs for my courses onto my calendar so I have only to click or tap to go to school.

These classes are all free. You can find a course list that suits your hankerings by loading ITunes U (in iTunes on your iOS device) or by going directly to AcademicEarth, The Kahn Academy, or LiveMocha.

Here is my summer course list.

Drawing Class at Oxford

I can’t draw at all and have always meant to do something about that. This class looks perfect. The teacher is brilliant and has a charming accent, the class is based on one designed by Ruskin, and I don’t have to apply to art school. I can simply grab a cup of coffee on Sunday morning and sit down with a tablet and sketch pad. No one has to know how bad I am.

Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner at Yale

I studied literature at UC Berkeley and miss the time spent pouring over texts and thinking about what authors intended. I recently listened to a terrific audio book of The Sound and the Fury and longed for a course of fellow literature students to discuss it with. So for the next few weeks, I will go to bed early on Tuesday evenings to enjoy this survey of some of America’s greats in a course that tantalizingly promises “adult content and language.”

Physics at MIT

My daughter is suddenly enthralled with the laws of motion and fluid mechanics because of a science class she’s enjoying. If I’m going to keep up with the conversation around here I need a refresh! Professor Lewin’s class Physics I: Classical Mechanics at MIT to the rescue. He’s funny, gives visual demonstrations, and will soon have me moving past my daughter’s middle-school science class to more complex science. I hope.

A Language at LiveMocha

I haven’t studied a language since college but I hate traveling without knowing a single word of the local language. I’m going to Sweden next month. So it’s time for a crash course in Swedish! If I hurry, I might be able to say “hello,” “goodbye,” and “where’s the bathroom” before I get there.

Math at the Kahn Academy

Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant [1 of 3]: Part 2: http://youtu.be/lOIP_Z_-0Hs
Part 3: http://youtu.be/14-NdQwKz9w
Re: Pineapple under the Sea: http://youtu.be/gBxeju8dMho

Looking at my lineup, I see that I should really include a math class. But math? That seems like such a commitment. But idly considering abstract mathematical thought on a Friday over a glass of wine? That sounds quite doable. That brings me to the delightful Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant. Not only will it elevate my downtime to something that exercises my brain cells but it will inspire me to understand the genius in my garden, which is where I like to spend Saturday morning.