Rating: Summary: Very good and challenging yoga workout Review: I have started practicing Iyengar yoga and wanted a few videos to practice at home. After viewing this video, I was very impressed with Kristin McGee's cueing ability, her attention to the breath, and overall flow through the poses. I also really appreciate that there are 3 levels so that once I master the beginning foundational poses I can look at the other two people on the video for more challenging postures. This is a very good yoga workout, it is challenging, yet it has a lot of the same feel as a yoga class does. It combines the spiritual with the practical. Definitely worth the money!
Rating: Summary: surprising results Review: I was amazed at how quickly my body was strengthened and lengthened by this video ! It is also relaxing and well paced. I love the three levels of difficulty to provide room for growth.
Rating: Summary: Good workout Review: I am very pleased with this dvd. It was an excellent work out. It's not the "you are a magical tree" type of yoga. It is completely about the movement and breath. It is beyond beginner yoga. I feel fantastic after this workout. I only wish there were more in this series! The instructor is absolutely fantastic.
Rating: Summary: Destined To Become A Favorite! Review: To give you an idea of where this reviewer is coming from, I'm a guy in my 50's who loves to exercise. I enjoy resistance training, vigorous aerobics (especially rebounding), and most of all, yoga, which I've been practicing for many years. My favorite styles of yoga are Bikram's and "power yoga." I have dozens of yoga videos, and am very glad that the MTV Yoga DVD is now part of my collection. This is an excellent workout! I would rate it "Intermediate," although modifications are shown throughout, so I don't think it would be beyond the reach of a beginner in search of an energetic workout. If you enjoy power yoga style routines, and you're looking for something fresh that doesn't feel and look like just another Baron or Bryan video (as good as they are!), I think you'll be very pleased with this one. The instructor is Kristin McGee, and she is excellent! She's very "normal," down to earth, and has no annoying traits or habits, like some teachers do. There's not a trace of woo-woo on this video! Her instructions are precise and very helpful. I only caught one mistake - she does a variation for one of the poses on one side, and neglects to do it for the other side (in the pigeon pose with the bent right leg forward, after extending upper body over the leg, you sit upright, still in pigeon pose, reach back with the left arm, grasp the left ankle and bring it towards you to stretch the left quadriceps. She doesn't do that for the right quad). That surprised me, since she pays so much attention to details. Now when doing the workout, I just come out of the forward bend pigeon on the right side a few seconds before they do, and stretch the quad. The workout is 45 minutes long. It's nonstop flowing, but never grueling. I really appreciated and was impressed by her breath cueing. She tells you when to breathe in/breathe out throughout the entire workout, but does it so quietly and with such rhythmical regularity, that it's kind've hypnotic and almost becomes subliminal. Hers is the best and most consistent "breath coaching" I've seen in any video. There is one sequence I especially like for its dance-like feel: at one point you go into Warrior 1 and hold for several breaths, then into Warrior 2 for several breaths, move through Plank, Updog, Downdog, then repeat for the other side. Kristin then repeats this sequence 3 times, matching 1 breath to each movement, so it flows quickly and smoothly. Nice! This is a total body workout, with a good selection of Warriors 1 & 2, Extended Side Angle, Triangle, Wide Leg Forward Bend, etc. There are balancing poses, starting with Tree pose. From Tree pose, you bring the bent knee to the front and bend forward at the waist while straightening the bent leg out behind you, going into Warrior 3 (Standing T Pose). After coming back up to Standing, you bring the right foot up, grasping the big toe with the first two fingers of the right hand, and extend the leg out straight (Lori does an easier modification). Then you take the extended leg out to the side, looking over the opposite shoulder, return the leg to the front, release the big toe and hold the leg in the air ("Imagine a helium balloon tied to your foot, lifting the leg as high as it will go"). Repeat on the other side. There's a bit of back work (baby Cobra, easy Locust and Bow) and seated forward bends. There's a seated spinal twist and the Boat pose. There is no Plow, no Shoulder Stand, no Bridge or Wheel. The music has a good beat, but I never found it intrusive; was mostly just aware of a beat in the background. The DVD lets you choose between the workout with music, or with no music at all! The set is pleasant. There are 3 students in the class; a young man showing the more advanced version of the poses, a young woman showing intermediate modifications, and Lori Trespicio (from MTV's The Real World) is the "beginner." They work in "mirror image" which I always appreciate! After the workout, several of the poses are broken down in a Q & A format. Lori, who "hosts" the video, tells Kristin that she has some questions about several of the poses, and Kristin walks her through those particular poses, giving helpful pointers. Lori asks questions that anyone fairly new to yoga might ask, so I thought that was a great way to do it. Even experienced practitioners might find some helpful advice in Kristin's pointers. Hope this review was helpful - I've tried to include the kinds of things I like to hear in video reviews. And I hope I've shown that this is definitely a legitimate yoga workout, led by a very competent and likable instructor!
Rating: Summary: MTV DVD Review: Finally a Yoga workout, I can identify with. It is difficult but McGee talks you through every move and the breathing!! The music is hip. I hope to look like McGee
Rating: Summary: Hey , Lets Make Yoga Cool Review: Yoga is definitley not my cup of tea ... some days I have a hard enough time bending over to tie my shoes let alone do some of the funky stuff they do with these classes ... but some people love the stuff ... This is not something for the Yoga enthusiast , I am someone without any Yoga background whatsoever and I could tell that much. This is a disc whose main intention is to promote Yoga to the youth of America who might not be familiar with it. They slap the MTV logo on it , make it " hip and cool " and then throw some funky music into it , have the host be one of the ever popular " Real World " stars and next thing you know you have a Yoga DVD for the next generation. If you are a young person, or know a young person , and think they are or might be interested in taking up Yoga then this is a disc to get them. Not only will it introduce them to the techniques, but it will do so in a style indicative to their age range , which makes it much more appealing. It is also a safe bet , I mean , would you rather risk the [money] on the disc or the hundred summod dollars on the classes only to find out it's not for you ? Basically , if Yoga is something that interests you this is a disc to give a whirl ...
Rating: Summary: Another yoga veteran who loves this! Review: Ok, I heard MTV and Yoga in the same sentence and I thought "oxymoron". I really had the lowest of low expectations, assuming that the poses would be wrongly named, poorly executed, etc. I thought the use of Lori Trespicio from The Real World NYC as a "host" would be eye-roll worthy. The promise of background music from a great DJ (he did the soundtrack for the movie "Go") actually was off-putting in this setting. I was surprised on all counts. I've been involved with yoga for years and the poses were named correctly and executed properly, the instruction was clear and easy to follow. Lori was really in the background and didn't speak throughout the whole thing (she was just used as an example of a beginner) so her presence was absolutely unnecessary and a weird selling point. The instructor, Kristin, turned me off at first because her mention that this wouldn't be like the yoga most people think of with it's "hokey new age music" put the fear into me (I like the meditative music the yoga schools I have been in use). I actually found the soundtrack pleasantly inconspicuous (and loved that it can be turned off so all you hear is the instructor- I can put on my own background music, yay!) The poses were poses I have done in school before and I liked their explanations of important points. Honestly, Kristin was as good as some yoga instructors I have had. This is a very good tape as long as you can fit a mat in your room. I am almost shocked. Be forewarned that you need a yoga mat before beginning this. I also think final relaxation needs to be longer, and is best done with something like a cooling mint/lavender eye bag, so you might consider lowering the lights and pausing/stopping the video when it gets to final relaxation. Also, even the beginning steps might be a bit rugged if you're really out of shape and you can skip some steps until you get stronger.
Rating: Summary: Great yoga workout. Review: I love love love this DVD! For a while, I had been wanting to try yoga, but wasn't really sure where to start. I saw this, and decided to buy it just because I wouldn't really lose anything. Definitely not a disappointing buy. This gives a pleasant yoga workout using mostly basic moves, and a few more advanced ones. It has nice music going throughout it, which is good considering it's made by MTV, but it also has the feature on the DVD to turn the music off, which is nice. The instructor, Kristin Mcgee, is very personable and she makes sure to explain all the moves well, and also reminds the viewer to keep breathing throughout. This can be used by inexperienced people as well as those who are more advanced. They show how to do the move the regular way, then they have a way to do it for beginners, and then for more advanced. This is a very good idea. I've seen good results from doing this workout regularly, but a nice thing about it is you don't think you're really working out, however, the next day you're sore. If you're interested in trying yoga, and want great music to go along with it, I definitely recommend this.
Rating: Summary: Good for beginners with some experience Review: The MTV Yoga provides a great workout for beginners who has had a little bit of experience. For those who has never tried yoga, this is a good buy. But beware that you should watch it through once (without trying to follow) or at least attend a yoga class in person, before actually doing the DVD; otherwise, the pace may be a little fast for you when they start doing the flowing sequences. I'm an intermediate yogi who has had over a year of experience and practices at least 3 times a week (at home or at a studio), and I still find this DVD to be a great home workout. This is definitely a good buy.
Rating: Summary: boot camp Review: The music and production of this video was good, but that's about all. I felt like I was in boot camp doing this video. It was like "drop and give me a pose" now jump up and give me another. I wasn't even in my pose before they had moved on to the next. It was more an aerobic video than a yoga video.
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