Bryan Kest - Power Yoga for Weight Loss

Rating:
Summary: Breathing Hard!
Review: Definitely an aerobic workout but with a yogic touch. Bryan Kest's routine made me work my body hard but also helped remind me to keep breathing. I love the messages he presents in his DVDs. They remind me to stay calm even when I'm breathing hard or when life throws me a curve ball.

This is a great routine and a nice addition to anyone's yoga collection. When you're ready to sweat, throw this one into your DVD player.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Yoga Workouts!
Review: I have done many yoga workouts from Denise Austin to Rodney Yee, but Bryan Kest is by far the best!

This workout is challenging enough for advanced students, yet simple enough for beginners. He is constantly reminding you to only do what you can do, and shows plenty of modifications. This is a fast paced Ashtanga yoga workout so it really does burn calories!

His personality helps to keep the DVD interesting no matter how many times you view it. He presents yoga in an interesting format, without being overly mystical.

Rating:
Summary: not bad
Review: I liked this program for the most part. My wife and I tried it and it was pretty good, but I gotta say, that once we were used to Mark Blanchard's Progressive Power Yoga, this was just average in comparison. I think Bryan has a decent style and invigorating practice...good for a sweat, but for the core workout and the mental space that I am used to going to, I did not find this to be the best ticket to the experience. He kept taking my attention away from the workout and that felt annoying. My wife did not have that experience, but she can even tune me out when she wants to...and she has been doing yoga much longer than I have.

Rating:
Summary: Power Yoga at its Best
Review: I've been doing yoga for several years now, both classes and tapes. I've tried several tapes/dvds and I believe Bryan Kest's are truly the best. I've purchased five so far. The practice is very challenging, my strength and endurance have increased tremendously. The videos average from 40 minutes to just under an hour, long enough to get an excellent workout but not too long to fit it in a busy day. Some of his commentary gets a little old after a while but its a workout tape, not a movie & I can live with that. Turn down the volume & listen to Enya if it bothers you. Bottom line, I'd recommend any of his videos/dvds to any beginner/intermediate level practitioner, they're well worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: Great workout, so so DVD
Review: I've done *some* Ashtanga yoga -- I stopped going to class because I didn't like the attitude of the class, and I felt like a failure for not being able to do a lot (okay, most!) of the poses. I didn't feel athletic/flexible/skinny enough, even though I loved the workout.

Ever since, I've been waiting for a real power yoga DVD to be released. I've got the Rodney Yee DVD, and while it's a good stretch, it just doesn't do it for me like the real thing.

The workout isn't quite the real thing, either. There's talk about "nose breathing" but not ujayi breathing. There are also a lot of poses that Bryan admits are his own. But, this workout still gave me that same great feeling of release afterward.

This workout is also much more aerobic than ashtanga. In fact, at times, I felt that I was in an aerobics class! There are quite a few people in the class that he leads, and he has one volunteer who demonstrates modifications. He also repeats the same few moves quite a few times, then you switch sides to do them again. I can see how they could get monotonous. Still, he delivers. All my muscles were humming (okay, sore!) afterward.

You also get that great Bryan Kest attitude. Others may find him annoying (he does talk quite a bit) but I find him inspirational. He makes you feel that as long you're trying, you're doing the workout the right way.

The DVD, though... There aren't any real chapters to flip through. Or bonuses. Living Arts still corners the market on great yoga DVDs, I'm afraid. All you get here is an intro and a class -- only there is still more "intro" at the beginning of what should be the workout, so you still have to fast forward until you get to the Sun Salutations, which is the real beginning of the workout.

I'm still happy with this product, and I still plan to order the body sculpting one, but I wish they had spent more time making the DVD a little more, well, like a DVD!

I would also note that the DVD is different from the set of power yoga tapes he sells. For one, he's cut off all this hair! Also, this is done on video in a workout studio, while the tapes look as if they were shot in a warehouse. He *is* wearing a shirt here, and real pants, rather than just those annoying cutoff jeans!

Rating:
Summary: Breathing Hard!
Review: Let me start with the negatives: this DVD stinks.

Bryan is one of the worst teachers/instructors I've ever come across. Every other word was "um" or "and uh". He seemed as if he had no clue as to what the class was going to do next.

Kest also rarely used the correct terms for the various asanas. He also failed to discuss with viewers the correct forms for various poses. He just said things like, "Do this and really bend" or "If you can't do the move, just stop and take it easy." In comparison to the Gaim produced Rodney Lee DVD I have, Kest seemed very amateurish.

The DVD content is another point of contention for me. For 23 bucks I expected at least a 2-3 hour DVD. I was wrong. There is only one class at a length of 40 minutes.

I will say the one class on the DVD is very difficult and will probably yield weight loss results if one doesn't get bored first.

I'd recommend viewers pass on this DVD and look into purchasing another one, maybe a Rodney Yee lead yoga practice.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed with Bryan Kest
Review: Let me start with the negatives: this DVD stinks.

Bryan is one of the worst teachers/instructors I've ever come across. Every other word was "um" or "and uh". He seemed as if he had no clue as to what the class was going to do next.

Kest also rarely used the correct terms for the various asanas. He also failed to discuss with viewers the correct forms for various poses. He just said things like, "Do this and really bend" or "If you can't do the move, just stop and take it easy." In comparison to the Gaim produced Rodney Lee DVD I have, Kest seemed very amateurish.

The DVD content is another point of contention for me. For 23 bucks I expected at least a 2-3 hour DVD. I was wrong. There is only one class at a length of 40 minutes.

I will say the one class on the DVD is very difficult and will probably yield weight loss results if one doesn't get bored first.

I'd recommend viewers pass on this DVD and look into purchasing another one, maybe a Rodney Yee lead yoga practice.

Rating:
Summary: no yoga benefits, low production quality
Review: This DVD did not leave me feeling energized and refreshed. It is very fast paced; therefore not allowing for proper stretching. I have Bryan Kest's Power Yoga Vol. 1-3 tapes and they are great. But this video does not stand up to the others. The music and look of the video aren't very enjoyable either.

Rating:
Summary: I highly recommend this DVD.
Review: This was a really great workout. I have got used to Bryan's rambeling, its what makes Bryan Kest him. I have also lost alot of weight and gotten tone in alot of places that I didn't thing could ever get tone. My armes belly everyplace. I also feel wonderful about myself and my environment. I thank Bryan for his DVD's and Audio's and look forward to hearing new things from him.