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Power Yoga for Every Body

Power Yoga for Every Body

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $19.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfect DVD for Experience Yogi's and Beginners
Review: I teach Ashtanga Yoga and I find it challenging to teach beginning students the flow method of power yoga. I found this DVD to be the perfect tool to help those new to the practice, but also for the more experienced who can benefit from slowing down every now and then and getting a chance to be more in tune with their bodies.

The DVD is jammed pack full of programs for every occassion, including the full practice, quick workouts, morning, evening etc. One major feature is that you can follow-along to the programs as your body progresses over time. I am advising all of my students to get this DVD and I think Power Yoga for Every Body compliment any yoga library.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful for beginners and not so beginners
Review: I was looking for something to do with my Pilates workout (I have a Pilates DVD from this company and love it) so I got this DVD. It is fantastic in its own right. It moves with meticulous care through the poses so I never feel lost and I can really concentrate on my breathing and opening my body. Because the teacher holds the poses for a nice amount of time I can feel my body opening more and getting stronger. I also love her voice, it lilts so wonderfully. Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A true winner
Review: I've been wanting to try yoga for a long time, and decided to finally give it a try with this DVD based on a friend's reccomendation. As a working mother of 2 young ones, I barely have time to eat, let alone work out on a regular basis. But that's what makes this DVD so great - you don't need to set aside an hour to work out. Each day, you can choose from the many routines offered and pick one that fits your time restraints and particular physical needs. And the slow method the instructor teaches has gently eased me into the world of yoga in a non threatening way. Although I am still enjoying the exercises for beginners, I can't wait to tackle the intermediate and - eventually - challenging workouts this DVD offers!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Slow and Excellent
Review: If you are looking for a faster paced workout this is not for you. However, if you want to move slowly from position to position this is an excellent workout DVD. Several of the poses I had never seen before and found them to be very beneficial for balance and strength. The slowness of the workout improves the experience of yoga. Barbara Benagh's voice is soothing and her instructions are complete. Some videos require you to constantly look at the screen to figure out what to do next or allow you to become complacent in the practice, in this workout she reminds you gently to keep the pose pure and not become sloppy. The background music is perfect for a calming yogini experience. You will leave the routine refreshed and ready for life's next challenge.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Many workouts but slow and with depressing atmosphere
Review: The DVD has really a lot of workouts for 3 categories: beginners, intermediate and advanced. However it is not my favorite because the poses are repetitive and really slow. Most depressing of all is the dark green-gray room where all the workouts are filmed. It just puts you in some bad mood. I like Rodney Yee's or Ali MacGraw's beautiful background nature because it relaxes you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very Versatile ¿ Great Technique Video
Review: The menu of selections for different level of workouts is very useful. There are 24 practice options that slowly walk every level person through a program. If you are unsure of how to do certain poses, this video is top quality in showing you the correct way to do the posture.
Recommended?
Yes, excellent addition to any yoga library.

Why Five Stars?
COMPREHENSIVE. Although there are some minor drawbacks this video is the best one of about ten I have in my library. I have all the big names and they do not give you enough workouts for your money. Other videos attempt to deal with individual issues by selling you additional videos or multiple box sets. Beware of those highly advertised names that cannot get a good comprehensive workout on one DVD/VHS.

Slight Shortcomings?
1. The pace is a bit slow but you do get a good workout with time to focus on your technique.
2. Most people interested in yoga understand that there are a series of sun salutations. These are a bit repetitive between the different workouts.
3. If they release another version of this they should consider having individual segments easier to access throughout the menu.

Competing Yoga tapes should?
PAY ATTENTION TO THIS FORMAT
Take a look at the format, which gives you options to do different workouts. For example "I have about 45 minutes and want to do a challenging workout." Or "I just have twenty minutes and want to loosen up a bit." Having this option is by far one of the best features of this tape.

BUY THIS DVD, take a few classes from different instructors. Register for yoga journal online (free). There are several good workout programs, if you are serious add a couple of tapes to your collection. If you are new, take your time. If you have some experience, try the challenging level for a good home workout.

Best wishes to you and yor practice.

Good luck, Good will, Namaste.

P.S. I do not author or sell any yoga programs.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great instruction, slow or no...
Review: This DVD is excellent in its detailed instruction and attention to proper body dynamics. Instead of focusing on "alignment" or conformity to the "ideal" pose, the instructor focuses on what muscle groups should be used to support the asana, an excellent approach, since the viewers will vary in their ability to "achieve" the poses.

In response to the reviewers who claim that it moves too slowly: Heat can be built up in the body through either a quick flow or through long-holding poses. It seems to be a question of personal taste which road you take, but both will get you there. I am an intermediate student with over 7 years of practice in various yoga forms, and the "Challenging" workouts on this DVD make me break a good sweat from the long-hold.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: wonderful for a beginner like me!
Review: This dvd is really what the title says. I have never really practiced yoga. I've picked up a class here or there, never serious. Never before have I been truely relaxed and invigorated by yoga like I am now! Amazing. If you're looking for something you'll stick with, this one is a good bet. I'm addicted to the bedtime routine and I've only had it a little over a week! I have really bad lower back problems and this is helping me tons with that too...I mean tons! It's a great stress reliever and I would highly recommend this to anyone! Get this dvd! (The only reason there are 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the guy demonstrating...he's so boney that I can see his *entire* sternum. That's just gross to look at.) :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: slow and deep
Review: this is not your ordinary power yoga dvd.

if you are looking for a big sweat, or an aerobic-style yoga workout, you will not find it here. if you are looking for ashtanga, you should learn from a trained teacher, but the david swenson or john scott dvds and books are the way to go to support your instruction. what you will find here (though, if you are like me, it might take some pouting to get there) is a deep and powerful conscious practice of yoga that can brign benefits both physically and psychically in ways that many other yoga workouts simply do not.

like other dvds in this series, there are a number of routines at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. you can select practices for morning or evening or with themes such as invigorating, strengthening, balancing, quieting, or do the full workout. the routines are composed of different assortments of segments focusing on: breath awareness, deep tissue awareness, sun salutations, strength work, backbends, and forward bends. the routines range from 20 minutes to 2 hours. you could also jump within a routine if you prefer to do something other than what is set forth.

the instructor has a gentle and encouraging manner, though she sounds like she is reading from a script rather than describing the poses. still, she is pleasing and informative. a long-time student of hers demonstrates the poses with impressive grace, strength, and awareness.

my preferred yoga practice is ashtanga, and i enjoy balancing that with more gentle and pose-focused practices. i also have the yoga for every body dvd in this series, which i have been using more often because i enjoy its versatility. this dvd, however, has great depth and can seamlessly move you into both the physical and not so physical aspects of yoga. the beauty of it is that, if you are not attracted to the spiritual grounding of yoga, conscious practice with this dvd can still give you the benefits without all the talk that would likely turn you off. if you already have a spiritual practice, this will blend with it without conflict. i find that the principles i am learning from this instructor are infiltrating in my other yoga practices, to great benefit.

if you are not sure about this, try staying with it. i was skeptical with the slow pace at first, actually, even quite a bit annoyed. but it is worth letting yourself quiet into this enriching yoga practice.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Thorough and soothing
Review: This is the second yoga instruction DVD I've bought, the first being disappointing, but "Power Yoga for Every Body" is excellent. This is the one I am following on a daily basis, and I just love it; can't say enough good things about it. The three ability levels each containing over a dozen separate work-outs to choose from, will keep me occupied and constantly learning and improving for a long time to come. I'm a beginner but I can see that this DVD is so packed with ever more skilled routines that there is plenty for me to grow into.

I find Barbara Benagh's style of instruction perfect: a soothing voice that helps the calming process, and extremely clear advice on breathing, stressing the importance of when to exhale or inhale---I find that the breathing guidance really does assist the proper execution of the movements and poses, and she seems to have timed her cues at exactly when you are taking that breath naturally. The relaxation sessions at the end of each routine are phenomenally restful.

As other reviews have mentioned, pose sequences are repeated in many routines, but this is fine as they are combined with differing poses also, from routine to routine and level to level.

One must be aware, however, that the title of "Power" yoga does not refer to something frenetic in any way; some poses are quietly challenging, but the pace of the workouts is calm, gentle and quieting. I mention this just incase anyone takes the word "power" to mean vigorously-paced or fast-moving. To me the power part lies more in the strength I feel developing as I become more skilled at the poses. The actual pace is a gentle "vinyasa flow" from one posture to the next, emphasizing slow movements, calm, steady breathing, and a quietude of mind also.

I chose this DVD after carefully reading the reviews of other users here, to find out exactly what to expect, and I'm so happy with it that I'd like to say thanks for that, and add my own as confirmation that this is a terrific choice for a wonderfully instructed and demonstrated DVD, which has enough variation and content to grow with you.


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