Power Yoga - Total Body Workout

Rating:
Summary: Not 5 stars ONLY because...
Review: I really love this DVD. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because of the mention of arm balances, and it turned out that there were none. Or maybe there were, but none that I consider to be arm balances... Anyway, I have been doing yoga off and on for about a year. Each time I stop and start, I can pretty much get back into it without a problem. I do the MTV Yoga DVD (which is also awesome; check it out). Rodney Yee's Power Yoga is definitely faster than any yoga I have ever done, and I love that. I was looking for Power Yoga and I found it. I don't know if someone who is exceptionally advanced would benefit from this DVD, but for the intermediate level it's a gem. By the way, the backbends are crazy!...but in a good way:) You'll be sore the next day, but if you keep it up, you'll be toned and strong in a very short amount of time.

Rating:
Summary: Another great Rodney video
Review: I think that I own, have viewed and practiced with all of Rodney's videos. He is a talented yoga instructor and his talent transfers well to the video media (not true with all good/great yoga instructors). To me, owning his videos are like being able to take different classes from him. I practice yoga regularly and take at least weekly classes. Sometimes I enjoy "taking a video class" from my library of video tapes. Rodney is A # 1 for me so I enjoy this video which is rather different from many of his others. My favorite is still his Intermediate yoga tape. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Like this quite a bit, with reservations
Review: I'm a moderately experienced Ashtanga yoga practitioner and I bought this DVD hoping it would offer a slightly less strenuous Vinyasa practice I could do at home to supplement my yoga classes. On the whole I wasn't disappointed. The flow of poses is well composed and definitely offers an aerobic benefit in addition to the strengthening and calming effects typical of yoga. I've done the whole sequence about fifteen times and have always felt relaxed and energized afterwards. The DVD's hour-long time span is enough to provide a challenge for more experienced practitioners but not too daunting for beginners. That said, this might not be the right choice for a complete novice as Yee doesn't offer comprehensive explanations of each pose, or of how to move from one pose to the next.

I would have liked him to spend a bit more time on the subtleties of each asana, for example, how should the feet connect with the ground in poses like Downward Dog and Mountain Pose, and where should the gaze be directed? Also, what about mudras and breathing in each posture? Additionally, I think insufficient information is provided on modifying poses...again, if you're a complete beginner you may want to start with something more basic.

Although I really like Yee's soothing intonations as he guides one through the practice, I simply couldn't stand the synthetic New Age style music in the background. I'm not averse to New Age sounds per se but I have to work hard to block out the soundtrack on this DVD. I know this is a minor concern but initially it impaired my enjoyment of the practice.

Even if you're primarily interested in the physical benefits of yoga over its spiritual and philosophical components (and if you don't have access to hands-on yoga instruction) I recommend supplementing this DVD with a book such as Iyengar's "Light on Yoga", which offers very detailed explanations of each pose and its effects on both the external and internal bodies.

Rating:
Summary: Rodney Rocks! Do Yoga Like the Pros
Review: I've attended my fair share of yoga over the years, and this is a great DVD to work out to. I'm not one for "fire breathing," and this doesn't have that- it's Hatha, which is more concentrated on positions that flow into one another- and he gives reminders throughout. This is a challenge for beginners, and perfect for those who have done yoga in the past. Whenever I can't make a class, this is the perfect substitute! Love it. Namaste

Rating:
Summary: Not for beginners
Review: I've never really done Yoga before, but I'm in very good shape and exercise regularly. I was able to get through the entire exercise without any problem. However, it is about 60 minutes and gets a little boring. The menu doesn't offer any chapters to choose from so you have to forward past the things you don't want to do which gets annoying. What I didn't like about Total Body Workout was there was not any instruction on how to do the moves correctly. I really had no idea what Rodney was talking about and he uses words for body parts that I don't even know where or what they are. I also found that doing this DVD with out proper instructions can be very dangerous for your lower back. After doing the workout a couple of times my lower back was very sore. I've had back problems before so I'm weary of doing this workout more until I learn how to do the all the moves properly. Overall, it's a pretty good workout, but I would not recommend it for beginners.

Rating:
Summary: great intermediate yoga DVD
Review: i've tried various yoga DVDs and this one is by far my favorite. i think what i like about it so much is that, due to the lack of excessive commentary, i can use it a few times per week without getting sick of it or finding myself mouthing along... no dumb comments about "downward dog" being a funny name, etc. i highly recommend this DVD if you have the basic poses down and you'd like a bit of a challenge...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent yoga DVD
Review: If you are looking for a challenging yoga practice, this is the DVD to choose. You may need to start slow since this is mainly geared towards intermediate and advanced levels. IF you find it to be difficult, then only do what you can, and slowly build stamina until you can do all of the asanas(poses). If you have never done yoga before, do note that some of the asanas are repetetive, but any good DVD/teacher should be incorporating repetition into the workout since that is part of the heart of yoga and it also builds stamina. Rodney Yee has excellent credentials also, he has studied with B.K.S. Iyengar - THE MAN who studied and translated many of the original yogasutras (the Sanskrit texts on yoga). The only reason I did not give this DVD five stars is because it does not include instruction on proper breathing. If a beginner picks up this DVD and just does the asanas, they may not be getting to their maximum potential since one of the important aspects of yoga is pranayama (breathing) being incorporated into the asanas.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: If you like to use DVDs to improve yourself, this is an excellent one to add to your collection. Honest, straight-forward, and to the point, this one is a real keeper.

A couple of others I would also recommend are the
DVD "New Sex Now"
the Video "Goddess Worship"
and CD "Voice Lessons to Go"

All four of these titles provide true value for your money.

Rating:
Summary: It's pretty, it's a nice workout, but it's not the best DVD
Review: If you're looking for something pretty, in this DVD Rodney Yee performs his workout in a beautiful, idyllic setting. But it isn't really for beginners. Overall, this whole workout is more for those at an intermediate/advanced level of yoga.

The DVD doesn't really take advantage of the DVD features. There are some different "pieces" of the workout, but really the long workout is just divided into a few chunks.

Each section of the workout gradually increases in intensity. When the poses get too hard for you, you can skip forward to the next section of the workout and continue. It's kind of frustrating, though, because you don't really know what he'll be doing next or if the move will be too difficult for you.

His workout is nice, and you can see your progress as you are gradually able to perform the whole workout. However, you can also take the guesswork out of your yoga practice and get a DVD specifically for your level of difficulty.

I myself really only use this DVD when I need a break from Brian Kest's excellent Power Yoga DVD which offers 3 clearly differentiated workouts. Then I can choose a different workout for how my body feels on a given day.

Rating:
Summary: I don't like power yoga
Review: Is this a aerobic good work out that uses yoga moves? Yes. But, I wanted a yoga DVD that was more focused on stretching, balance, and improving poses. When I want to do aerobics, I go to the YMCA. This tape is long (60 some minutes), but really needs to be longer to allow full exploration of the poses and movements and should be presented in chapters for more flexible workouts. I don't use it and am selling it at my son's school carnival.