Yoga For Inflexible People

Rating:
Summary: Challenging Yoga for Those Who Can't Quite Touch Their Toes
Review: Workout Description: a variety of general and focused yoga routines for the serious yoga student who is flexibility-impaired
Workout Level: beginner to intermediate
Instructor: Judi Rice (yoga practitioner for 30+ years; instructs other yoga teachers in Iygengar method) via voice over. Judi is excellent at explaining how to come out of poses safely. She is very focused on technique in general, offering a lot of pointers for each pose. Her soft southern accent may distract some viewers.
Class: Tara Cary (advanced yoga practitioner and yoga teacher) only
Music / Set: The instrumental music is soft. The set is minimal, with lightly painted walls and floor and nothing else.
Equipment Needed: sticky mat (in a pinch, any mat will do), additional rolled up mat for a few segments, yoga strap (in a pinch, use a tie, belt, or towel), 2 yoga blocks, 2 folded blankets
Caveats: Familiarity with yoga is helpful. If you are learning yoga by video, you should attempt to take a class and / or work with someone experienced in yoga to check your form before moving on to advanced routines. Pay proper attention to your form. Listen to your body and back off if you feel pain. You won't be able to master every routine right now, so take your time. (I have been practicing yoga for almost two years and still find this DVD challenging.) There is no warm-up at the beginning of each session, so take care to warm up or center yourself before beginning by doing cardio, stretching, or meditation for a few minutes.
Additional Comments: The yoga practiced here is based on the Iyengar method, which focuses on precise movement, often using props to help move into the pose. This is challenging yoga that is held for quite some time; it's not fast-moving, sweaty power yoga.
This is not an exciting or flashy DVD. Instead, it offers a wide variety of programs so you can choose your practice based on how you feel each day and progress at your own pace. There are a total of 37 programs, which range from 15 to 75 minutes: 8 general, 7 hips & lower back, 5 legs, 5 shoulders, 6 energizing, and 6 quieting. The shorter programs are generally a little easier than the longer ones, and the ones labeled "basics" are the true beginner programs. The programs are actually made up of pre-programmed exercises routines, so there is a little pause between segments while the DVD starts the next chapter, which begins with the pose's name and often recommends the props you'll need-although this is usually wrong. The safety precautions appear at the beginning of every routine, but you can skip them.
Of the Body Wisdom Media yoga series (which includes Yoga for Every Body and Power Yoga for Every Body), this is least well produced; in particular, the voice over often doesn't match up with the movement performed by the student. Also, the instructor's tone and / or volume of voice often changes dramatically between segments. By the way, all three Yoga for . . . DVDs are very different. Of the three, I use this one the least because it's a little more frustrating to use with the voice over/movement coordination issue and the amount of props (especially since the on-screen prompt isn't always correct about what you need). I also find it the most challenging, not just because I can't figure out how difficult a program will be until I do it all the way through. I do, however, love the menstruation series. My cramps have reduced dramatically since I started doing either flow during that time of the month.

Rating:
Summary: What all Yoga DVD's should hope to be
Review: Yoga for Inflexible People has finally done it - detailed instruction, a variety or practices, length and degree of difficulty all on one disc. This would be perfect for the yoga beginner or anyone who wants to have variety and not always go to a class. The instructor is thorough and really explains everything. Listen to her and do what she says! It's moving at a slower pace then some other tapes, but she's taking time to help you perfect the pose and get a better understanding of what your body should be doing and feeling. It's just the right pace for this style of yoga. If you don't have the real yoga props, that's ok, you can make due with things you've got like books, a belt etc. Choose the type of workout you want, the part of your body you want to focus on and the length of workout you want to do. I love being able to customize my practice for what I feel I want or need on any given day. Other tapes and DVD's in my collection don't have that flexibility, and even my yoga class can't do that for me!