Rating: 
Summary: Stud Muffin Yoga Rules
Review: I jokingly call this program 'Stud Muffin Yoga'. No puzzle as to why--Brian Kest is wonderful to look at. However, he is not the proverbial pretty face and hot bod--his program is envigorating and extremely satisfying. His supple, taut and muscular body wonderfully advertises the obvious advantages of following his Power Yoga regime. His program consists of a brief introduction where Kest emphasizes the importance of breathing properly and understanding that none of the poses that he demonstrates need be done with the exact accuracy of his team of on-tape students. He stresses the need to let go of your pride and competitiveness and simply "be" in the pose and let your breath do the rest to relax and nurture you. After some struggle with my own ego to let go, I found that it works. I was able to stop thinking and just go with the flow of the music and the echo of deep breathing that acts like a metronome throughout the tapes.
His base consists of repetitions of the sun salutation series, moving sinously from mountain pose through downward facing dog. From this base he moves through the warrior series, and other poses which promote balance and strength. I love relaxing into the 'corpse' pose at the end---feels so good, mentally and physically.
I would not recommend this tape for anyone who does not regularly exercise. This is not yoga for the faint of heart. It is strenuous and I guarantee you will sweat more than you ever imagined. For beginners, I would recommend something a little slower---maybe Jennifer Kries Method Yoga--- which goes through the actual poses with more detail and breaks the programs up into 3 separate workouts instead of the 50 minutes spent on a tape like Kests. Once the poses are learned with a degree of accuracy, I think it would be appropriate to move into Kest's faster flowing repetitions.
For anyone who does exercise regularly and wants to try something a little different--this series is great!
Rating: 
Summary: I wasted my money!
Review: Not for the person who needs relaxation during their yoga practice. All three programs are basically the same workout, and the yoga student spends most of the workout in downward dog pose.While Bryan is a good instructor, he spends very little time in meditation at the end of the video, and NEVER stops talking. The is not real yoga. Caution: If you have back or wrist pain, these workouts are NOT for you. Please be careful.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Set - I Now Live for Yoga
Review: What can I say. Blend a handsome yoga guru, challenging poses, beautiful people and what do you have, a winning combination. I have never worked so hard at yoga in my life, until I practiced with this set of tapes. Bryan is an excellent teacher who really knows his stuff. At first, when I was reviewing the tapes I was a bit ovewhelmed about doing the poses. To my suprise, I'm more flexible than I thought I would be. With his motivational techniques and encouraging wisdom, Bryan really brings out the best in one's yoga performance. What's so fun about this set of tapes is that you'll always be challenged and you'll see results almost immediately. I would recommend for any serious yoga buff to buy this set. It's wonderfulto have.
Rating: 
Summary: buy only one - dont buy the set
Review: I practiced yoga on-off for more than 30 years. Now I workout at home every day, at least once a week I do yoga - so I really need new videos to alternate ..
after reading the reviews I bought the boxed set with very high expectations, and I was VERY dissapointed:
all the videos are the same pattern - whole class is based on the sun salutation, and you do some asanas in the flow - for me it means I actually added only one different workout to my optional morning workouts (instead of 3).
the first one is terrible - its not real yoga because it supposed to be for beginners - which is only true f you are a very trained ballet dancer (flexible & strong).
If you are a normal person but know something about yoga - buy only the Swaet video (the last one)- it will give you a full good 52 minutes workout. that is if you can ignore what they are doing on the sreen - my family really enjoys coming and loughung when I workout because the differnce between what I do to what the video shows is enormous!! (for instance I cant sit in lotus and put my head on the floor)
another remark that goes for all the videos I saw (except the great stephanie keach flow yoga) - at the end he puts you into relaxation and then the video ends ...
when I learned with a teacher the most important part was relaxation including how to go out from it.
Rating:
Summary: Bryan Kest's Power Yoga Series, especially Body Sculpting
Review: Bryan is the best! I purchased Kathy Smith's yoga tape but found something lacking; I felt the focus was on look at me. And in order to follow Denise Austin's routine, one has to be on speed. Suzanne Deason's tapes are great for beginners, but lacked the intensity that I needed. Patricia Walden's series are okay, more look at what I can do. What impressed me about Bryan is his emphasis on spirituality and its application to everyday life. I'm 53 years old, 5'8" and 125 pounds. I started Bryan's routine 7 months ago and have noticed significant changes in my body. While I have always been active, Bryan's tapes have helped me cope with the stress in my life - divorce, moving, building a new home. I work out with Bryan six days a week. Even my friend, a physican's assistant who was a personal trainer, is impressed with Bryan's workouts. I love his down-to-earth attitude and encouraging ways. God Bless Bryan.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely challenging! Kest is the Best!
Review: I really love the entire 3 box set of Bryan Kest. The 3rd video was definitely a major challenge for me and I had to do lots of modifications, but I made it thru and just like the other videos in this set I was dripping with sweat, worked in every muscle of my body and felt great! I'll probably spend more time with the vol 1. "energize" tapes for a while and work my way back up to vol 2: "Tone" and vol 3. "Sweat". At that point I'll probably rotate between them pretty evenly. Kest has a way of pacing and sequencing the routines that give you an intense degree of body heat that seems to let your body melt from pose to pose. I feel great for the whole day and energized even though I feel so tired just after its over. A key to this is fully letting go into relaxation pose just after to let your body integrate the workout fully. I have many many other videos and I like his as much as I like David Swensons videos. Swenson's is more of a traditional ashtanga approach whereas Kest's is an adaptation of ashtanga into what is called Power yoga. I find them equally beneficial and unless you're a Yoga purist (which I am not) I think you would love the way you feel and look after doing Kest's videos. I also find him to be a very easy instructor to follow and find him very sincere, positive and helpful in his "be where you're at" approach. I can't understand the problems other reviewers have with his look, voice or the appearance of the students in the video or the production itself. I find it to be just perfect. Highly recommended!!!! Namaste
Rating:
Summary: Aerobic and spiritual workout
Review: I have tried about 5 different yoga workout tapes, and these are by far the very best. The biggest benefit of Kest's is that he gives you time to stay in the poses, and paces it like a master. Rodney Yee's tapes are so stupid by comparison; he races through the poses like a science nerd who has no patience for dopey beginners. Kest, on the other hand, is very patient and persistent. His comments are encouraging and reassuring. He is a real human. While I agree with most of the other reviewers who say that it is not for beginners, it is not necessary to be Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, either. I had worked with Susan Deason's tapes, which were great preparatory workouts for this, for about 3 months. After that I felt I needed something more powerful and fat-burning (hate that word). You can stop worrying about weight loss and all that bunk that the consumerist gurus obsess about. Kest's approach has a spiritual side that makes you stay involved in the workout from a personal growth point of view; this guy has a wonderful system. My body is going through miraculous changes already, after 3 weeks; my waist is thinner, my torso is lengthening, my breathing and sense of well-being have improved by about 100%. Bravo, Bryan Kest!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for stretching, not much of a "workout" though.
Review: The stretching and poses are excellent but I thought the words "power yoga" "sweat" and "strength" were rather misleading. If you are already fairly fit, these videos probably aren't going to make you break a sweat or gain strength. The only strength-related pose involved one pushup every few minutes. For beginners, this would be challenging, (the instructor says "don't worry if you can't do a full pushup!") but for people who are already fit it's pretty tame. The poses do provide a great stretch though. I found the host of this series to be very annoying. He's pretty dorky and new-agey.
Rating:
Summary: Yoga for the person ready for more
Review: Bryan Kest's yoga videos are absolutely great for the yogi ready to do more then what the beginner yoga tapes offer.He makes you feel like he cares about what you are doing, even if it is in your own home... not his studio. It is challenging, yet within everyone's reach. The presentation is relaxing and encouraging at the same time. I recommend all his tapes, even if you've been doing yoga a long time.
Rating:
Summary: athletic with move to grow.
Review: When I bought this set, I had never done any type of yoga before. This turned out to be a major problem. I felt that it was too fast and my wrist were killing me from all time spent in downward facing dog. I gave up very soon. I then bought some of the yoga journal beginning yoga tapes. After doing those for a while, I came back to this power yoga set. The difference is amazing! Krest is one of the few video yoga instructors that I don't have to watch the tv to figure out. I can follow just as I would if I was in his class. I now do the second tape in the series. I do believe however that the set is not designed in a level basis, but rather what you feel like accomplishing on that day. I can complete all the tapes with occasional modifications. BUT YOU MUST LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If you try do all the moves in the advanced position you'll just end up tearing something, but done with common sense these tapes are some of the best on the market with real results. One last note, if you are more interested in the meditation aspects this may not be the tape for you. This set is based on control of the body with quietness, not really getting control over your mind and getting it to shut up.
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