Power Yoga Total Body Workout

Of all my DVD's, which I use to supplement my experience with live teachers in real classes, Yee's are the ones I come back to most frequently. They do not offer lots of DVD "options" - but they offer beautifully conceived and executed routines, moving logically and artfully from pose to pose. At low prices. The negative reviews tend to complain about the lack of alignment instruction. However, 1) this is not a beginner DVD, and it cautions you about inherent risks; 2) it is a DVD, not a private lesson - go to a number of classes if you require the basics or a lot of feedback; actually, classes are a good idea for everyone of every level 3)Yee's approach is meditative, flowing, and in-the-moment, and avoids excess talk and annoying focus on prosperity and achievement, as some products fail to do. Instead, he encourages an openness to the moment. However, this program demands that you know your basic poses. "Hard" or "easy" is not the point; what level of instruction do YOU need? Know how much or how little you know, as well as how much physical challenge you can handle. Benagh's and Baptiste's DVD's are excellent and better for alignment and breath instruction, but they are very different in tone, more instructional, with lots more talk and less flow; a whole different mind set. With respect to the resentful comment that Yee is trying to get dates, I suggest the reviewer get his priorities straight. Most of the DVD's I possess have instructors and models in tight spandex with moderate to lots of skin visible. If you're going to take the time to critique a video, CD or book, please don't slam it for not being what you wished it were, what it doesn't claim to offer, or because you feel threatened by the instructor on the TV screen. There is no showing-off here, but Yee does show his body in the process of doing yoga. This is helpful for understanding and relating to the poses. This is an excellent DVD for anyone with at least an advanced-beginner level of expertise, and adequate knowledge of proper technique and one's own physical condition.

My primary reasons for taking up yoga were to lose weight, reallign my back, increase flexibility, and achieve more relaxed breathing. Yee's Total Body Workout, a little over an hour, achieves all my goals. First, let me say you need to have about six months of basic yoga in order to do these moves and you probably can't be more than thirty pounds overweight; many of the moves require a body that is reasonably muscular. I've got six months of yoga and thirty years of bodybuilding (both a blessing and a curse) behind me so I can do 90% of the moves. Secondly, you should invest in a thick yoga mat; they go for about forty dollars and if you sweat a lot like I do, place a beach towel over the mat so you don't slip. The only other piece of equipment you might need is a ten-dollar strap or just a belt for some of the lying leg stretches. I like Yee's screen persona. He is authentic, direct, and clear. He spares you New Age pretentiousness, self-aggrandizement, and any other affectations. The workout is vigorous and fast-paced. For the first five minutes, a warm-up period, you think you're going to get off with an easy workout but within twenty minutes you're sopping with sweat. The first couple of times you might just have to figure out what Yee is doing. By the third workout, you should be able to follow along seamlessly. It's worth the work. You'll burn between 500-700 calories per workout; that's over a pound of fat a week or fifty-two pounds a year. On a more subtle note, I've noticed my breathing is more relaxed throughout the day and there appears to be a connection between relaxed breathing and less consumption of food. I've always been cursed with a voracious appetite, and while my daily hour of yoga hasn't totally cured it, my hungers are lower, I'd say 10% less than without the yoga. Also with bodybuilding and cardio at the gym, I come home exhausted and must nap for a good hour before I can do anything productive. With yoga, I don't need a nap. I'm already energized. It's important to change your yoga workouts so you don't go stale. I'd recommend checking out the Bryan Kest DVDs, especially his Power Yoga, which has three workouts on one DVD.

I have practiced yoga on and off for several years, and recently started a home yoga practice. I got several yoga DVDs, and this was one of them. I love it! It's power yoga, so know that going in. It is not as fast as some others (I got Bryan Kest's and Bob Harper's DVDs at the same time, and they are faster) but it challenged my balance and my flexibility. There are no crazy asanas, but all the basics are there: sun salutations, standing poses, back bends, floor poses. Rodney is a great instructor, and has a great, calming presence. He provides constant tips (pull your belly to your spine, tighten up your back leg, etc.) which I find very helpful. He also gives basic instruction as to what you should be thinking of in each pose (front leg at a 90 degree angle, back leg straight, belly pulled in, etc.) -- again, very helpful. It's not a beginners DVD but if you have some background in yoga you'll be able to keep up. The only real criticism I have is he doesn't use the Sanskrit names for the poses. I like to know the true names of the poses as I'm doing them (I can't remember all of them off the top of my head), so I wish he did that. Otherwise, I'm very pleased.

While other reviewers may have found this workout too fast, I like the speed of this DVD. It's similar to the speed of transitions in other power yoga videos and ashtanga yoga classes I've taken. I also think this is a great workout for new (but not brand new) yogis. I've been practicing yoga for about 6 months, and I find the sun salutations at the beginning make me break a sweat. During the remainder of the workout, I have time to get into each pose, focus on it for a few breaths, and then move to the next pose. I also LOVE the level of detail Rodney Yee gives for each pose. It's really easy to do poses wrong when you learn from a video, because there's no one to correct you, but Rodney Yee gives great instructions throughout the workout. He also consistently tells you when to breathe, which is key in yoga. The only reservation I have about this is the overly-formal instructor voice-over. While some people may like this format (so there's no instructor talking, chatting, and joking while demonstrating the poses), I find it disconcerting to have a disembodied voice tell me to "bring your sacrum to your pelvis." ... My what? I had to look up sacrum to figure out what he was talking about, and even after I did that I couldn't figure out how to bring it closer to my pelvis. A few less formal tips would be helpful. Also, I usually like instructors' chattiness, because it gives me the illusion that other people are doing yoga with me. I definitely miss that in this DVD. Overall, though, this is a great DVD, and a good workout for the near-beginner.

I am a 44-year old female with limited yoga experience (Bikram - for the incredible cardio and stretch). Former runner, and a fair amount of experience in strength training. Not an exercise fanatic, but I know I need to do it. I wanted to get into serious yoga to increase my flexibility and improve my balance, and wanted a workout that would also build strength. I have often dismissed yoga as being for skinny, flexible, vegan, new-agey types, but Bikram convinced me it could build strength and stamina. But Bikram and most yoga classes are expensive and inconvenient. Bottom line is, I'm getting into middle-age and want to improve and maintain my health for as long as possible, at a reasonable price. I started with Gaiam's Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss with Suzanne Deason, which was a good start for a beginner, but it quickly became too easy. I'm giving it to my mom. Then I looked into just about every yoga DVD on Amazon and read just about every review--seriously! Chose this one and Yee's Ultimate Power Yoga for the 5 shorter workouts (for days when I don't have an hour for exercise). I'm just going to ignore the controversy about Yee's personal situation (divorce etc.) because the man's personal life has nothing to do with me or anyone else watching this DVD and trying to get into/stay in shape. Glass houses, folks. Throwing stones NOT a good idea. This is Yoga, not Marriage 101. Observations: Yee is obviously in totally awesome shape. The setting (ocean, tropics) is beautiful. The music is unobtrusive (thank goodness - HATE bastardized yoga set to rock 'n roll). Yee's voice-over instructions are concise and, at times, detailed (but not often). Yee clearly tells you when to inhale and when to exhale and, again for the inexperienced, this can seem obtrusive and almost silly...but once you get used to the rhythm and his style, you see how important it is. The pace of the exercise is brisk, much brisker than I expected, and at first I found this disconcerting, but I came to appreciate that this is part of the conditioning: to move smoothly and seamlessly but quickly between the poses, and the transitions are just about as important as the poses themselves. The transitions raise your heart rate as well as the poses themselves. Once warm-up is over, most of the poses are only held briefly, with some notable exceptions where Yee has you hold hold hold the pose and breathe breathe breathe (5 long breaths) as you settle in and get the complete benefit (with verbal tips on corrections given to improve the conditioning). Believe me, it's tough. There are other reviewers who sound more athletic than I am who agree that it's tough. Some of the held standing poses greatly challenge your leg and butt muscles while at the same time you must balance, and lengthen, and twist, and stretch, and not fall over, and you can see that even Yee is breathing hard and working it to the max. This is powerful yoga, and you feel powerful doing it and powerful, if tired, after it's over. If you aren't an experienced yoga practitioner you have to watch him to understand what the poses are. I couldn't see the difference between Upward Dog and Cobra, but I've since researched it and now I get it. The first couple of times I had to pause the DVD, or play a section back in slow motion, to understand just what he was doing; but after a couple of times I had it down. He also does some almost acrobatic transitions, such as jumping from one pose to another. I wasn't expecting that but after practicing a few times I found it fun and invigorating. He makes it clear you don't HAVE to jump--you can walk or slide -- but Yee is a former ballet dancer and when he jumps between poses it is a beautiful, graceful thing to see, which I wanted to emulate. Jumping from a forward standing bend into the push-up position smoothly and gracefully is lovely, especially when you learn to do it yourself. To those who comment that it is repetitive: Yes, in a way it is, but (1) it's like doing reps and (2) each time the sequence is a little bit different, moving to a slightly different pose, to strengthen/condition/improve a slightly different area. He really keeps you moving AND THINKING and then, before you know it, you've made it to the floor work, which is the last part. Then the whole 60 minutes has gone by and you've been challenged, you're sweaty, you feel tired and yet energized and focused. You walk a little differently, with better posture and with a lighter step. You feel stronger; things you pick up feel lighter. The shower feels wonderful! Ready to do this workout again tomorrow! Please note: I am GRATEFUL that Yee DOESN'T repeat any of the ridiculous assertions that "twisting compresses your inner organs, releasing toxins." PLEASE PEOPLE, maybe the ancient yogis believed this, but there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support it, and THANK YOU RODNEY YEE for not repeating it (at least in your DVDs). Just twist - it's good for your flexibility and your joints, okay? Enough with the baloney about flushing toxins from your organs. Geez. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I bought this disk after doing p90x Yoga X for a year and a half. Though I thoroughly enjoyed Tony Horton's yoga disk, I wanted a new perspective. Rodney Yee's program moves at a faster pace. He holds moves for about the same time, but spends less time on transitioning between poses. This is not a beginner's yoga DVD. You need to know what to do when he says "downward dog," "triangle pose" or "warrior three." Tony Horton explains these (good for the beginner) though that extends the length of the video. Also the level of difficulty is moderate. There is nothing that is contortionist-level impossible here. Though Mr. Yee obviously has a great deal of flexibility, you can modify what he does to your own level. However you should have some prior yoga experience. On a very superficial level, Rodney Yee's tight bike shorts and shirtless apparel are distracting (not in a good way). I keep thinking to myself every time I look up at the screen, "Come on, man, put on some shorts! I don't want to see that!" Add the Wyndham Hill sampler music and his sedate instruction, the hour seems to go by slowly. While these are mere cosmetic issues, it does seem to bother me. In summary, it's a good yoga workout - not for beginners but not impossible.

Prior to this DVD, my only exposure to Yoga was Rodney Yee's AM Yoga DVD which was good for calming the mind and relaxation but I needed something more. I've been using this DVD for about 3 weeks and I've already seen amazing results. Specifically, I have seen the following improvements: 1) Flexibility - Very much improved. Jump right out of bed in the morning with no tightness or creaking muscles. 2) Strength - I'm amazed at how you strenghten your core, chest, shoulders, back and legs. I have only been to the gym once in 3 weeks but my muscle tone has improved. This workout strenghtens EVERY part of your body. 3) Focus and Concentration - The poses in this DVD, especially Warrior 2, test your ability to focus and concentrate. I have definitely improved in this area by doing the poses. 4) Posture - Allows you to achieve and maintain a proper posture 5) Breathing - This workout improves breathing ability and really makes you feel great after a workout. 6) Improves recovery time after playing sports 7) Releases anxiety and tension After seeing these benefits after only 3 weeks, I imagine that I will continue working out to this DVD well into the future. I strongly encourage you to buy this DVD! You'll love the results!

I purchased this DVD three years ago and, although I own many yoga DVDs, "Power Yoga: Total Body Workout" and "Total Energy Yoga," another Yee DVD, are the ones to which I keep returning. "Power Yoga" is, as advertised, an excellent, total body workout -- albeit not one for beginners -- with just the right amount of instruction and no irritating "pep talks" or celebrity prattling: in other words, real yoga. Most positions are held for 30 seconds, although a few are held for shorter periods of time and one --upward bow -- is repeated three times in a row. Sufficient time is permitted for transfer from one position to the next, even if, in the beginning, a practitioner cannot maintain the "flow" and needs to walk from one position to another. In my view, Yee is, along with Shiva Rea, the best yoga instructor making DVDs, and "Power Yoga" is his best DVD, overall. One additional note: Recently, I have been employing this yoga practice and Yee's "Total Energy Yoga" along with physical therapy to treat a "frozen shoulder". My physical therapist is impressed by the progress that I have made using these yoga DVDs. While I would never suggest that anyone -- especially someone with an injury -- try an exercise DVD without first consulting his or her doctor, I have to say that yoga and, specifically, Rodney Yee, has worked for me.

At 44, I had done no Yoga whatsoever before last year, and had first touched on it at my local gym. The gym closed down, and so I decided to search online for something I could work with from home. I looked online, weighed up the options, and decided on 'Power Yoga Total Body' with Rodney Yee. I have to say that this for me is nothing short of life changing! I've always been quite fit, and healthy, but felt there was only so much running, skipping, football, etc I could do before my joints took to much of a pounding from all the repetition. And so began my Yoga journey ... The workout itself is an hour long, and starts slowly, building up in the middle twenty minutes to a strenuous crescendo, and then winding down to gentle and relaxing stretching towards the end. Sometimes It's a bit tricky looking at the DVD whilst performing the moves at the same time, but this would be a problem with any other Yoga DVD anyway. A way around this, is to look at the DVD beforehand to get to know the moves, and get a friend to check that you're doing the moves correctly, (whichever ones you're not sure of). Once you become familiar with the workout, you'll pretty much memorise the necessary moves just from the audio, without needing to look at the screen a lot. If you've never done Yoga before (like I hadn't), I would suggest the following: 1) Make sure you're reasonably fit to begin with - You may want to start with an easier DVD if you're very unfit. 2) It may be a real struggle at first. What I did was try twenty-five minutes, and then increased by five or ten minutes each time until I could do the whole hour. 3) Some of the moves may be impossible to do. Just extend as far as you can, and try and go a bit further the next time. 4) A daily workout is something you may not want to try straight away, depending on your fitness. Maybe do it every other day, and gradually 'fill in the gaps', as your fitness increases. All in all, this is a superb DVD, and Rodney Yee is obviously an expert in his field. His verbal instructions paint a very descriptive picture in your mind of exactly what you're aiming for throughout the workout. I would recommend this to anyone wishing: to get fit; to get more supple; to escape dull exercise routines; for a new lease of life and to feel younger; to feel more relaxed; and generally for anyone wishing to feel better about themselves, mentally and physically.

Ich beseitze eine ganze Reihe von Yoga DVDs ( Über Ursula KArven und Eva Padberg bis hin zu einer Power Yoga DVD von Fit for Fun)- -aber Rodney Yee ist für mich einfach der tollste Yoga Lehrer im Home Practice Bereich. Diese DVD erfüllt für mich einfach alle Kriterien, angefangen von einer tollen Kulisse über einer wunderbaren Hintergrundmusik ( eher wie eine Filmmusik als die typischen indischen oder Chilloutklänge) über die angenehme STimme von Rodney Yee, der nichts überflüssiges aber alles nötige sagt. Das Programm beinhaltet Sonnengrußvariationen, die aber etwas abgewandelt sind und weitere Flows die sehr effektiv sind und bei denen man schon ins Schwitzen gerät. Die Übungen steigern sich in der Intensität zum Ende hin und ein, zwei sind dann durchaus schon im Bereich Mittelstufe anzusiedeln. Ich kann auch die Yoga AM und PM DVDs von Rodney Yee nur empfehlen, ich stehe in der Tat manchmal eine halbe Stunde früher auf, um meinen Tag mit Rodney zu beginnen! :-) Ihr seht, ich komme ins Schwärmen aber Rodney Yee ist einfach ein toller Yoga LEhrer. Netter BOnus auf der DVD ist auch das Interview mit Rodney . Ach ja, da es sich um eine IMport DVD aus England handelt ist die DVD nur auf Englisch.

初めて買ったヨガDVDです。いろんなサイトで高評価なので選びました。GAIAMだからか再生も問題ありません。最初はきつくて、途中で断念しましたが、2回目からは楽しくやっています。吸う吐くの呼吸を意識してやると気持ちよく運動できました。値段・内容ともに文句なしです。

If you are unsure what yoga DVD might be a good fit for you I would suggest test driving a batch from your public library. People come to yoga at different levels and there is no substitute to your own personal test drive. I like this particular DVD because of the economy of the choreography, the workout flow and the fact that it is packaged as a single 60 minute workout (as opposed to other DVD's with Rodney Yee which have broken down the workout into smaller 20 or 25 minute chunks. ) Different options for different needs. I have now amassed a small Rodney Yee collection but this workout is my favourite. If you are not familiar with basic poses like downward dog, cobra, standing forward bend, back bend the pace would be far too fast and the experience completely dizzying! My only wish-- since most of us are not former professional ballet dancers as is Yee: a few more seconds for recovery between the more challenging poses! to catch our breath. Bonus: There is a compelling interview with Yee as a bonus and he emerges as a real guy with a sense of humour and history, a father, a former dancer and gymnast, who is committed to making the world a little better, one breath at a time.

ヨガをお家でする為、初めて買いました。あまりＨｏｗＴｏ的とか宗教的な感じの物はしたくなかったので、 このＤＶＤを買いました。Ｈａｗａｉｉの自然の中でヨガという映像面というのもありで、英語も聞き取り やすかったし、何より内容がすごく良かった!運動量もたっぷりで１時間すると本当にバランス良く鍛えられます! 今ではしっかり時間が取れる時はこのＤＶＤでヨガをして、時間が取れない時は軽めにヨガという感じで朝・夜と しています。軽くの時の為にＲｏｄｎｅｙのＳｔａｍｉｎａとＡｂｓを買いました。この２本は３０分程なので 朝とかあまり時間が取れない時や軽くでもきちんとポーズをの時におすすめです!!