Yoga Max

[mini-natty]

I believe everyone is entitled to an honest opinion (good/bad) so I will try to make my negative review a tasteful one.

After doing Yoga Max several times, I have to conclude that I unfortunately do not like it. I am in no ways a Yoga expert/purist, but I have been doing Yoga for several years now, so I do consider myself intermediate/advanced. Let me just start off by saying I prefer Power Yoga, which is a general term used in the West to describe a vigorous, fitness-based approach to vinyasa-style yoga. Yoga Max was not the style that I practice and enjoy so it was hard for me to "get into it". The poses were not challenging, as I felt they were not held long enough or had enough movement for me to feel heat in my muscles, sweat and elevate my heart rate. I also felt there could have been more poses incorporated, as I also enjoy variety.

I did however find the music to be very relaxing and I love Cathe's voice, it is calm and soothing.

For a beginner to Yoga, or even one that enjoys this style, may however question why I did not like this workout. But to each his own. Perhaps Power Yoga (the one I prefer) is not very gentle to the joints and people may benefit more from this gentle approach.

If anyone would like to chime in and give their reviews (good/bad) please feel free to do so.

[elsie3]

I think I understand what you are saying, and I consider your review to be polite and constructive. I really like Yoga Max, but it would not be the yoga practice I would choose if I wanted a challenging routine. For me, it's perfect for days when I'm really feeling it from the previous day's workout. That's when I appreciate the gradual warm-up. slower pace, and frequent rests. I actually prefer it to Yoga Relax for stretching and relaxation, because it stretches me out better.

[Stebby]

I did Yoga Max for the first time this morning. I'm also fairly advanced with Yoga; I've practised for 17 years and for a good portion of that I did Ashtanga Yoga 3-4 times per week. Now I mostly practice the various flavours of Power Yoga.

I would characterize Yoga Max as an introductory class for people who aren't familiar with Yoga. There were samples of several types of poses. The poses weren't held for all that long, but I expect that if they were held for longer the workout might be too intimidating (or even inaccessible) to many of Cathe's customers, many of whom probably don't do that much Yoga. I would have liked to see more hip postures, seated postures and twisting postures, but I can understand that Cathe didn't want to make the routine too long, and probably didn't want to have too much overlap with Yoga Relax.

Stebby

[CeciFifi]

I've tried a premix of yogamax and liked it. I love working out with Cathe so yoga for a light day with Cathe worked for me.

[Christine Marie]

I like Yoga Max, and Yoga Relax, but I know NOTHING about yoga so I have no experience to compare them to. I never knew there were so many speeds and posture varieties! I'd love to see Cathe create a few more routines mixing it up a bit!

[ebonynicole]

I agree with Cristine, I have no experience with Yoga so I'll will like Yoga Relax and Max. These workouts will introduce me to the field because I also did not realize how many different types there are out there. I would also like to see what else she does with Yoga in the future

[JT]

In college, I did ashtanga for the my freshman year. I've done Yoga Relax and it was new to me. Hope to try Yoga Max to expand my horizons. I never purchased Stretch Max so my first Yoga workouts on DVD.

[RapidBreath]

I liked both 'workouts' and I found them to be fairly accessible to a person new to yoga. I've been practicing yoga for nearly four years now. I started with Yogatoday.com and I also use Shiva Rae. I also like Gary Bromley's disc that comes with a matt, its my go to when I am hurting. There are many different kinds of yoga. I'm not as much of a fan of the power yoga, although it does have its place. I find that some poses can be even more 'advanced' or challenging when held longer rather than a series of faster poses (possibly in sync with breath). I'm not looking for a 'workout' from my yoga practice, I'm looking for fire (many poses or kriyas (spl?) will build that inner heat), strength, alignment, balance (tree pose can be challenging for people with poor balance.) and stress reduction (stress makes us fat, calming the vegus nerve), improved breath/lung capacity (rapid breath of fire can feel like your head is going to explode and dramatically improved my ability to run.) It also helps me with any edema (fluid retention) I might have by helping move lymph fluid. I don't think of it as an 'instead of cardio' type of workout, I think of it as a vital additional part of my total well being.

The only caveat I have with Cathe's yoga at all is the titles, 'yoga max' sounds like its going to be power yoga, and it really isn't at all. Its a great yoga workout, but its not a max and its really not that advanced at all (not a requirement, I like them both.)

[tralaiven]

I am not very yoga-y, so even though I have had this workout since the Monday after they came out (I was a fairly early pre-order), I still have not pulled Yoga Max out.

Now, since I am NOT a yoga person, I anticipate that this will be just right for me and will be plenty of yoga to last me for YEARS . I will do it one of these days...but I just don't know when!

[Cathe Friedrich]

Thank you all for your informative feedback. I'm very open to constructive comments, so thank you for sharing them.