Need Yoga tape suggestions!

[fit@40]

Debbie Dailey

[fit@40]

Sorry, I keep hitting that stinken enter button--UGH.

Okay, I have NEVER done yoga. Would really appreciate your suggestions. Ashtanga? Am/Pm with that Lee dude? Baron Baptise? Should I just learn the basics or would I catch on? I am pretty coordinated, have a dance background, but maybe that doesn't matter with yoga. HELP, Educated Crowd!! Thanks and Happy Easter everyone! DebD

[Dawn W]

Hi Debbie,
Would you prefer tapes that are more active or relaxing and focus more on longer stretches? It's really hard to guess what you would prefer. I would think you would be able to catch on to Power Yoga right away if you prefer to be more active. I personally prefer a more relaxed Yoga. Some people prefer Power Yoga.

I would be happy to suggest some tapes if you prefer a more relaxing Yoga.
Dawn W

[farmgirl]

I have Bryan Kest's 1st 3 volume set and love them if you're into power yoga, intense and Bryan isn't too hard on the eyes :D Living Arts yoga for weight loss is pretty good, I got it because it has a DVD option, love that. My favorite and I would love to hear if there's one out there that compares, is Ali Macgraw's yoga, mind, body...relaxing yoga with Erich's calming voice and beautiful scenery and calming music.
there's my suggestions!
julie

[competition bound]

Hey Deb D!! I love yoga and try to do it everyday! My suggestions are: Ali MacGraw's Yoga Mind & Body, Crunch Joy of Yoga, Yoga with Ateeka, Yoga Zone's Yoga for Weightloss, and YZ's Total Body Conditioning. The 1st 3 are my top 3 choices and the ones I use the most. I have others, like Bryan Kest, but he just struck me as creepy. Even if he is quite handsome! I have a Rodney Yee tape also, but I didn't like his style either. Ali's is the best in my opinion. With the other two as a tie for second. I interchange them depending on the time that I have. Crunch's is about 30min long, while Ateeka's is 1hr. Both are great also. Ok, there's my 2 cents. Hope it helps ya'!

Aimee

[Aquajock]

Kathy Smith has an excellent 3-video series co-taught with Rod Stryker, for beginners, intermediates, and the New Yoga Challenge for more advanced yoga practitioners. I have the Challenge tape and have done it sporadically, but it's really good. (Just don't have the time to do all the workouts I'd like to do!) Actually, Smith is the participant and Stryker is the instructor - Kathy Smith knows when to defer to a master!

Annette

[kristina]

My first yoga tape was Crunch Joy of Yoga, which I loved and did for about 3 weeks. THen I got Kundalini with Karen Carleson (sp?) which is more mystical and relaxing...but the poses are nonetheless challenging (it's way long, tho, 75 min) Those are my gentle yoga tapes.
For strenght building, I love YogaZone Power Yoga with Lisa Bennett. It is very challenging, and I still, months later, do it once a week min.
I really like Brian Kest as well for "hot yoga" (I thought it was really funny someone found him creepy,but I can see the potential)
I don't care for Rodney Yee. I find the transitions between moves "choppy" and his voice grates on me. I just never seem to care for the combinations he puts together, either, although some love him.
This is my thought-
If you like Crunch, you'll like Kathe Smith, Karen Voigt, the beginner YogaZone series, and Ali.
If you like powerful moves, you'll probably like inter/adv YogaZone, Baptise, Kest, and maybe Yee.
See if your video store has one for rent. If not, try the beginner first. If you're not challenged, move on to an intermediate.
I think you will love this as an addition to your routines. I really look forward to my yoga.

[JanetH]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Apr-16-01 AT 11:11AM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Debbie Daily -

Thanks for your nice post in the Open Discussion forum. Here's an ode to entice Cathe to "Go West Young Woman-Go West!"

My life's Quest
Is to bring Cathe West
For a road trip soon
Oh, wouldn't we all swoon

To have Her here
To make our workouts such sheer
Joy and pain,
Oh NO!, she said crazy 8's AGAIN

Oh Cathe please have pity
On your fans in this vicinity
Not only because we love you
And would stop the earthquakes, clear the freeways of traffic and keep the lights on for you
But also because, we have at hand
Many tickets for Eric to Disneyland!

(don't worry, I do not make my living as a writer.)

Suggestions in addition to the great ones you've received already (I'm a beginner and not anywhere near the same league as some of these other yogis). I've added favorites that are not strictly or exclusively yoga (but always leave me feeling relaxed and calm) so disregard if they're not what you had in mind:

Yoga Zone Conditioning and Stress Release (beginners) - a little bit of everything (stretching, strength, meditation)
in just under an hour

PM Yoga for Beginners - it's amazing how much this can unwind
me in only 20 minutes, flexibility and strength, I like the
extra attention to the lower back.

Karen Voight's Pure & Simple Stretch - 35 minutes, lots of
attention to neck, shoulders and upper back.

Scott Cole's Millenium Stretch - a blend of tai chi, yoga,
yoga-inspired moves and a "just the right amount of time"
meditation. More focused on stretching and flexibility than
strength, but I have never done this tape without having a
smile on my face at the end of it.

One of the reasons I like these so much is that all of the instructors give lots of form pointers and feedback on where you should be feeling the stretches or the muscle fatigue.

I've also been able to get ideas from Video Fitness forum yoga check-ins - although my amateur's observation is that most of the people who check there are pretty advanced. FWIW.

Happy posing.

JanetH

[Rhonita]

Try Karen Voight's Yoga Sculpt, Kathy Smith's New Yoga Challenge, and Living Arts Yoga for Weight Loss with Suzanne Deason.

[Amanda Sjogren]

Hello!

Baron Baptiste has three new yoga tapes out (LIVE). 2 of them are 30 minutes and one is 60-minutes. They are really good. Not extremely difficult, but not wimpy either. Bryan Kest's set is excellent too. I also like the Ali McGraw yoga. Total Yoga is also a good one with Tracy Rich. Baron's older yoga tapes are good as well (The next challenge, Ultimate Yoga). Rodney Yee is also an excellent choice. All his videos are good. Well, these are my preferences to yoga. I know it seems like a lot, but there are many yoga tapes that I have done once, then sold on e-bay because they were not for me. I really didn't like Kathy Smith's yoga tapes (just not for me), but others seem to like her. Namaste!