Can anyone recommend a good, basic yoga video?

[midnight]

That's not too long? I am not a morning exerciser but I am finding that I need a way to center myself before dealing with the day ahead. I just want a dvd that goes through the basic poses, with some breathing stuff. I can take a pass on the spiritual stuff, if included. I'd do stretch max but I'm not warmed up sufficiently that early in the morning. I just want to roll out of bed and do this before anything else, just to clear my head.

Any suggestions other than yoga would be appreciated as well.

--Lois


"If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning" - Mahatma Ghandi

 

[cathykazbar]

Hi Lois-
I am not much of a morning person and I enjoy a series by Living Arts with Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden called "A.M./P.M. Yoga". You may be able to buy just the A.M. portion ... I'm not sure. The A.M. workout is more of a soothing "wake-up" gentle stretching (it is on a beach ... someplace in Hawaii I believe ....). You start off the workout laying down on your mat and then finish it in a standing position. I use this workout to gently wake myself up ... wake up my brain ... center myself for the day.
Cath

 

[amyg]

Surprisingly, I have a Firm Yoga DVD I really like. It's from the BSS 3, I think, although it uses no props. It's I think 35 minutes, which is longer than the AM/PM yoga, but I think it does a little more than that one. (Did you know, if you have netflix, you can rent some yoga ones to try out?)
It's the no nonsense I think you're looking for. That said, I could do the AM yoga rolling out of bed- I liked that aspect of it. The Firm one I generally like to be a little warm before doing that one.
Good luck!

 

[NicoleP]

Candle light yoga with Sara Ivanhoe. Also she has one for dummies I think is GOOD, but my all time fav. (not beginner) is Ally Mcgraw one. I can't think of the name right now???? HELP:7

~Nicole

P:S: FYI Candle light yoga has a 15 min. morning start up

 

[saraseth]

I really like Yoga Zone videos. They're an hour long, but you could just do 15-30 min. and feel great. There's a Conditioning and Stress Release tape and a Flexibility and Tone tape. There are also more advanced workouts.

 

[Maximus]

Baron Baptiste's Yoga for Beginners was my first. It was a good introduction to basic yoga moves, & it's about 30 minutes long.

Pilates is a good yoga substitute, works the muscles a little more but still not high intensity. I have so many workouts I don't even know what to recommend LOL. The NY Style Pilates is good, & the Rael Pilates series (Rael 7, 17 & 27) is a good basic pilates workout. They're about 30 minutes as well.

 

[NY25]

I also vote for the Ali McGraw (Yoga Mind & Body) workout. It's pretty quick but gives a really good all-around workout. And the instructor has one of the most soothing voices ever. I also like the Living Arts/Yoga Journal series with Rodney Yee. I have Yoga for Energy and Yoga for Meditation. They're particularly nice because the DVDs are segmented - you can do the entire thing, or pick just certain segments to do that day. If you're new to Yoga, you'll have to watch it a couple of times to "get" the asanas, but once you become familiar, it has nice flow and gives a very good workout.