What's your favorite Yoga workout?

E

elsie3

Cathlete
I'm just getting "in" to yoga. I struggled against Pilates and Yoga for quite a while because they didn't "feel" like a workout. I've been doing Pilates for about a year now, and think it adds an important dimension to my exercise. I've tried a few yoga videos from the library, and I really like Kathy Smith's New Yoga Challenge. But I also know that the library usually has only the more "mainstream" videos. I've been doing some research on Collage's site. I know that a lot of Cathe-ites do yoga, so I thought this would be the place to ask. What would you recommend for someone who is fairly new, but wants a good workout and instructor. Also, I can cope with the fact that I'm a yoga beginner, but I don't want a workout that will only last me a short time. I'd prefer more bang for my buck--a workout that is doable but that I can work up to and continue to use. I've got the Bryan Krest series on my wish list, but I'm afraid that it would be out of my league for a while.

Thanks,

Carol F
 
I'm just getting "in" to yoga. I struggled against Pilates and Yoga for quite a while because they didn't "feel" like a workout. I've been doing Pilates for about a year now, and think it adds an important dimension to my exercise. I've tried a few yoga videos from the library, and I really like Kathy Smith's New Yoga Challenge. But I also know that the library usually has only the more "mainstream" videos. I've been doing some research on Collage's site. I know that a lot of Cathe-ites do yoga, so I thought this would be the place to ask. What would you recommend for someone who is fairly new, but wants a good workout and instructor. Also, I can cope with the fact that I'm a yoga beginner, but I don't want a workout that will only last me a short time. I'd prefer more bang for my buck--a workout that is doable but that I can work up to and continue to use. I've got the Bryan Krest series on my wish list, but I'm afraid that it would be out of my league for a while.

Thanks,

Carol F
 
Hi Carol: Over the past 6 years I have practised yoga at home, in churches, in gyms and enjoyed a few yoga retreat weekends, last year I started teaching. I was very pleasantly surprised by Kathy Smith's New Yoga Challenge but always want to hold poses longer. One series that I really like is "Total Yoga, Flow Series", there are 3 tapes (I'm still kind of low tech:)) in the series, the first is 'Earth' which states it is "gentle, restorative and recharging", second is 'Water', "fluidity, power and grace" and lastly 'Fire' which in "endurance, strength and flexibility". They feature Tracey Rich and Ganga White and are IMHO beautifully done.
Another of my perennial favourites is Ali MacGraw's 'Yoga mind and body' featuring Erich Schiffman, it is breath takingly beautiful to watch and a wonderful yoga session. HTH. Namaste.

Take Care
Laurie
 
Hi Carol: Over the past 6 years I have practised yoga at home, in churches, in gyms and enjoyed a few yoga retreat weekends, last year I started teaching. I was very pleasantly surprised by Kathy Smith's New Yoga Challenge but always want to hold poses longer. One series that I really like is "Total Yoga, Flow Series", there are 3 tapes (I'm still kind of low tech:)) in the series, the first is 'Earth' which states it is "gentle, restorative and recharging", second is 'Water', "fluidity, power and grace" and lastly 'Fire' which in "endurance, strength and flexibility". They feature Tracey Rich and Ganga White and are IMHO beautifully done.
Another of my perennial favourites is Ali MacGraw's 'Yoga mind and body' featuring Erich Schiffman, it is breath takingly beautiful to watch and a wonderful yoga session. HTH. Namaste.

Take Care
Laurie
 
I like Karen Voight's yoga stuff. Yoga strength, yoga focus and yoga flow. I find the meditation/ Eastern philosophy stuff distracting and there is little to none in Karen's yoga. I really only do yoga about 2/month because I prefer to be moving faster during my workout but when I do, I like Karen.
 
I like Karen Voight's yoga stuff. Yoga strength, yoga focus and yoga flow. I find the meditation/ Eastern philosophy stuff distracting and there is little to none in Karen's yoga. I really only do yoga about 2/month because I prefer to be moving faster during my workout but when I do, I like Karen.
 
I agree with those mentioned above. Karen V is a very good instructor for Yoga, I think that may be her niche. Also, I do like Bryan Kest as well and his videos can be done by all levels. It took me some time to get "in" to Yoga too as I really enjoyed a faster pace in my workouts, but as I made myself do it once a week, I really came to enjoy it and see the benefits.

Hope you do too, enjoy!

Nancy
 
I agree with those mentioned above. Karen V is a very good instructor for Yoga, I think that may be her niche. Also, I do like Bryan Kest as well and his videos can be done by all levels. It took me some time to get "in" to Yoga too as I really enjoyed a faster pace in my workouts, but as I made myself do it once a week, I really came to enjoy it and see the benefits.

Hope you do too, enjoy!

Nancy
 
I like Karen Voight and Jennifer Kries for yoga and Pilates. I haven't really tried too many different instructors, however, so my preferences are based on a very limited sample.
 
I like Karen Voight and Jennifer Kries for yoga and Pilates. I haven't really tried too many different instructors, however, so my preferences are based on a very limited sample.
 
Thanks for your replies.
Oh, and I accidently misspelled Bryan Kest's name--my apologies.

How do you guys work yoga into your workout rotation?

Carol F
 
I usually wake up and work out before my kids get up. If for some reason I miss my morning w/o and don't fit it in later in the day, I will do a yoga workout before bedtime. I also find Yoga good for days that I am sore from a weight workout. If I'm fully on schedule and not too sore, I do yoga about every 10-12 days, usually at night. In the morning, I like to JAM! One other way that I use Yoga is after a run. If I do a 30-40 minute run for cardio, yoga is GREAT for a nice long cool down with some strength and toning, too.
 
Well presently I only have one - Yoga X from P90X. As of two weeks ago I had never done any yoga (at 39). Well after spending numerous days sorting through posts....THANKS SOOSAN!!...I finally chose to order five. I just couldn't see doing the same one so many times.

I ordered Baron Baptiste- Soul of Strength $9.50 and Ali McGraw- Yoga Mind & Body $7.80 with free shipping but paid $1.17 tax from www.deepdiscountdvd.com.

From www.amazon.com I ordered Eoin Finn- Power Yoga for Happiness $19.95 and Bryan Kest- Power Yoga (Energize/Tone/Sweat)$16.38 with free shipping.

Lastly, because there was such good reviews about David Swenson- Yoga Short Forms the Practice I got it cheapest from collagevideo for $24.95 inc. shipping.

I spent hours looking at reviews from here (against Thanks Soosan) and videofitness. Then spent hours trying to find the cheapest purchases. If anyone is interested www.800.com also has free shipping...can't remember about www.half.com.

Sami

Edited to add at Amazon.com you had to spend $25 to qualify for free shipping and be careful...not all DVD/VHS count toward the $25. When you check out there is a place at the top that says if it qualifies.
 
Hi Sami and other yoga fans! I'm glad my posts were helpful to you, Sami.:) I LOVE yoga and try to fit it in whenever I can.

I recently did a power yoga/Pilates rotation while on vacation for 4 wks. Although I'd never done it for that long, I always alternate yoga and Pilates while on vacation because they're so convenient and give the body a rest from my usual intense cardio and weight-training.

Here are my current favorites:

A. FULL POWER YOGA WORKOUTS

1. POWER YOGA FOR HAPPINESS, Eoin Finn - My absolute favorite. I have trouble reaching for any other power yoga DVD these days. I did this one almost exclusively on my trip. Well-chaptered and the premixes are great! The hip-openers are exceptional. (Full practice is 85 min, but premixes range from 30-55 min)

2. 1995 POWER YOGA SERIES, Bryan Kest - I never fail to get a wonderful workout with these. TONE and SWEAT are particulary good and he holds the poses a LONG time. Chaptering is awful but the price is great and the shipping is free at DeepDiscountDVD ($13 and change) (Each workout is about 50 min)

3. POWER YOGA, Eoin Finn - I've only done this once because I loaned it to a friend but I really liked it! VF has a lot of info and rave reviews. (About 60 min)

4. SHORT FORMS, David Swenson - This is designed as an introduction to Ashtanga Yoga. Exceptional instructor. I love this practice but would reach for it more often if the poses were held longer than the usual 5 breaths held in Ashtanga practices. (15, 30 and 45 min practices)

5. SOUL OF STRENGTH, Baron Baptiste - A great all-around practice. Challenging and well-chaptered. (60 min)

6. POWER YOGA TOTAL BODY, Rodney Yee - I just got this and previewed it yesterday. Beautiful production, very thorough instruction, movements are slower so you can really work on improving your poses. This seemed more challenging than Yee's other practices. I can't wait to try it. Lots of favorable reviews at VF.


B. DVD's I USE AS ADD-ONS

1. SONIC YOGA TURBO FLOW, Jonathan Fields - The last section of this DVD ("Dissolve") is wonderful to sub for a post-workout Cathe stretch. The rest of the DVD is okay, but the first section ("Blaze") goes lightening-fast and is not my cup of tea. This is the yoga add-on I reach for the most. (Total 60 min, "Dissolve" - 18 min, shorter without savasana)

2. POWER & PRECISION YOGA, Baron Baptiste - I very often use the last section ("Wind") as a great add-on. Only on VHS. (60 min total, "Wind" - 10-15 min)

3. YOGA CONDITIONING FOR ATHLETES, Rodney Yee - 3 20-min sections great for add-ons, plus 5 or so additional 5-10 min add-ons for a time-crunched workout. The stretches are not as challenging as the above two but still good.

4. YOGA JOURNAL'S YOGA FOR ENERGY, Rodney Yee - 5 15-min sections which are somewhat challenging. No instructional guidance makes this DVD a breath of fresh air if you're already familiar with the poses. He just announces each pose without additional comment.

5. YOGA JOURNAL'S YOGA FOR FLEXIBILITY, Patricia Walden - This workout is the bonus section on YOGA JOURNAL'S YOGA FOR BEGINNERS. The workout was originally produced in 1992 and contains two thirty-minute sections: back bends and forward bends. When I reguarly do the forward bending section, my flexibility markedly increases. This is a very S-L-O-W practice and 30 min is long for a cool-down. But if you want to increase your flexibility, this is a must!

Can you tell I'm still on a yoga-high after my 4-wk rotation?:)
 
If you do Cathe/tougher workouts, I don't think you'll have any trouble with Bryan Kest's series. Maybe it will take a little while to get flexible, but strength wise you'll do fine. Like 'they' say, any workout you can do at all well, in the beginning, is too easy. So--it will grow on you.
 
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