Customer Reviews

Mark Blanchard's The Power Within: Ultimate Power Yoga [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

After working out with many different types of workout videos, I find "The Power Within" to be the best. It gives me the most incredible workout, I am dripping with sweat within the first twenty minutes. After a few sessions, you don't notice Mark Blanchard's voice. What you will notice is the change in your body. My entire body toned up in less than two months. I never got results like this when I was doing weights. It's also a great cardiovascualr workout. On top of all these benefits, you get a wonderful feeling of calmness of the end of every session. I very highly recommend this video.

I just received this video today and watched the whole thing. Just watching it made me tired. I did not think Mark's voice was really that bad at all. He just seems to get into the motivational mood, and his voice gets kind of soft to try to be inspiring, but it's not bad. Remember, he has to talk while doing the poses and walking around to check other people's poses. The video is 90 minutes and includes almost every yoga pose I have seen in all other videos. It has lots and lots of sun salutations, and even a long floor session with the pretezel type poses you dont see in many videos. I can definitely see how this will be a video that will last a long time, because it will take a long time to build up the stamina and strength to do all 90 minutes. By the end of the tape, Mark's shirt is totally soaked and stuck to his body. I actually liked the fact that some of the students were not advanced. It encouraged me, because I felt like I was among people of my own ability. Don't worry, there are still advanced people in the class, so it is not all beginners. It is nice to see students of all levels. There are a lot of students in his class, more than I've seen on any other yoga video. I think it adds variety to the scene; you are not just focusing on 3 people the whole time. Most of the tape is shot inside his studio, which is large to accomodate the large class. When he does a very challenging pose, the scene changes to just Mark and two advanced students in an outdoor setting. This scene change is good for making sure you are doing the pose right, as most of the students probably cannot do it correctly. If you are looking for a very challenging yoga workout, I would recommend this tape.

What other type of workout video do you need if you own "The Power Within"? I grew tired of aerobics and step workouts. With this video, there is no need to jump about to get the cardiovascular benefits. As a yoga beginner, I did find the workout VERY challenging, but that is what an exercise video should be, so you never outgrow it. A beautiful sense of calm follows every session, and Mark Blanchard reminds you throughout the video that it is not about competing or completng poses, but it is about challenging yourself every time and reaching a new plateau. I will NEVER go back to aerobics!

After being bored by too many slow, cheesy yoga tapes that were more meditation than workout, Mark Blanchard's power yoga was just what I was looking for. It's challenging and will make you sweat, like "power" yoga should. It may be tough for a complete beginner, but for anyone with any familiarity with power yoga, I recommend this workout for days as an alternative to the gym. You feel so calm & energized after this yoga, soon you won't want to go to the gym anymore!

I've had this video now for over three months and upon my further investigation of what true, authentic yoga is, this video exemplifies what it is not. The video IS demonstrative, not instructional. You really need an instructor to do this practice with effectiveness and wisdom. It is not for beginners.

Yes, (ashtanga/power) yoga will make you fit, but its more subtle than that. It's an internal practice, and being fit is a by-product. It's not about how you should look like; it's about getting in touch with your authentic self. This power yoga video is just one of the many examples of the current over-emphasis of the physicality of yoga.

The practice is a process of becoming sensitized to your body as well as being strengthened, in body, mind, and spirit. But it's hard to reach that centred, meditative, focused state when Mark Blanchard is talking, and subjectively speaking, he just seems to talk too much at times. He doesn't help facilitate the inner quiet and focused intensity one aims for in a practice (in this video anyway). There's even a point when he yells "HOW FAR CAN YOU TAKE IT!?!?!". If I heard my instructor say something like that, I'd want my money back. When you're in a particularly challenging or intense asana, the last thing you want to hear is someone yelling at you. You want a calm, balanced voice like Rodney Yee, Baron Baptiste, Patricia Walden, John Scott, or David Swenson. You want quiet in order to focus and listen to your body.

Four important principles particular to power or ashtanga yoga that are completely left out in the video are Ujjayi Pranayama (correct breathing), bhandas (internal body locks), dristes (gazing point), and vinyasa (the linking of asanas, or postures). It's important to know them if you want the real thing.

In addition, if you're interested in authentic Ashtanga yoga, which is where power yoga is derived from, be sure that the instructor has studied under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, who is the contemporary source of it all, for example David Swenson's books or videos, or John Scott's new DVD. Another highly recommended instructor is Erich Schiffman, author of Yoga: The Spirit & Practice of Moving into Stillness. There is a depth to their teachings that I don't see in Mark Blanchard's instruction, even though he apparently studied under K. Pattabhi Jois in the past.

Practice with this video often and you'll be listening more to Mark Blanchard than to your own body.

There are much better Ashtanga videos available. This one is irresponsible and potentially dangerous for the inexperienced yoga practitioner. It strikes me as being more of an ego trip for gymnast/yogi Mark Blanchard than a genuine attempt at offering instruction. He gives very little guidance for getting into or out of poses or modifying them. Blanchard gets in the way of his own students and practically drops one woman when she slips on his sweat... I could almost tolerate his bizarre vocal affectation if he didn't seem to be so self-absorbed and patronizing. For a safer, more realistic "Power Yoga" workout, try a video from Bryan Kest, Baron Baptiste, or the Yoga Zone.

Blanchard's voice-over voice is ridiculous and distracting, and his workout is for the most advanced students. His on-screen students couldn't do the poses at all, which certainly didn't do much for my confidence in this tape. There are so many others that are so much better.

I did not like this video at all.I have taken yoga for a long time with lots of different teachers and styles.And yes the rasping voice is unbearable and it's just trying to cover for the absence of any quality instruction in the poses.If you like Bryan Kest's tapes, this is more of the same.Where Bryan Kest gets by on his good looks Mark Blanchard gets by on his prodigious yogic abilities.Still that does not mean that he has anything to teach.And if you think that by simply watching someone do a handstand and bring his feet to touch the top of his head, you will learn how to get there, you might be disappointed.It is true however: You will sweat and you will lose weight.This tape truly has it's place next to your complete Tae Bo Video set.

Do you ever get the feeling that some people will never "get" yoga no matter how many different ways they come at it? I read these reviews and had to comment. I think that if you are doing the tapes, Mark's voice did not impact my two years of using this tape whatsoever. My body changed by using his first three tapes and my wife and I really love them. His next series, Progressive Power Yoga gets it even better, but these first tapes are still an outstanding workout. Mark kicks your butt and makes you like it. It is fun, intense, centering and my stress is way down. I suggest you don't take my word for it, don't take the other reviewer's word for it, make up your mind for yourself. Mark jokes about buying people a gym membership if they do not believe his workout does more for their body than the gym... I wonder if he ever had to make good on that challenge? We had stopped doing yoga for a few months and when I saw him ranked number one in Fitness magazine, I went to Amazon to see if I could replace a few worn out tapes. Read the reviews and had to add a few of my own. I think if you are even remotely adventurous, you should try this guy. He is the best workout my wife and I have ever done!!!

Mark Blanchard is incredibly flexible and strong, and watching him do some positions can be motivating. His voice, however, is not. I can tune out irritations and get past most things, but I found I couldn't get past his voice and emotion. Yoga is a sport best taught in a moderate, soothing, even-toned voice to not interrupt your concentration and meditation. I wished that I could turn off the sound and just follow the tape, but then I wouldn't have had a flowing workout. I have concerns with the opening warm up as it is too strenuous for the average person's lower back and as a devotee to health and fitness, is not a move I would recommend. The repetition of it is likely to strain people's backs and cause injury. Once you get past that, the rest of the tape is a good workout and when you get to the Sun Salute flow, you will be tested and your muscles will scream. I would recommend looking for tapes with Rodney Yee or by Yoga Zone before this one.