Customer Reviews

10 Minute Solution Yoga

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've grudgingly come to admit that if I want to fit everything into my day (meditation, Pilates, yoga) I need to do it in short bursts, so I was very excited about this release.

Not surprisingly, this is not the kind of yoga where you hold postures for a long time. I would have preferred fewer postures held longer, but I think the majority of viewers prefer a wider range of postures held for less time. The style for most of it is vinyasa, or movement patterns linked by breath. Yoga Basics, the first section of the DVD introduces the Sun Salutations, with a variation that includes Warrior 1. Yoga for Buns and Thighs builds on the Sun Salutation by adding Warrior 2 and a Chair/Chair twist sequence. I love Chair twists, so this made me smile. In addition, she has a Lying Boat sequence which also helps target the inner and outer thighs. Yoga for Abs includes crunch variations- which always annoy me in yoga practices- as well as Leg Lifts (while supine and side-lying) and, of course, Boat. She also includes a Sphinx/Cobra to help stretch out the abdominals. Not surprisingly, this isn't a "flowing" or vinyasa practice, but that takes nothing away from it. I have a regular Pilates practice, so I see myself using this the least. Yoga Burn builds further on the Sun Salutation, now including Triangle as well as Warriors 1 and 2. We then hold Plank for about five breaths before moving onto three new mini-vinyasas. First, it's a Camel through Child's Pose, then Down Dog to Up Dog, and finally a Chair to modified Shoulder Stand. Each of the sequences is repeated five or six times before we move onto the next. The last one asks you to roll up from your back to standing without using your hands, similar to the opening sequence of Total Yoga. Tough! The final segment, Yoga for Flexibility and Relaxation, includes some hamstring and hip openers in addition to twists (my favorite yoga postures), as well as a brief (one or two breath) Savasana. Again, not flowing or vinyasa style here, but still very relaxing. If I were to do all of these back to back, I would do: Basics, Buns/Legs, Burn, Abs and Relaxation, but I think it could be done in the order it's listed in just fine. As with all of the 10-Minute Solution series, you can choose 1 to 5 segments in whatever order you'd like (it's always nice to see DVDs take advantage of the technology!).

This is definitely not the first yoga tape you should start with, although the instructor does a pretty good job of giving concise instructions. Power Yoga fans might not feel challenged enough here, because although the Sun Salutations are variations on the Ashtanga/Power Salutations, there just aren't that many of them and most of the postures aren't super tough. Also, the instructor seems to lose her train of thought a couple of times, and in the last segment, she repeats "peace sign fingers" four times, which is noticeable in a ten-minute segment. But otherwise, I found her instruction to be very competent, and in general I found her to be encouraging without being saccharine or condescending.

Recommended for experienced, time-crunched yoga fans who aren't looking for an exhaustive practice.

Lara Hudson has designed five excellent 10-Minute yoga workouts, each with a different focus. Basics and Burn are total body energizers which will challenge your strength and agility with smooth-flowing standing poses. Buns & Thighs uses standing poses to build leg strength and improve your balance, as well as a few floor poses to target inner thighs and core. Abs focuses on improving core strength with challenging poses on the floor. Flexibility & Relaxation thoroughly stretches out the legs, hips and torso with more poses on the floor.

The 10-minute workout concept works very well for yoga, especially if you want to branch out and get more yoga into your weekly schedule, without cutting into your regularly scheduled cardio or strength workouts. If so, this DVD allows you to easily add just one segment to another workout for added strength or flexibility work. However, if your focus for the day is yoga, the versatile DVD program menu also allows you design a custom yoga workout of up to a 60 minutes.

>>>> Workout Details
Basics:
The first run-through is pretty slow, so you can learn the vinyasa pattern and warm up, then pace picks up. Begin seated for breathing practice, 3x, then stand for two versions of the sun salutation.
Basic sun salutation vinyasa is done twice: mountain pose, forward bend, back extension, high plank, low plank, up dog, down dog, forward bend, forward extension, stand while reaching arms overhead, bring hands into prayer in front of chest, and return to mountain pose.
Repeat this vinyasa twice more, each time adding leg extensions in down dog, and warrior 1 on each side.

Buns & Thighs: standing and floor poses at a faster pace, challenging your balance
Opens with chair pose, then moves into the second version of the sun salutation vinyasa above, this time adding warrior 2 after warrior 1 on each side. While holding each warrior 2, you straighten and bend the front leg 3x before continuing on. After the last plank, instead of going into up dog, you lie face down on the floor to work the inner thighs by opening and closing the legs slowly 2x, adding arm sweeps 3x, then one last torso lift with hands clasped behind back.
After a quick break of catback & childs' pose, you stand up to continue the vinyasa, adding chair pose with a twist to each side after the back extension. The final vinyasa adds high crescent pose on each side, holding and straightening the front leg 3x before continuing on.

Abs: all poses on the mat
Begin seated on mat for boat pose (v-sit with hands holding onto backs of thighs, shins parallel to floor). Next, extend both legs 5x, then place hands on floor behind your hips, lower down onto your forearms, again extend and retract both legs 10x.
Lie on your back with both hands under your glutes for double leg lifts 5x. Next, lying with legs bent in chair position and arms extended forward, upper crunch 10x, then oblique crunches L 10x, and R 10x.
After a full body stretch, work the obliques with side-lying double leg lifts 10x, and two holds before switching to the other side.
End with two challenging poses: begin in Boat pose, then roll upper back down to floor while extending both legs 10x. For the grand finale, Lara does some wrist rolls in prep so you know it's going to be tough. Begin in a face-up bridge or table-top, then lower your glutes, but don't let them touch the floor, rather, keep pushing them backwards while straightening your legs until your butt is behind your arms and you're balanced on your hands and heels (It's like Cathe's "levitation" move in Core Max, but with straight legs instead of crossed legs.) Alternate between the bridge and the "levitation" 5x, then stretch the abs with Cobra and Childs pose.

Burn: standing poses flowing to floor and back up
Begin with the opening sun salutation vinyasa from Buns & Thighs, including the leg extension in down dog, warrior 1 & 2, and adding triangle pose, and warrior 2 & 1.
After doing each side, hold high plank for 5 breaths, then do side planks on each side (on feet & one hand).
After childs pose, knee for camel pose slow (kneeling backbend) then swoop forward putting chest on thighs with arms extended behind, alternate these two poses 5x.
"Up dog, down dog flow" alternating each pose 5x.
Stand in mountain, then a challenging chair pose vinyasa: start in chair pose, then lower glutes to sit on floor and roll backwards onto shoulders (not neck), extending legs overhead, then roll forward, into standing forward bend with hands clasped behind back, lift quickly into chair pose. Repeat 5x.

Flexibility & Relaxation: seated and lying poses
Seated: butterfly stretch (bound angle pose), lateral bend over L leg, spinal twist same direction, untwist in opp direction, repeat on R side. Lie face up for bridge pose, then extend both legs, R knee to chest, hold R big toe with peace sign fingers for ham stretch, then inner thighs, lying spinal twist, repeat on L side. Finish with corpse pose.

>>>> Fitness level
Experience with yoga would be advised for this workout because the poses, although very well-cued, are meant to flow smoothly, so you need to be able to get into a pose pretty quickly and transition to the next one quickly too. Although the Basics segment sounds like it should be easy, it moves along at a good pace, and the sun salutation, with many up dogs and down dogs, requires good upper body strength as well as wrist strength. A few poses at the end of Burn and Abs are quite challenging -- definitely something to work up to. Flexibility & Relaxation is the easiest segment, and doable by all levels, because it's goal is exactly that: flexibility and relaxation. If you're still struggling with balance in Warrior poses, can't step into and out of down dog quickly, or can't hold Boat pose, you may want to avoid frustration and try an easier yoga workout.

>>>> Instruction & Cueing
Lara does an excellent job of cueing the poses and each breath. Lara is encouraging in a laid-back way, and seems very confident and knowledgeable in her instructions. Her delivery is calm and low-key as she leads you smoothly through each pose, step by step and breath by breath. She offers technique pointers and frequently explains the fine points of each pose, allowing you to make adjustments as needed. You don't need to watch the TV at all, which is very helpful, because often you can't...or at least you shouldn't be turning your head to see the next move.

>>>> Set
Studio with wood floor, peach walls, opaque windows. Plants and fitness equipment scattered against the walls.

>>>> Crew
Lara is alone on camera, so there are no alternatives shown for some of the harder poses, although she usually shows an easier version first which you can stick with if needed.

>>>> DVD features
Main menu has three choices:
Create a Personalized Workout: choose up to 6 segments from this Menu, to play in the order you want, segments can be repeated

Pick One Workout: play one segment at a time, when done you're sent back to Pick One menu to choose another

Play All: segments play in this order: Basics, Buns & Thighs, Abs, Burn, Flexibility & Relaxation

Choosing the order of workouts
If you're going to do all 5 segments in a row, start with Basics as your warm-up, then do Buns & Thighs and Burn (in either order, doesn't matter which comes first). Abs works the core with challenging moves, so it's best placed after the standing segments, so that you're not trying to balance or perform moves quickly with pre-fatigued abs. Flexibility & Relaxation should always be placed last.

For a well-rounded half-hour yoga workout, start with Basics to warm-up and get energized, then depending on your goal for the day, put Buns & Thighs, Burn or Abs in the middle, and end with Relaxation to gently and thoroughly stretch you lower body and torso.

Upward dog
There are a lot of upward dogs in the three standing segments. It takes a lot of upper body strength to lift your hips and legs off the floor until only the tops of your feet are resting on the floor. You can always modify this to a cobra pose (lifting only your torso off the floor, leaving your hips grounded). However, you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll build strength if you keep at it -- so don't give up! One caution: don't overarch your lower back in up dog (or in cobra either) by tilting your head backwards or pushing your chest forward. You'll notice that Lara's upper torso is perpendicular to the floor in this pose, her shoulders are directly over her hands, and she's looking straight ahead, so she doesn't have an excessive arch in her lower back. It helps to practice this pose sideways to a mirror a few times, so you can see how far backwards you're leaning.

Balance help for Warrior poses
Lara gives an excellent cue for the back foot in Warrior position. She cues you to put your weight on the outside of the back foot, which helps to engage the quads and lifts the arch off floor. If you've ever had trouble balancing in warrior, this cue should help you feel more solid in that split-leg stance.

As a matter of fact, lifting the arches of your feet off the floor in any standing pose helps to align the knees properly, engage the quad muscles and improves balance. Beryl Binder Birch, in her excellent book, Power Yoga explains the basic foot stance this way: "The weight of the body is distributed in three places in the foot -- in the ball of the foot behind the big toe, in the ball of the foot behind the third and fourth toes, and in the center of the heel." Beryl suggests that flat feet (fallen arches) which are often treated by prescribing orthotics for one's shoes, would be better corrected by doing yoga -- "by consciously and repeatedly shifting the weight toward the outside of your feet throughout practice, thereby developing and strengthening the arches."

If you have trouble with balance during yoga, you'll find that concentrating on pressing down through these three points and spreading your toes wide against the floor, will automatically lift the arches of your feet and improve your ability to balance on one foot for Tree or in split stances like Warrior, Triangle or Crescent poses. It will also enhance your feeling of groundedness in Mountain and Chair poses.

Double leg lifts (Abs)
Having your hands under your glutes should help to protect your lower back for this exercise. If you feel any strain in the low back, stop lowering your legs at that point. As your abs get stronger, you'll be able to get your legs lower safely. Remember that Lara has been practicing yoga for a long time and is quite strong. If you can't lower your legs as much as she does, that's ok. Recognize your own limits and adjust the move accordingly. You can do this exercise with your knees bent as much as 90 degrees and still be working the ab muscles. You can also lift and lower one leg at a time.

Boat pose roll back with leg extensions (Abs)
This exercise has a Pilates feel to it, and can be very challenging for the low back. In Pilates, you start with your upper back on the floor and curl up, whereas here you start seated and lower down to the floor. If you can't smoothly curl up and down as much as Lara, limit your range of motion when you lean back.

Bridge/table-top swing-through vinyasa (Abs)
If you have a long torso and short arms, you may have trouble holding yourself high enough off the floor to bring your glutes backwards. To make this easier, rest your hands on two yoga blocks or two thick books (I used one yoga black and my paperback copy of Gray's Anatomy) to give your glutes more clearance for your swing backwards. (I couldn't do this at all when I had my hands on the floor, but the extra clearance I got from the books made this vinyasa quite doable. (I surprised myself!)

Chair vinyasa (Burn)
If you're not flexible or nimble enough to sit on the floor directly from chair pose, roll back and forward and return to standing all in one smooth move, you can modify by holding the chair pose while Lara does the roll. This is a very advanced move.

(...)

I really like this workout , I didnt buy it for the 10 minute segments because I think doing Yoga for this short amount of time isn't really effective but for a 50 or 40 minute workout (if you want to omit 1 segment) it's pretty good. I felt really energized after doing it.The abs segment really reminded me of pilates and has a mix of boat variations and more. My favorite segment is "yoga burn" which is a fast flow of yoga postures (not sun salutations!) like rolling on your back to plough pose then rolling back to standing for a few times and more, it was really fun.While there are no really advanced poses here, you can definitely work up a sweat if you do the whole thing but I wouldn't recommend this for beginners.Lara is a very good and likable instructor her cuing is also good ,the only minus is that there's no savasana at the end . All in all if you want a non intimidating and energizing yoga workout it's definitely a good choice.

Lara is one of my favorite instructors. I find myself going back to this workout as well as her Pilates workout over and over. This DVD is excellent. The yoga poses are very relaxing and thorough. The Yoga Burn section is challenging and alot of fun. The 10 minute sections make them easy to fit in before bed or after a run. Excellent!! Hope to see Lara in another video soon!

I love this DVD and I love Lara, the instructor. I adore the music and the workouts are great. To the person who said these run over ten minutes --- not so. A few run just a few seconds over but they stay right at ten minutes.

That said, I love the fact you can build your own workout with the press of a button on the DVD player. You can do just one workout, or two or all of them. If you need to work on your abs, you might select the Basic and the Abs, for example. You can, if you choose, personalize your workout. That's so cool.

The music is what I'd call New Age --- very nice and motivating. And loud enough to enjoy yet not so loud as to disturb.

Lara has a nice voice. She's friendly without being giddy. She's a good instructor.

The workouts are challenging. They are vinyasa, which means they flow. They are similar to the workouts you get with Baron Baptiste and Byran Kest.

Vinyasa is a breath-synchronized movement. When used to describe a style of yoga, Vinyasa means that poses will flow from one to another in conjunction with the breath. It's such a wonderful way to move and to feel at peace with the world and yourself.

Lara doesn't really give modifications. But those of us who do Yoga know to use them and even a beginner should know to work within his or her own limitations and not to try and do what someone else does. Yoga, like all exercise, should be done to your own degree.

I highly recommend this DVD to "anyone" at any level of Yoga. It is a real workout and you should get a lot from it. And you can personalize it to meet your needs and the time you have available. I wish all DVDs and all workouts were as good as this one!

Do yourself a big favor and buy it!

This is a great yoga DVD for people looking to do more of a yoga workout than a yoga relaxation due to the pace and structure. If you are looking for a good 10 minute yoga routine for relaxation, try the original 10 Minute Solution with Michelle instead.

10 Minute Solution Yoga by Lara Hudson is fifty-four minutes and was released on DVD on September 6, 2005. This video is more geared to people who are in shape, flexible, and thin. Since I don't fall into any of the above categories, this felt more like an intermediate yoga video. The main reason I bought this was to replace my VHS version of Denise Austin's Hit the Spot Easy Tone video; look likes I am going to hold on to that one a little bit longer then I expected. The DVD is broken down to five different sections:

Yoga Basics-Start with three breaths sitting down and then go into mountain pose. Yoga poses in order of appearance: Sun Salutation, high plank, low plank, Upward facing dog, downward facing dog, prayer pose, and Warrior One pose. Basically you are doing the Sun Salutation repeated times.

Yoga for Buns & Thighs-Start standing up with you hands in prayer pose. Yoga poses in order of appearance: Chair pose, high plank, low plank, upward facing dog, Downward facing dog, Warrior One pose, Warrior Two pose, and child pose. There are two other poses\movements that she does not mention by name.

Yoga for Abs-Starting down. Lara's V-sit exercises may be difficult for those people not in shape. Yoga poses in order of appearance: leg lifts, boat pose, table-top pose, snake pose, and child pose. Yoga for Abs segment in my opinion is difficult for to do if you are out of shape. If you are healthy, but not have workout in a long while, you might be able to do this segment.

Yoga Burn-This routine starts in mountain pose. Yoga poses in order of appearance: high plank, low plank, Upward facing dog, Downward facing dog, Warrior One pose, Warrior Two pose, side plank, child pose, camel pose flow, prayer pose, Up dog Down dog pose flow, chair pose flow, and roll down. Yoga Burn is done at a quicker pace.

Yoga for Flexibility & Relaxation-Start sitting down in the balance ankle pose. Yoga poses in order of appearance: side bending stretch, seated spine twist, bridge pose, hamstring stretch, and inner thigh stretch. When it comes to the hamstring and inner thigh stretch, a towel, belt, or strap may be needed for those you cannot reach their toes.

The first two I had no problem keeping up with and then came Yoga for Abs for which I could only do half of the segment. Yoga Burn is done at a faster pace does require some arm strength to hold a pose for about a minute. When Yoga for Flexibility & Relaxation came on I felt I was participating in an advance game of Twister in the first half. Also I felt that Lara should have told her audience that a towel or strap might be needed for the leg portion of the segment. 10 Minute Solution Yoga by Lara Hudson gets a C- for not putting some kind of warning label on it.

DVD FEATURES

Play All
Pick One Workout
A) Yoga Basics
B) Yoga for Buns & Thighs
C) Yoga for Abs
D) Yoga Burn
E) Yoga for Flexibility & Relaxation
Create a Personalized Workout

This "10 Minute Solution Yoga" DVD includes five 10 minute workouts, each covering various yoga asanas that focus on parts of the body you're looking to shape up. The DVD cover states that these are yoga "workouts," meaning that because this is yoga for physical fitness it has less of a mystical or spiritual focus than what most yogis may come to expect. Having said that, this workout is more than sufficient as a total-body workout.

The first segment includes a basic introduction to yoga poses. The second and third segments are body-part focused, zooming in on the buns, thighs & abs. And the fourth segment called "Yoga Burn" offers a more challenging, power yoga workout. The last segment delivers a brief but total body relaxation exercise that focuses on creating a more flexible body and stretches out all of your muscles.

The set is simple and spacious, and Lara Hudson is pleasent to listen to, as is the accompanying instrumental music. I would classify this as an intermediate level workout, particularly when combining all five segments, as the moves do tend to be challenging, fast-paced, and Lara doesn't show a whole lot of modifications. However, they are not too complicated for a beginner to learn or advanced to.

While there certainly are more enjoyable Yoga DVDs out there (I actually prefer Yoga DVDs that feature a natural scenic background) "10 Minute Sollution" is not only a pleasing alternative for those who enjoy the physical benefits of yoga but don't want all of the mystical aspects, but is an effective way to squeeze at least 10 minutes of Yoga into your daily life if that is all you have time for.

Rating: Good

This was my first yoga experience. Overall I enjoyed it very much. I had to make quite a few modifications for poses/moves that were too difficult for me, but I kind of appreciated that because it gives me something to work for. Otherwise, I might get tired or bored pretty quickly. This poses a challenge and clear goal for me to ahcieve. I'm glad I bought it and look forward to mastering it.

I hesitated to practice yoga since the last time I joined a yoga class years ago. It was too slow, too hard, and too boring. I didn't feel like I got any exercise. None of the poses made sense if not alreay impossible to do.
BUT!! With this DVD, it changed my viewpoint downside UP. I started with 10 mins for the basic. I felt it was hard, but challenging hard, not like impossible. So, I felt motivated. Then, the 2nd time, I tried mixing the basic with buns and thighs. I couldn't believe slow moves with a lot of deep breathing could get my heart rate going like I went jogging (I was a fan of aerobic exercise in general. I believe sweats and shortness of breath are the signs I have exercised). Then, I tried it all (yoga for abs, yoga burn, yoga for flexibility and relaxation). I mixed and match to any 10, 20, ..., 50 mins I want to.
Yoga got it all for my definitions of exercise WITHOUT me feeling super-tired and could barely do anything afterwards. It's low intensity so my legs/joints do not get hurt doing yoga. A week after, I noticed I slept better, fell asleep fast, woke up refreshed, I did not need that many hours of sleep to feel rested (I now go to bed at 10/11pm, wake up at 5am! with full energy and feel too lazy to sleep more :) ).
The instructor makes yoga interesting, challenging, and not boring. Her voice is not too soft (you know what I mean if you've seen FitTV Namaste Yoga). She doesn't make my exercise feel like a nap time. I now in the 5th week of it, and I'm getting better at every poses (not perfect yet because my legs and back are not that flexible from not stretching enough for years and years).
Give it a try. You will know the different in yourself. Your weights, your shape, your size, your mood, your attitude will all improve! The DVD makes this all possible. Now, I'm 5lbs lighter and the weights are going off slowly, but surely.
For those who already know Yoga (those non-beginners) might not like this DVD because its levels are towards beginner with good explanations of poses' names, how to breath in each and every move, etc. It's a great basic that will last with me for at least several months to come.
By the way, the instructor is not a super-skinny woman. She is lean, yet got curves. She doesn't make me feel jealous or wonder how on earth one would ever want to be like .... (those other exercise maniacs).
I also bought her Rapid Results Pilates. I tried twice. I liked it ok, but I liked yoga more. Another one I bought is 10 min solution: Fat Blasting Dance Mix. I thought I would like it the most because it's the kind of exercise I was used to all my life. I tried it twice. It was as good as expected. But, Yoga has won me!