Customer Reviews

Power Yoga - Total Body Workout

5 star:		(176)
4 star:		(74)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I have been practicing yoga regularly for about three years, and found this dvd to be a wonderful addition to my practice. Most of the poses are simple enough so that they can be attained by beginners, however, the length of the practice and the quantity of standing poses makes for a vigorous workout. This one is not for everyone however, I was a professional athlete and continue to stay in good shape, and I found myself (after the first couple of practices) to really feel the workout in my back. If you have not done a lot of yoga, you may want to start with a less strenuous tape, however if you like to feel a deep stretch and don't mind a few sore muscles, this is the yoga tape for you.

I own three of Yee's DVDs (Power Yoga the complete Workout, Yoga for Athletes, and this one), and Yee has not let me down yet. Each DVD is a little better than the last. This one may be his best yet. I think this DVD is a great intermediate level workout. The level of poses is not extremely complex, but he gives you a complete body workout in about 63 minutes. Those of you familiar with Yee's "Power Yoga the complete workout" will note that this work out goes 60+ minutes straight, versus breaking up the workout into three types (stamina, strength, and flexibility). This workout will build endurance for sure. I like how this DVD is a little less rushed than the first Power Yoga DVD. The poses are held longer, and are slightly more difficult than the first DVD, but the pace is slower. In this DVD you may feel less rushed than you did in the previous Power Yoga DVD with moving from one pose to the next. If you are new to Yoga, this may be tough for you. Although these poses may or may not be difficult for everyone, the sequence and the amount of time you spend doing them may be. I would suggest this tape for anyone looking to establish an at home practice who has practiced for at least 6 months or better, and who wants to build endurance. As I stated before Rod Yee comes through yet again with another great yoga DVD.

My primary reasons for taking up yoga were to lose weight, reallign my back, increase flexibility, and achieve more relaxed breathing. Yee's Total Body Workout, a little over an hour, achieves all my goals. First, let me say you need to have about six months of basic yoga in order to do these moves and you probably can't be more than thirty pounds overweight; many of the moves require a body that is reasonably muscular. I've got six months of yoga and thirty years of bodybuilding (both a blessing and a curse) behind me so I can do 90% of the moves. Secondly, you should invest in a thick yoga mat; they go for about forty dollars and if you sweat a lot like I do, place a beach towel over the mat so you don't slip. The only other piece of equipment you might need is a ten-dollar strap or just a belt for some of the lying leg stretches.

I like Yee's screen persona. He is authentic, direct, and clear. He spares you New Age pretentiousness, self-aggrandizement, and any other affectations.

The workout is vigorous and fast-paced. For the first five minutes, a warm-up period, you think you're going to get off with an easy workout but within twenty minutes you're sopping with sweat. The first couple of times you might just have to figure out what Yee is doing. By the third workout, you should be able to follow along seamlessly. It's worth the work. You'll burn between 500-700 calories per workout; that's over a pound of fat a week or fifty-two pounds a year.

On a more subtle note, I've noticed my breathing is more relaxed throughout the day and there appears to be a connection between relaxed breathing and less consumption of food. I've always been cursed with a voracious appetite, and while my daily hour of yoga hasn't totally cured it, my hungers are lower, I'd say 10% less than without the yoga.

Also with bodybuilding and cardio at the gym, I come home exhausted and must nap for a good hour before I can do anything productive. With yoga, I don't need a nap. I'm already energized.

It's important to change your yoga workouts so you don't go stale. I'd recommend checking out the Bryan Kest DVDs, especially his Power Yoga, which has three workouts on one DVD.

This one-hour routine is definitely a challenge. It is not for beginners. You must know the poses already and know how to modify if you can't do them like the instructor. I usually don't like Power Yoga, but my sister let me borrow it because she liked it. I like the flow speed and long holding of the poses, but Rodney Yee doesn't give enough of a pause between the sun salutations to witness. I was challenged by the back bends, and did a couple rounds, but I had to back off at the end. I was very warmed up and flexible and learned slight adjustments to put myself further into the pose. I was not real impressed with the DVD menu selection; you pretty much just run it from beginning to end. The scenery and music were lovely. I wouldn't use this DVD a lot, but it would be a nice one when you have a high energy level and you're ready for the challenge.

After using this DVD on several occassions I decided this is really a 5 star!!! Amazon won't let you change the rating once your set it. Definetly not for beginners, but fantastic if you know the basics!!!

I purchased this video without reading any reviews. (Couldn't find any) and initially felt like the previous reviewer that it looked boring but I did the whole tape and it's great! It starts out slow and then builds up to where you are sweating and feeling the workout throughout your body. His routine is different in his sun salutations which was a nice surprise because if you've done them enough they can be so predictable. The variety was welcome. Also the floor work was different by moving from one stretch to another rather quickly but afterwards you feel loosened up, strenghtened and relaxed. The overall mood of the tape was calming even though you are working hard and the scenery is spectacular! I think Rodney Yee improves with each new tape he does. His earlier ones were so fast during the sun salutations that I had lower back problems afterwards but this one is at a much better pace.

I'm a moderately experienced Ashtanga yoga practitioner and I bought this DVD hoping it would offer a slightly less strenuous Vinyasa practice I could do at home to supplement my yoga classes. On the whole I wasn't disappointed. The flow of poses is well composed and definitely offers an aerobic benefit in addition to the strengthening and calming effects typical of yoga. I've done the whole sequence about fifteen times and have always felt relaxed and energized afterwards. The DVD's hour-long time span is enough to provide a challenge for more experienced practitioners but not too daunting for beginners. That said, this might not be the right choice for a complete novice as Yee doesn't offer comprehensive explanations of each pose, or of how to move from one pose to the next.

I would have liked him to spend a bit more time on the subtleties of each asana, for example, how should the feet connect with the ground in poses like Downward Dog and Mountain Pose, and where should the gaze be directed? Also, what about mudras and breathing in each posture? Additionally, I think insufficient information is provided on modifying poses...again, if you're a complete beginner you may want to start with something more basic.

Although I really like Yee's soothing intonations as he guides one through the practice, I simply couldn't stand the synthetic New Age style music in the background. I'm not averse to New Age sounds per se but I have to work hard to block out the soundtrack on this DVD. I know this is a minor concern but initially it impaired my enjoyment of the practice.

Even if you're primarily interested in the physical benefits of yoga over its spiritual and philosophical components (and if you don't have access to hands-on yoga instruction) I recommend supplementing this DVD with a book such as Iyengar's "Light on Yoga", which offers very detailed explanations of each pose and its effects on both the external and internal bodies.

I have been using this DVD regularly for 4 months or so. I do it 1st thing in the morning so the 1st 10 minute warm up session is perfect to wake you up and get you going. Rodney then escalates to a more demanding yet gentle and relaxing series that get you sweating and make your muscles both stretch and work out. When you are tired enough, by minute 30 or so, he then takes you to the floor in a series of back bends that are still quite demanding but allow your heart rate to drop.
Finally there are about 20 minutes of stretching that will leave you feeling calmed, relaxed, energized and full of peace.
After doing this for a month or so your legs and arms are lean and defined, your waist is smaller and you find it easier to sleep at night and cope with every day's problems.
Haven't got this from any other yoga DVD and I own about 6 of them. I recommend this for anybody with some yoga experience.

I purchased this dvd after reading several reviews. I was looking for a challenging workout, as I've been practicing yoga for about 5 years now. I've been taking ashtanga classes about once a week and going to bikrams classes on and off so I think I have a pretty good experience level. This dvd definitely wasn't one of the most challenging workouts I've done but it was excellent for a dvd. I read the other reviews for this one and I think there is something to be said if you are a beginner. Most yoga dvds are out to try and create a workout for everyone so they do gear towards beginners more by having extra instruction and guidance. I don't think this is the case with this workout, it's really more for intermediate levels. You have to have some sense of proper alignment and where you are at in your practice. I think if I had tried this when I first began I could have gotten hurt because I didn't know how much to push. I really liked the fact that this workout was over an hour, most yoga dvds are about a half an hour, barely enough to really get a workout. I also found that I was incredibly relaxed after this workout. I did this right before going to work and I felt fantastic for the rest of the day. I'd recommend this to anyone except the absolute beginner, it's a must for your collection!

If you're looking for something pretty, in this DVD Rodney Yee performs his workout in a beautiful, idyllic setting. But it isn't really for beginners. Overall, this whole workout is more for those at an intermediate/advanced level of yoga.

The DVD doesn't really take advantage of the DVD features. There are some different "pieces" of the workout, but really the long workout is just divided into a few chunks.

Each section of the workout gradually increases in intensity. When the poses get too hard for you, you can skip forward to the next section of the workout and continue. It's kind of frustrating, though, because you don't really know what he'll be doing next or if the move will be too difficult for you.

His workout is nice, and you can see your progress as you are gradually able to perform the whole workout. However, you can also take the guesswork out of your yoga practice and get a DVD specifically for your level of difficulty.

I myself really only use this DVD when I need a break from Brian Kest's excellent Power Yoga DVD which offers 3 clearly differentiated workouts. Then I can choose a different workout for how my body feels on a given day.

I have yet to finish the video, because after 25 minutes I'm pooped, but so far I love it. I think it's an awesome workout and after 2 weeks I've definitely toned up a bit already. I do a little every day, as Rodney Yee says in his DVD interview. After only one day, I felt soooo much better (I've been dealing with increasing joint pain and fatigue despite getting regular body work, napping and eating a nourishing diet). I can't believe how much more energy I have. I feel at least 5 years younger. I could kiss Rodney Yee. I would recommend this video to people who've done yoga classes in the past because my previous experience helps me know what he is doing better than if I were just trying to copy his poses by looking at them. It's hard to watch carefully when you're in most of the poses!