Yoga DVD Reviews - Rodney Yee, Bryan Kest, Donna Helm-Yost
These are my favorite at home yoga practice DVDs…
Bryan Kest Power Yoga, Levels 1, 2 and 3
If you’re looking for a powerful yoga practice and a good stretch, Bryan Kest brings it to you. Viewing and practicing with these videos is like being in a class, although this class is full of very fit, very flexible yogi’s and yogini’s. Don’t be intimidated! Just listen to his words for inspiration and to get you through it. You will sweat, burn and feel great. The best part is these videos are 60 minutes or less! I just completed Power II this morning and my back feels fantastic. All 3 end with a short relaxation. My favorite out of the series is level II.
Rodney Yee - Power Yoga Strength and Flexibility
I love this DVD. It contains 2, 25 minute yoga sessions - 1 focusing on strength and 1 on flexibility. I do the flexibility practice all the time. It starts with a few sun salutations and moves into great stretches including triangle, forward bend, and half pigeon. Sometimes I pause certain poses to hold them longer, but overall at the end of 25 minutes I feel stretched out. Perfect if you’re short on time and want a great yoga practice! (DVD can be found on www.amazon.com)
Rodney Yee - Intermediate Yoga
I like this video for a couple of reasons. The DVD is broken down into 3 sections. The first section is sun salutations and standing poses like Triangle, Revolved Triangle, forward bends. This is not a power yoga DVD and once you get through the sun salutation warm up there is no more flow. Part II is inversions - handstand, headstand, forearm balance. This is one of the only videos I have seen that actually has you practice inversions. Rodney Yee does a great job, however, if you are knew to inversions, go slow and have someone else with you. That said it is nice to practice inversions at home. If you are not ready for inversions, simply skip ahead to part III. You will not lose anything by not practicing the inversions. The 3rd section contains floor stretches - bridge, wheel, camel, forward bend, shoulderstand and plough, followed by relaxation. I like the sections because I can do what I feel like I need easily. In total the video is approximately 1 hour. Section 1 alone will give you a great practice in about 20 to 25 minutes. (DVD can be found on www.amazon.com)
Donna Helm-Yost - Flow and Yin a Balanced Yoga Practice
The DVD retails for $21.95. Pricey to some yet a percentage of the price is donated to organizations helping create awareness about our planet and the environment. Truly yoga with a cause. The practice is great - in total you get almost 2 hours of practice which you can do all at once or break it up. The first part is the Flow - your sun salutations and standing poses. That sections ends and you have the option of starting your relaxation or continuing for the yin practice. Each section is designed to stand alone in addition to practicing in its entirety. Donna has a nice way about her as an instructor and the music is soft and soothing. This is another DVD where you feel like you’re in a class as Donna is teaching to a group of 10 or 12 students. In this DVD the students are of varying levels and fitness abilities, and less intimidating than the Bryan Kest DVD. This DVD offers a nice blend of strength (flow) with deep stretching (yin) for, as the title suggests, a balanced yoga practice.
There is nothing like going to a yoga class, however, if you don’t have the time to get there as often as you might like, an at home practice is the way to go. These are the DVDs I turn to most often for my at home practice. There are so many videos out there - I invite you to try some and decide which ones make sense for you.
What at home videos do you like? I’m always looking to add to my collection.
Yoga videos are very convenient because they are always ready when you are. You might want to practice at a certain time, but there isn’t a class available.