Power Yoga for Every Body with Over 20 Workouts for All Levels of Students

I am a yoga instructor with an intermediate to advanced asana practice with a beginners mind. I found this DVD to be extremely powerful and will help me refine my asana practice. I teach mostly vinyasa style yoga classes that tend to move one breath / one movement with longer holds and pauses interspersed throughout the practice. This DVD helps the student learn to flow with control and precision in the form of the asana. Many of the poses are held longer than many typically "power yoga" practitioners may be used to and the flowing portions move slowly which helps encourage a controlled ujjayii breath. I found myself able to move much deeper into poses that I practice daily with more attention to my alignment. The verbal instruction provided very helpful words and imagery which I plan to build in to the classes that I teach.There is an interview (12 or 14 minutes) with the creator of the DVD in which she talks about "Power Yoga", what it means to her and that she understands many yogi's may have a different view and get frustration with the pace of the DVD. Even if you are used to moving fast all the time I encourage you to practice with this DVD and slow down. Learning how to slow down is something that many of us can benefit from in our fast paced lives. Just because something moves slow, does not make it easy. In fact, I felt that I had engaged and strengthened my muscles very much.There is an option on the DVD to view more information about the practices where they break down in greater detail what you can expect from each of the practices on the DVD. This was helpful if you do not have time to do the full practice as most of us do not. If I had to guess, I would estimate that I own close to 50 yoga DVDs. This is one that I treasure very much. While there are days that I am seeking more movement, there are just as many days that I need some stillness in my practice. Be open to trying something outside your normal daily patterns and habits.

this is not your ordinary power yoga dvd.if you are looking for a big sweat, or an aerobic-style yoga workout, you will not find it here. if you are looking for ashtanga, you should learn from a trained teacher, but the david swenson or john scott dvds and books are the way to go to support your instruction. what you will find here (though, if you are like me, it might take some pouting to get there) is a deep and powerful conscious practice of yoga that can brign benefits both physically and psychically in ways that many other yoga workouts simply do not.like other dvds in this series, there are a number of routines at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. you can select practices for morning or evening or with themes such as invigorating, strengthening, balancing, quieting, or do the full workout. the routines are composed of different assortments of segments focusing on: breath awareness, deep tissue awareness, sun salutations, strength work, backbends, and forward bends. the routines range from 20 minutes to 2 hours. you could also jump within a routine if you prefer to do something other than what is set forth.the instructor has a gentle and encouraging manner, though she sounds like she is reading from a script rather than describing the poses. still, she is pleasing and informative. a long-time student of hers demonstrates the poses with impressive grace, strength, and awareness.my preferred yoga practice is ashtanga, and i enjoy balancing that with more gentle and pose-focused practices. i also have the yoga for every body dvd in this series, which i have been using more often because i enjoy its versatility. this dvd, however, has great depth and can seamlessly move you into both the physical and not so physical aspects of yoga. the beauty of it is that, if you are not attracted to the spiritual grounding of yoga, conscious practice with this dvd can still give you the benefits without all the talk that would likely turn you off. if you already have a spiritual practice, this will blend with it without conflict. i find that the principles i am learning from this instructor are infiltrating in my other yoga practices, to great benefit.if you are not sure about this, try staying with it. i was skeptical with the slow pace at first, actually, even quite a bit annoyed. but it is worth letting yourself quiet into this enriching yoga practice.

I really like this DVD because it gives you the option to select your level, and choose from routines designed for that level. This is really great because it challenges you, but only as far as you should really be able to go for your level. I have only done the intermediate level routines so far, but I like not having three different people doing three different things in order to achieve demonstration of three different levels. This is just one person, one instructor, doing one level of yoga - YOUR level. It's great!The routines are broken up into different types and parts of the body to work. It also lists the times for each routine which is great when you only have a limited amount of time to practice.The instructor (voice over) is a woman with a bit of a strange accent (to my ears, at least), which took a little getting used to, but she is very good with giving the instruction for each routine. The practice is demonstrated by the man on the cover of the DVD, which is kind of nice too. ;-)I'd recommend this DVD to anyone wanting a good, challenging yoga 'workout'/practice. Especially those who may currently be at a lower/beginner's level, and want to work up to an intermediate to advanced level of yoga. This DVD is really good for that because you can move into the more advanced levels once your current level of practice has gotten "easy"/less challenging for you.I know some people don't like the way the "Yoga for Every Body" DVDs are broken into segments and don't always "flow" that well, but I haven't noticed that as a problem with this particular DVD. So, no worries there. ;-)Overall, it's a really great strengthening yoga practice for anyone at any level.

This DVD was created in 2013, and the background scene where the yoga practices take place is in the woods, just like you see in the front picture of the DVD jacket.The only downside to this DVD is in the production or recording of the practices. It appears that the creators of this DVD shot a number of different poses or sequences and then set up the DVD so that when viewers play the DVD, the same pose/sequence may appear in a number of different menus. The problem here is that recording of the voice over by Barbara (yoga instructor) was not set the same for each and every single voice over that she did and so at times, as the DVD moves from one pose/sequence to the next, the level or volume of voice can get louder all of a sudden. My advice would be, to set the volume of your TV or laptop at a level where you can just hear so that when the voice over gets louder all of a sudden, you don't find yourself jolting. I don't know why the producers of the DVD didn't extend enough consideration into this matter because it does affect the overall experience and therefore the benefits of yoga when you are so rested and calm and all of a sudden hear a very loud voice over that causes your heart rate to jump all of a sudden.The great thing about this DVD is the calming voice of the instructor, plus the fact that the DVD is divided into 3 categories: beginner, intermediate, and challenging, with at least 7 or so different menus under each category. There are so many different menus that cater for people at different levels of yoga practice that it's hard to imagine needing any other yoga DVD. Also, once you get used to some of the poses, even if the menu says it's designed for use before going to sleep, you can use it in situations where you want to get really calm and not necessarily going to sleep. In other words, you don't have to stick with the "title" of the menus and do the poses only during the night time or morning because the title says so. Just go by how you feel during and after doing a menu and customize to suit your needs.One advice I have for people who are absolute beginners of yoga is to invest in getting 2 yoga blocks and a yoga strap. In the DVD it says you can substitute yoga blocks with books and a yoga strap with a belt. I tried that, but unless you use books with the exact same width and a soft cover, plus a belt made of cotton like material, you may notice some discomfort in using them. For the most part, you do require 2 yoga blocks, a strap, and a non-movable chair (not with rollers unless you prop the chair against a wall or something that prevents it from moving). I used to use books and a belt but decided to get proper yoga equipment because during practice when you become so in tune with your body as a result of doing the movements/poses in yoga, you notice even the smallest things and I couldn't get my mind off from the discomfort I was feeling from using books and a belt that hurt my hands. Since using the proper equipment I have found that I can focus on the movements and my body instead of the discomfort and pain I used to feel from books and a belt. I realize everyone is different so some people may not notice any difference in using books instead of yoga blocks, and a belt instead of a yoga strap. Movements in this DVD require that you use the props mentioned and unless you want to forgo using any props, I think you'll thank yourself for getting proper equipment to get benefits from this DVD.

These videos are hard to find -- we started with a couple of other yoga DVDs with Barbara Benagh last winter and we love her style (her voice and her narration style are very calming). There is a different person demonsrating in this video but it's Barbara's VO, so it works!

This is my favourite DVD. The best thing is the variety of practices that are offered. You can choose your practice by the amount of time that you have or by the type of practice e.g. Invigorating or relaxation. The voice is very relaxing and the poses are very well demonstrated. It is not a beautiful DVD with lots of scenery and music but that is not what I look for in a yoga DVD. I only look at the DVD to check my pose and like to do my practice without music..

Great for body mind and spirit

Great teacher