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Practice Yoga at Home: DVDs For the Beginner

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:55:21 PDT

Yoga is such an ancient form of movement that there have been thousands of DVDs made to teach all different ability levels. If you've never stepped foot on a mat, or have only taken a class here and there, check out some of my favorite yoga DVDs for beginners. They're great to do if you don't have a studio nearby, can't afford classes, or want to stretch and relieve stress while traveling. These videos are oldies but goodies, taught by three of my favorite female instructors.

Shiva Rea: Sun Salutations (2005) This video goes back to the basics and demonstrates variations of the basic sun salutation. You'll learn common yoga poses, correct alignment, and guidance in yogic breathing. There are five short video segments about 10 to 20 minutes each, so start with one, and as you become comfortable, you can build up to completing the entire video. Shiva Rea is well known for her passion, calmness, and creativity, so you're bound to love her teaching style and the gracefully ambient music. I always feel open, relaxed, and blissful after Shiva's videos. This 68-minute video is available through Amazon for $15.

Keep reading to hear about the other two beginner DVDs.

DVD Review: Shiva Rea A.M. Energy

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:36:52 PDT

I've tried hundreds of yoga DVDs, and many of them I've only used once. Videos created by Shiva Rea are different though. Her calming energy, dynamic yoga sequences, creativity, and strength are inspirational. Her Creative Core + Upper Body video is my absolute favorite, but I also keep Fluid Power - Vinyasa Flow Yoga near my DVD player.

I have another DVD to add to my pile of faves: Shiva's A.M. Energy ($20). It begins with a short meditation and includes three 20-minute practices designed to "revive your body, mind, and soul at the start of each day." Plus, there's also a bonus 20-minute Heart Salutation practice from her video Radiant Heart Yoga. Here are my thoughts on the different segments.

Body Mandala: You gotta love Shiva Rea for having you do squats and yogic push-ups all within the first two and a half minutes. She then leads you through a series of poses designed to strengthen your upper body, core, legs, and buns (love the Sage variation!). The sequence is repeated once more with more advanced variations. The 20 minutes just flew by, and my entire body felt calm, open, and relaxed.

Keep reading to hear about the rest of the video.

Best Yoga DVDs For Beginners?

Fit Community — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:30:11 PST

FitSugar reader LittleBehr posted this question in the Yoga Stretch and Tell community group, and could use your advice.

Hey!
So I'm just starting into the yoga scene. I've had a private lesson from one of my friends who is a yoga instructor and I loved it. I was wondering if you guys could suggest a good yoga DVD that I can start practicing with. I'm sort of intimidated by the thought of going to a class until I feel I have some clue as to what I am doing.

I figured this was the best place to get some feedback. Thank you!!!

Love chatting about yoga or have a question, then post your thoughts to the Yoga Stretch and Tell community group. Not a yogi? Then take a look at our other community groups - there's a group for everyone.

DVD Review: Trudie Styler's Warrior Yoga

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:00:35 PDT

Although I enjoy practicing yoga in my living room, I rarely have the time - and to be honest, the discipline - to complete a whole 90-minute session alone. For those reasons, I really enjoyed the DVD Trudie Styler's Warrior Yoga ($15). The full practice is 50 minutes long, and the verbal instruction is so professional and specific it felt like a private lesson. Although yoga enthusiast Sting is her hubby, Trudie invited celebrity fitness guru James D’Silva to help lead this video. His unbelievably calming voice coupled with the gorgeous backdrop of Trudie and Sting's eco-friendly Tuscan villa inspired me to move with strength and serenity.

Warrior yoga is a type of vigorous Vinyasa yoga, where postures flow one into another. I like how D’Silva repeated the same poses a few times, holding each one for a breath, so you could feel your body opening deeper every time. The sequence included challenging poses that targeted opening commonly tight areas of the body including the hips, hamstrings, lower back, and shoulders.

Is this DVD one of my favorites? Find out when you

read more. This video set a spark under my already burning fire for yoga. I've reviewed many yoga DVDs, and this one is definitely top on my list of faves. It included all the essential aspects of yoga - attention to breath and moving with strength and control, a variety of postures to target all areas of the body, repetition of postures to deepen your stretch, and awareness of the connection between your mind and body. By the end, I felt calm yet energized, and I was covered in sweat, so I know I worked my body well. Beginners and advanced yogis will love this video, and I know it'll be one I can come back to over and over again. You can order yours from Gaiam.

DVD Review: Prenatal Yoga With Desi Bartlett

FitSugar — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:30:00 PDT

If you're expecting a baby, hopefully you've heard about the benefits of yoga for pregnancy, labor, and delivery. If you can't find any prenatal yoga classes near you, then try a prenatal yoga DVD, like this one, Prenatal Yoga With Desi Bartlett ($15). This flowing, gentle, 45-minute yoga practice is designed to be used through all three trimesters.

It begins with a sweet, two-minute meditation to help connect with your breath and your baby. The meditation is followed by 10 minutes of postures on the floor that gently begin to open your hips to increase flexibility and strength in your core. This sequence moves quite slowly, but it's really relaxing. Desi then leads you through 20 minutes of standing postures that include - as you'd guess - lots of squats and hip opening postures such as Goddess and Warrior 2, which are good preps for labor. I like that she included modified push-ups to strengthen your upper body, "which you will need for carrying your little one in your arms." There's also 10 minutes of restorative poses on the floor, using blankets and blocks.

I really enjoyed Desi's gentle nature, her encouraging voice, and how she held poses for a long time so you could really experience the sensations in your body. I remember pregnancy being a time for inner reflection, and this DVD is a great way to allow for some much-needed time to yourself.

To see a video clip of Prenatal Yoga,

read more. If you have never tried yoga before your pregnancy, be sure to check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.

DVD Review: Shiva Rea - Creative Core + Upper Body

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:00:00 PST

Shiva Rea is one of my favorite yogis, and I love both her Creative Core Abs, and Creative Core + Lower Body DVDs. So, of course, I was psyched to try the third DVD in her core series, Creative Core + Upper Body ($10). It involves a flowing sequence of core-focused postures that are all about sculpting your abs, back, arms, and shoulders.

The first section of the DVD is 25 minutes long and involves doing nine rounds of 12 push-ups for a total of 108 (108 is a sacred number). In between the push-ups, you do variations of Warrior 1 to work your legs and shoulders, and poses on your belly to work the muscles in your back and chest. I fell in love with this DVD after the first part! It was an amazing upper-body workout that incorporated a brilliant combination of yogic and nonyogic moves.

The second part of the video leads you through eight minutes of work on your back, doing variations of crunches and Pilates core exercises, yet encourages you to be creative with your movements. My belly was burning in the best way. Then it ends with two minutes of Savasana, which you are so ready for, since your entire body feels worked. Once I woke up, I felt vibrantly energized. This is my new favorite Shiva Rea video, no doubt about it.

If you're curious to see a clip of this video then

DVD Review: Duncan Wong Yogic Arts - Source Power

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:00:00 PST

There are so many beginner yoga DVDs available, but not many for the experienced practitioner. So when I discovered Duncan Wong Yogic Arts - Source Power ($20), I was ecstatic. Yogic Arts combines yoga, martial arts, and massage, so it adds a nice twist to your regular yoga practice. Source Power is designed for intermediate to advanced levels, so it involves moving at a quick pace between challenging poses.

The video is broken down into several chapters including pranyama (breath work), how to engage to your bandhas, and then moves onto individual sequences that focus on the wrists, shoulders, legs, hips, core, and buns. On a rainy weekend morning you could opt to do the full 212 minutes of the DVD, but you can also pick and choose a few sequences to practice.

I learned some wonderful variations of basic poses and new unique stretches that I've never tried before. Combining martial arts with yoga made me feel powerful and full of energy. Since Duncan's practice is so advanced, it's inspiring to have him demonstrate poses to work toward like Handstand, Crow, and Rotated Triangle. If you can't get to a yoga class, this video is a great alternative. At the end my body felt stronger and more open, and my mind felt calm.

Fit Tip: If you're looking for a beginner version of Yogic Arts, check out Duncan's first video, Awakening Level.

DVD Review: Body Target - Abs

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:00:00 PST

Want to work your core but aren't sure if you're in the mood for yoga or Pilates? Get a taste of them both on the Gaiam DVD, Body Target - Abs ($15). It's broken down into two segments: Yoga for Abs (with Rodney Yee), and Pilates for Abs (with Ana Cabán).

The yoga section starts off pretty slow, guiding you through a seven-minute relaxation exercise to help you connect your breath with your core. Then it moves into challenging variations of leg lifts and Boat pose. The workout involves slow, concentrated holds so not only did I feel my abs working, but I also felt completely relaxed. The 25-minute routine ends with Savasana, to calm the mind and recharge the body.

The Pilates section wastes no time and moves right into a demanding workout that targets your "powerhouse" (core). It includes 26 minutes of basic Pilates exercises such as the Hundred, the Roll Up, the Roll Over, Single Leg Circles, Double Straight Leg Stretch, and the Open Leg Rocker.

Yoga and Pilates all on one DVD - it's the best of both worlds. If you have time, you can do both routines, or just turn on one for a quick ab workout. I'd recommend this to anyone looking to strengthen and tone their core. To see a clip of Body Target - Abs,

DVD Review: Yoga Link - Core Integration

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:00:00 PDT

Looking for some new moves to tone your core muscles? The DVD Core Integration ($19.95) is designed to strengthen you from the inside out. The exercises are meant to not only target your abdominal muscles, but they'll also strengthen weak muscle tissue, awaken sluggish organs, stretch scar tissue, and cultivate vibrancy in your nervous system. It's important to strengthen your core for spinal stability and digestive health, but it also makes us feel good about ourselves to have tight abs.

I'm a fan of this DVD because the instructor gives you a little three-minute anatomy lesson of your core muscles, and describes how each muscle moves your spine. Very cool. Then in the workshop portion of the DVD, she shows you how to use props (a mat, block, wall, and a foam roller) to do some really awesome core-strengthening moves that target your rectus abdominals, obliques, and your transverse abdominals, and psoas (you'll learn what these are if you watch the video). She does a great job of explaining each move as she's doing it, and describes what's happening in your body as you do each exercise. I haven't learned this much from a yoga DVD in a long time.

After the 71-minute workshop portion, she guides you through a 57-minute core practice, which includes a flow sequence of all the exercises you learned in the workshop. These moves were amazing, and I worked muscles in my abs I never reach with regular crunches. I definitely recommend this video if you're really into strengthening your core.

DVD Review: Shiva Rea - Creative Core Abs

FitSugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:00:00 PDT

I'm always looking for ways to sculpt and strengthen my abs without having to do crunches, so I was psyched to try Shiva Rea's Creative Core Abs ($9.99). I've loved her Yoga DVDs in the past (especially Fluid Power - Vinyasa Flow Yoga), so I had a feeling this would be just as great. Her voice is calming, her instructions are clear, and her routines are always challenging.

The DVD includes three short workouts: Water Core (10 min), Spontaneous Core (8 min), and Fire Core (10 min); you can do all three in a row, or choose which ones you want to do. The sequencing is very fluid and dance-like, so the time goes by really quickly. It definitely doesn't feel like yoga. Shiva encourages you to explore your range of motion, and even though this video was focused on the abs, the movements strengthened and stretched my upper and lower back, hips, quads, shoulders, and neck too. Cool to know that even Shiva Rea is all about the core.

If you're looking for a DVD that works your abs in a unique way you can order it here or rent it through Netflix.