Basic Yoga Workout For Dummies [DVD]

I bought this because (for a whole load of reasons) I never seem to have time to commit to an organised yoga class.It turned out to be an excellent and very useful purchase. There are two ways you can use it. If you're a complete beginner, as I am, you can go into the section which shows each of the twelve featured asanas (poses) individually, and spend time going over a particular one until you "get it" and can do it without having to constantly refer to the dvd. Alternatively, if you are comfortable with the asanas, you can opt for the section which allows a complete runthrough of all 12 asanas in sequence.You can of course go straight into the runthrough if you wish, but if you find you're having difficulty with a specific asana then a quick visit to the first section will allow you to focus on that one and (as I mentioned earlier) go over it again and again till you master it.Where appropriate, Ms Ivanhoe also offers suggestions for aids you might find useful, along with easier variations on specific asanas. These provide a simple yet highly effective way make the asanas more accessible to those of us who are a bit less flexible or who perhaps have some physical restriction on their range of movement. She also caters for those of us who might want to "push the envelope", by highlighting a few more challenging variations on some asanas.Ms Ivanhoe demonstrates the asanas clearly and informatively, with a bit of commentary as she goes. Her voice is easy to listen to, and her tone is friendly, encouraging and entirely non-patronising. She's lovely, too (but then I would say that, I'm a guy......)Buy this dvd. Now.

I'm a beginner in yoga and my only exposure has been through DVDs - as currently I can't commit to regular classes. Compared to something like 'Yoga And You' by Leah Bracknell, this is more of a no-frills product (in keeping with everything from the 'Dummies' series), with barely audible 'pling-pling' music, a studio and Sarah Ivanhoe. However, in terms of instruction, this programme is a lot better than Leah Bracknell's. The DVD contains 2 main sections: the 12 'daily' poses and an intermediate section.The 12 daily poses can be either played as part of a whole hour-long sequence, or can be selected individually. Sarah Ivanhoe really goes into the basics of each pose, explaining pretty much everything. This is great if you are novice, because if you're new to yoga some things will not be obvious. Even the breathing (which is what I find most difficult) is broken down properly for each movement. There are some excellent teaching points that actually make sense to the non-initiated.As a result of the detailed instructions, I am guessing that some poses take a bit longer than they should do in a class; for example, when holdiing the Standing Side Stretch, by the time Ivanhoe finishes explaining everything and gets to counting the 6 breaths, I am ready to collapse. But once you've played the DVD a couple of times, you will know when to actually start holding the pose. I think the 12 poses are explained in the clearest possible way for a DVD; you will still have to watch each pose before you do them at first, as it's impossible to look at the TV screen AND do the downward facing dog at the same time. But that's what the pause button is for.The 12 daily poses lasts about 1 hour, but once you learn them you can pick a few from the main selection menu if you are pressed for time.The Intermediate section consists of a broken down, step-by-step introduction to the Sun Salutation. She starts from the first move and then keeps adding to them. This section is great because it's faster and you do feel that you are making more of an effort. It lasts 30 minutes (and not 20, as Ivanhoe says in the introduction).I would definitely recommend this DVD to yoga newbies as a really good instructional programme, before reaching for any other yoga workouts that don't bother explaining things properly.

Perfect for beginners. Introduction first to some basic yoga poses then the Sun Salute which is a mild all over workout. Sara Ivanhoe, is a celebrity yoga instructor who created this DVD. She is pleasant in the DVD and introduces the poses to you gently. So if you follow her instructions, you'll avoid injury and enjoy your workout. This DVD is great if you're new to yoga, recovering from an injury e.g a back injury and looking to slowly strengthen your body. I have a back problem and suffer with flare ups from time to time. After a flare up with my back, i'm always feeling delicate but eager to exercise so this DVD is used until I feel stronger to do more challenging exercise. Great too if you're pressed for time and need a quick easy but effective workout.My friend who'd just had a baby, was worried about getting back in shape so I lent her this DVD and it motivated her back to fitness. She was not training for the Olympics just looking to get her figure back slowly at home and to relax as well. Once you've done this DVD a few times, you'll remember the poses and will do them quickly even without using the DVD. I do the DVD in about 10-15mins now. I know which poses come next so can breeze through them. This is a slow paced, relaxing DVD. Do it 2-3 times a week and you'll soon see the results on your body and health. Start slowly first! E.g once a week. I bought it 5yrs ago and would recommend it.

I tried yoga a few years ago with a different yoga tape and it was quite difficult. It was designed for a more advanced yoga guru. I quickly gave up and never watched the tape or tried yoga again. But, I was recently inspired to try this DVD since I love the Dummies series so much. It was great. This is definitely targeted for beginners and gives you many great tips and pointers that help you get acquainted with the proper form you should be using. It has really helped me improve my flexibility and strength. It has just 12 easy poses that give you the very basics. It can be done quite quickly or you can choose to do just a few poses at a time. I always feel relaxed and peaceful at the end and not at all perplexed or twisted like a pretzel. I've even purchased a copy for my mother!

Another favorite exercise DVD that I enjoy. I like Sarah Ivanhoes attitude when I slip up and make a mistake. She tells me to forget about it and to keep moving.

Simple , but effective . Recommend to anyone lookind to Yoga for integration in life , well explained . Good for those who just want a do it yourself solution in the pursue of Hatha Yoga for personal health and realization . Defently recommend in the cases just quoted . Do it yourself :-) !!!

I had never done Yoga before and I thought it might be kind of hard to learn it from a book.This DVD is perfect for beginners !It contains two workouts.The first one is called the "daily dozen" and is a programm designed for your "first time". It isn't difficult or hard but eases you into the positions and focuses on teaching you how to breath right.Then there's a second programm that contains all of the "daily dozen" but without that much introduction and with increased speed [e.g. shorter breaks between the yoga-positions] and another new yoga-pose, perfect if you have already done the first programm a couple of times and don't need that much instruction.All of the positions are explained very well and there's also "modifications" in case you want to intensify the workout or in case you find the pose too hard.

I had wanted to try Yoga, even tried another tape at one time and just didn't care for it. My hamstrings are really tight, and I've always felt that I just could not do the exercises-- the other tape I did confirmed that opinion because it just jumped into major stretching without much warm up, and did not show any modifications. It also was a little irritatingly "new age"-- and though I know that meditation is a crucial part of Yoga, I was not interested in turning it into a religion-- which the other tape seemed intent on doing.So this tape, with it's no nonsense approach, coaxed me into liking it. Some of the stretching is hard-- I can certainly see why people like Madonna are so buff in the arm muscles-- it takes effort to do the poses for the 6 breaths you have to hold them. The instructor is not too "simperingly" sweet, but clear, precise, and friendly. No annoying giggling, or over coaching like a cheeerleader ("come on, you can do it, you deserve to be fit cause you're a great person" blech) I feel I can continue doing this workout for a while, learn the basics, and maybe move into more complex work, which the later half of the DVD provides.You should have a chair handy when you start, and maybe one of those easy to find yoga mats (I got mine half price at a discount store). Also, maybe a towel, and some sort of band (a belt might work, but they sell special yoga bands too) for one of the poses. Try to clear your head as much as possible-- since you have to breathe through your nose, if you have any allergies (which I do) try to control the stuffiness if you can. (I know that sounds weird, but it will make it more pleasant if you can do the breathing). There is an option on the DVD for instructor cuing only-- so you can play your own music and still get the cues.Finally, for people worried about calorie burning. According to a website that I use to monitor calories burned vs. activities (it's free-- write to me if you want to learn the URL) the 51 minutes of stretching yoga that this DVD/video gives you burns a total of 165 calories. You burn approx. 3 calories per minute. It's not exactly boot camp, and it is not cardio, but combined with a cross-training sort of program, this is a good light calorie burning day stretch. It's important, when you're trying to sculpt those muscles, to stretch them out. This video/DVD will be a crucial step to doing that. This may not be the DVD/video for people who are into the more spiritual aspects of Yoga, but she does address them some, enough for those of us who don't want to go too far into it. But it's a great one for getting started.Good luck!

This made it easy to know if I'm doing the exercises correctly. Great for beginners