Yoga For Weight Loss

This is one of the top yoga videos which I recommend to beginners. It provides a gentle yoga workout for your entire body, with a particular focus on your breathing. The older yet very spry instructor, Suzanne Deason, stresses the importance of the mind-body connection without getting into new-age or Eastern philosophy. Suzanne's voice is calm and her body both strong and limber. She is accompanied by three yoga students, two of whom are larger-sized. Each of the three models shows a different level of modifications, from slightly to completely modified. I particularly liked how the two larger models displayed the more flexible versions of the poses, showing that the full poses can be done by anyone, regardless of body type. The greater the modifications, the more props required, but as a beginner with only minimal flexiblity, I could perform the slightly modified version, which required only single yoga block (a sturdy book could be subsituted).

I still enjoy this tape even now that I'm at a more intermediate level, as it's both relaxing and energizing. More advanced yoga students may find the tape to be too slow and the moves to be too easy, but that's exactly what I like about it. I have the VHS tape, but I've heard that the DVD version is even better, as it lets you focus in on whoever is doing your particular modifications.

This is a really nice little beginner yoga video. You'll get your whole body stretched out nicely without a lot of complicated poses. I think this tape would be best for someone who is completely new to yoga or isn't very flexible. Although there is a fair amount of form instruction, this video would be best accompanied with another tape that goes into more detail about the different poses. That said, PM Yoga provides a nice full body stretch and relaxation.

I have a few yoga workouts - three for the stretch they give, two for a general yoga tape. So, you could say I’m not exactly a yoga person. This workout was suggested to me by someone in my check-in as a yoga tape I might enjoy and it was a good recommendation. It’s relatively short (25 minutes) and doesn’t have a lot of moves that require supporting my body weight on my hands.

Suzanne Deason leads this workout by herself by the ocean. The entire workout is done in voice over and the narration matches the moves pretty well. She does not, however, mirror cue, so it took me a few seconds to figure out which side I needed to be on a couple of times (not that it really mattered, but I can be obsessive about weird things… (smile)).

The first few moves are designed to loosen the shoulders and neck area. The next section is for the hamstrings and back. The next few moves are for the legs and hips. And, it ends with relaxation. I enjoyed all the sections except for the one for the hamstrings as the moves put more pressure than I like on some of my joints. But, she suggested a modification for one of them and it helped and I paid attention to her form pointers on the other and it ended up feeling good.

Overall, I enjoyed the workout, but not as much as some of the other stretch tapes I have (KV’s Yoga Stretch, Stress Relief Yoga, Tamilee’s stretch workouts, etc.), but at the end I felt relaxed and stretched out and good. So, I will keep it and probably do it less than some of the others. However, it is different enough that it adds another dimension to the workouts I have.

I've been practicing yoga at home with videos just under a year, and this tape has quickly become one of my favorites. It provides a gentle yoga workout for your entire body, with a particular focus on your breathing. The older yet very spry instructor, Suzanne Deason, stresses the importance of the mind-body connection without getting into new-age or Eastern philosophy. Suzanne's voice is calm and her body both strong and limber. She is accompanied by three yoga students, two of whom are larger-sized. Each of the three models shows a different level of modifications, from slightly to completely modified. I particularly liked how the two larger models displayed the more flexible versions of the poses, showing that all the poses can be done by anyone, regardless of body type. The greater the modifications, the more props required, but as a beginner with only minimal flexiblity, I could perform the slightly modified version, which required only single yoga block (a sturdy book could be subsituted). I still enjoy this tape now that I've been doing it for awhile; it's both relaxing and energizing. More advanced yoga students may find the tape to be too slow and the moves to be too easy, but that's exactly what I like about it. I've heard that the DVD version is even better, as it lets you focus in on whoever is doing your particular modifications, but the VHS version has worked fine for me.

The DVD starts with Suzanne talking about the whys and hows of Yoga and it's uses in weight loss. The talk of balancing your mind and body was a bit too much for me, but I would suggest watching it the first time through.

The DvD has a great setup, you can go through the combined workout, complete, 1/2 or 1/4 modified. I prefer the combined workout so I can do the complete versions of the poses I can and a modified version of those I cannot. You can also get an in depth explanation of the poses by using the 'enter' button on your remote. You can also choose to follow one instructor.

The poses themselves are challenging enough but not too hard for a newbie. This workout places you somewhere between "feel the burn" and "fall asleep".

The DVD is very well paced, starting with breathing work, moving to standing poses and ending up on the floor, flat on your back and so relaxed you could just melt.

I love this workout and it will stay in heavy rotation for a long time with me as a followup on cardio days and a good stretch/toning on lighter work days.

This DVD version is one of the best in Iyengar Yoga for beginner's to experienced. In the DVD format you can choose your modification level from 1/4 to 1/2 to full modification to no modification. While this program is not a "sweat or power yoga" style it is precision oriented and well taught. The music is instrumental and soft. The setting is in Sedona I believe and just beautiful. You certainly can tune into your body while performing the various asanas.

Suzanne starts you out with breathing and poses to help you get your full potential to open your chest and breath fully. There is a simple twist, chair poses done 4 times and sitting poses to open your chest.

Next is the asana practice. The poses are lunge with arms up, warrior I and II, triangle, wide leg pose and forward bends in various manners. These asanas are not many however, you hold the poses for at least 6 to 8 breaths. Next are the floor postures, such as locust, baby boat pose, knee to chest, bridge, seated forward bend, sage twist and corpse pose. The entire practice is about 50 minutes in length. I did the non modified version and was surprised at how great it felt. It was a great way to start a Monday. For those days that you just can't face a sun salute this video is the one.

Finally, a yoga workout that I'm really happy about!

The DVD version is extra nice because you can choose from four levels of modifications. I chose the fully modified version to start with since most yoga workouts are too hard for me. Using modifications and props, I can do EVERYTHING without undue strain or shaking. If you need more help with a pose, you can click your remote to get more detailed instruction, then return to where you were in the workout. This production makes good use of DVD's advantages.

It will be a long time before I tire of this DVD since I'll gradually move up through the other 3 levels. Gain without pain!

The exercises themselves are nothing unusual. And as you might surmise, this workout is no more likely to facilitate weight loss than any other yoga practice. But the pace was enough to make me breathe deeply and it is pleasant to do.

As always, the scenery (this time in Sedona, AZ) is gorgeous and the DVD is well-produced.