On the Ball Yoga for Beginners

I love Sara's yoga workouts, so I had to get this. Also, I have had a lot of trouble with my back this past year and I thought it would be a good way to use yoga when my back is bothering me, and it is. In fact, I really only want to use this workout when I am not feeling up to other yoga. Basically, the ball is one HUGE yoga prop. Sometimes it works great, and sometimes it is cumbersome. For instance when doing Sun Salutations, I love rolling out into plank position, but going up into Downward Facing dog with the ball is a real pain, because it gets in the way. You are kind of sitting on the ball when you do side stretch and Warrior I, which I don't really care for. On the other hand, I love leaning into the ball when I am doing a lunge. And final relaxation with your legs on the ball, is my favorite variation.

So basically, it is kind of up and down for me. As I said, when my back is really bothering me, I do appreciate the support of the ball. Sara takes special note of the low back during this workout, which was a nice surpise, and helpful to me.

The DVD version has a nice little blast which include Cat stretch, Plank variations with a few pikes), seated twists, backbend (feels great on the ball) and a chest stretch. It is a nice 8 minute energizing routine.