Power Yoga For Beginners: Level One

I love doing power yoga, but had not sampled any of Baron's DVD's until this one.

The workout starts with a sun salutation series that is repeated several times.

The next section has a series of lunges, warrior positions, and other leg strengthening poses. After holding these poses for a while, my legs were burning.

The last section includes abdominal work.

Overall, I enjoyed the workout, but not as much as Rodney Yee's and Sara Ivanhoe's yoga tapes. I did find Baron's dialogue rather humorous--he likes to say things like "feel the energy, people".

This 45-minute workout is divided into 3 sections: Energizing (20 minutes), Toning (15 minutes), and Stabilizing (10 minutes). Despite the "For Beginners" title, I would think that beginners would find this difficult, especially the Toning section. Also, the moves are not really "taught" -- if you don't have other experience, you'll be completely frustrated by this. But for intermediates, it's a great tape.

Energizing is a series of sun salutations, Toning concentrates on lower body strength, and Stabilizing works your abs/core. The sun salutations get you nice and warm, and then the Toning section really makes you sweat. There are some tough moves in that section, but since it's only 15 minutes long, it can't be considered "killer" or even advanced, really. But it's excellent -- my favorite section on this tape. Finally, the ab work. You probably won't find it all that difficult if you're used to doing Pilates-style ab work. But it's a nice follow-up to the toning work, because you get to lie down!

I really like this entire series of Baron's, and Baron is probably my favorite yoga instructor. I like his motivational comments and I love the way he uses the authentic yoga terminology. Grade A+.