Whether you’re a total Yoga newbie or an experienced practitioner, there’s a Yoga DVD for you that will help you feel healthier, happier and more energized. The benefits of Yoga are legion, and nothing makes an at-home Yoga practice easier than a selection of affordable Yoga DVDs.
With so many different DVDs out there to choose from, where do you start?
Well, if you’re a beginner, consider Barbara Benagh’s Yoga for Beginners. In this DVD, she presents five targeted practices with lots of clear instructions for those with no previous Yoga experience. In these targeted sequences, you’ll encounter backbends, standing poses, poses that help you develop strength and balance, a sequence of slow sun salutations and a seated series of poses that helps open up the hips.
This is a great DVD for you if you’re totally new to Yoga and want to get started with a gentle set of Yoga postures that will still challenge you and help you get stronger, healthier and more flexible.
What if you already have some Yoga experience but still consider yourself a beginner?
Well, I’ve got the perfect Yoga DVD recommendation for you: Yoga Burn by Rodney Yee. The title of this DVD points to the fact that this hour-long Yoga workout takes you slowly through a series of postures that are designed to get your muscles warmed up and working hard.
In all honesty, I don’t think Yoga Burn is a very accurate title for this workout. Something like “Yoga Glow” is what I’d call this workout, because every time after I run through this DVD, I feel a warm inner glow of well-being. This DVD isn’t particularly challenging, but it’s a very slow, meditative workout that really plays up the relaxing aspects of Yoga. It might be just the thing for you if you’re still intimidated by the more arduous Yoga postures.
Shiva Rea is one of the most famous Yoga teachers in the United States, and she has created a number of extremely high-quality Yoga DVDs. Now, if you’re a traditionalist, you might want to skip Shiva Rea and try something else. But if you have an adventuresome spirit and even like the idea of sprinkling a little dance moves and music in with your Yoga postures, then Shiva Rea’s DVDs just might be for you.
Out of all the DVDs she’s produced, here are three that really stand out:
Daily Energy — This DVD presents seven different 20-minute practices that target different aspects of strength, conditioning, flexibility and balance. The workouts are definitely for advanced beginners on through intermediate Yoga practitioners and beyond. Flow is the name of the game here–Shiva Rea teaches Vinyasa Flow Yoga, and all of her DVDs are great for helping you get into the flow of your practice as you move from one pose to another.
Yoga Shakti — This two-DVD set again presents a challenging series of yoga flows. You can mix and match what you have time for with the Yoga Matrix, which allows you to select exactly the poses and series that you want to do. Just select your preferred poses and the DVD will then queue them up for you and provide you with your very own custom Yoga workout. Whether you have 15 minutes or an hour and a half, you’ll be able to structure the exact Yoga workout you have time for. Yoga Shakti is even less traditional than the Daily Energy DVD–from the background music to the way Shiva Rea moves through the postures, you’ll definitely encounter something new here!
Fluid Power — Here is another huge two-DVD set of poses for the advanced beginner and beyond. There are six different workouts here: three 30-minute workouts and three more difficult workouts that top out at between 90 minutes and almost two hours. The Yoga Matrix feature applies to this DVD set as well, which means you can choose exactly what you have time for and flow to your heart’s content. Shiva Rea’s DVDs all boast the absolute top production quality, setting, sound and graphics. Fluid Power is a fantastic option if you are open to Shiva’s innovative approach and teaching style.
But what if you can only own a single Yoga DVD?
In my case, I’m a huge fan of Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga is a very rigorous type of Yoga that invariably gets you sweating and feeling extremely spent after a solid Ashtanga class.
While there are many different Ashtanga DVDs to choose from, I particularly love David Swenson’s DVDs. Whether you’re a beginner or a more advanced Ashtanga aficionado, you’ll find a great David Swenson DVD.
But nothing beats the classic first Ashtanga series, which David presents in his DVD Ashtanga Yoga: The First Series. In this DVD, David takes you through standing, balance and sitting postures with many variations that allow you to tailor your Yoga workout to your particular level.
Mr. Swenson is no-nonsense, his postures are all perfectly executed and his gentle demeanor and constant reminders to stay present and with your breath really ground you in your practice.
This DVD is my ultimate Yoga DVD desert island pick. If you can get past the less flashy presentation (it was recorded in the early 90′s before high-definition and looks a bit grainy as a result), then you’ll have your hands on one of the best Yoga DVDs ever published.