I was recently contacted by Gaiam and agreed to review some of their Yoga DVDs. I wanted to give them a good tryout and enlisted the aid of a friend of mine. She wanted to try yoga and I thought Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners would be a great place for her to start. I’ve not been doing yoga for very long myself and we’ve both enjoyed these morning workouts.
Rodney Yee was a professional ballet dancer who later studied Iyengar yoga. He travels nationally and internationally to teach workshops, teacher trainings and retreats. Rodney has been designing and performing in Gaiam programs for over 10 years. We found his instruction very easy to follow and his transitions smooth.
This DVD, shot on beautiful Molokai, Hawaii, includes two workouts, one 20-minute morning “energizing” workout led by Rodney Yee and designed to get you going in the morning and a 15-minute evening “rejuvenation” workout led by Colleen Saidman and designed to help relax you at the end of the day. My friend and I alternated between the two workouts, doing one each morning for four mornings in a row. Each workout offers you the choice of full-instruction, pose-only instruction, which excludes hints and reminders about your posture and breathing or inspirational instruction, which in addition to pose cues includes thought provoking reminders about the connection between yoga and the spirit of the world around us.
My friend and I used the full-instruction option and completely enjoyed both of the workouts. As with any new workout, the first run through is a little awkward while you figure out the flow of the poses. In each case this awkwardness was minimal and, by the second day we both felt smooth and comfortable with the transitions.
The DVD also includes a 40-minute pose guide which walks you through each pose at some length, helping you perfect your form. We chose not to work through the pose guide as I wanted to review the DVD in a timely manner but I think the pose guide, which allows you to pick and choose the poses you want to review, is an invaluable tool and I was glad to see it included.
I think Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners is an excellent jumping-off point for anyone wanting to dip their toe in the world of yoga. The poses are basic and won’t scare anyone off while at the same time they will leave you feeling like you had a good workout. The names “energizing” and “rejuvenation” are apt as that’s exactly how you will feel when you are through! Even if you are a more advanced yoga student, these short workouts are great for grounding and meditation when you don’t have much time and need a little pick-me-up!
Next week I will be reviewing Rodney Yee’s A.M Yoga for Your Week. Can’t wait to get started on that one!
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4 comments:
I have a rodney yee yoga dvd and it is HARD. (obviously not beginner level.) the first time I did it i could barely walk the next day! how does he bend like that???
I love yoga! I was excited to read you're going to be reviewing yoga instruction DVDs. I just finished teacher training at the beginning of this year for heated yoga, so I am eager to see what you think. Good luck!
Where are you? Just found your blog as you were moving.
Wondering how you are and hoping it all went well.
Cathy in Florida.
I love yoga, having discovered it about 5 years ago. I used to like Yee's videos and DVDs. But at the risk of sounding judgmental, within the last couple years, it all came out that he had been cheating on his wife with several of his yoga students, one of which was Colleen. They both left their spouses of 20+ years and are happily making yoga DVDs together. Each time I see him I think of this, so I'm just not a fan anymore.
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