Serious Yoga enthusiasts....best beginner DVD?

[Juniper]

I finally have a bit of time on my hands in the mornings and wanted to get a little more serious about this. About 5 yrs ago I was a major pilates nut, but I think I want to head more in the yoga direction. Anyone have any great beginner recommendations? Preferably that I can order with Amazon Prime. :)

 

Thanks!

[jenL]

:lurk5:

[gardenmom5]

My favorite one is suzanne deason's yoga conditioning for weight loss. It is friendly to middle age out of shape women. it gives three levels of modification - and they are shown as well as the full pose. it is a 50 minute flow practice, so it's not one of these pick and choose things. I orginally got it to fill-out working out on my nordic track, but I love this more and get a good workout that has room for me to grow into it as I become more flexible and stronger.

 

it seems so many of the beginning yoga dvd's I've tried expect you to already be physically fit and limber - just new to yoga. I have many beginning yoga dvd's I hate for that reason.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Are you able to borrow any from your library? I was able to borrow a good number from my library to see which I liked. I am naturally inflexible, so I hate the ones with the super flexible teachers.

 

I like several Yoga Zone DVDs. They usually have 2 20min sessions on them. I own:

Yoga Sculpting

Fat Burning

Evening Stress Release

Intro to Power Yoga

Yoga for a Strong & Healthy Back

 

I also love, love, love Yoga with Linda Arkin. I had this one on VHS before I had it on DVD. It has 3 50min sessions. I like Yoga for Flexibility and Yoga for Strength best.

 

HTH!

[redsquirrel]

http://www.doyogawithme.com/

 

and it is free. Now, is it The Best? I don't know. But I like yoga and I like this site. Check it out.

 

There is a drop down menu and you can pick your level. And there is TONS of free yoga on You Tube.

[Kim in Appalachia]

When I had first started I bought Yoga Journal's intro to Yoga DVD's. I did get them off Amazon. They were excellent for learning how to do the different postures correctly. http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Journals-Beginning-Step-Session/dp/B000R3PDCU/ref=sr_1_5?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1361280480&sr=1-5&keywords=yoga+journal

 

After that my favorite DVD is Shiva Rea's Yoga Shaki http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Shakti-Shiva-Rea/dp/1591791847/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1361280434&sr=8-2&keywords=shiva+rea+yoga+dvd

 

I also love using Yogatoday.com They have a free class to stream each week, or you can sign up for unlimited streaming for about $9 a month. Those 3 ladies do an excellent job of explaining the postures over the web. Honestly, I have learned more from them then any dvd or book. I think it has to be the best resource for learning yoga at home. Each teacher has a different focus and strength, but I've learned so much from each of them. It's the little things they say as you are going into a posture, things you may not have thought of doing, that make a difference on how deeply you can go in the poses.

 

I love yoga and dream of having the money to do a yoga retreat, or even teacher training. Right now I'm aiming for 2 to 3 full yoga routines a week (at least an hour long), but I do some yoga every day. And even when I do kettlebells I end in Savasana (corpse pose).

[La Texican]

Wai Lana on PBS is gentle and will get you moving and bending.

Richard Freeman is my hero, if you want inspiration. He's slow, methodical, precise, and he explains everything and he talks you through it. He is advanced. (master level (?).

Check out this video on YouTube:

 

 

I got very fat having my two kids. At least I remember learning yoga the first time, I remember that I started out resting on my knees as I did the chataranga. Eventually I grew stronger and did it right. "Yoga is combining the movement, the breath, and the gaze". At first you'll only do the movement, wobbly and falling down. Add in the breath and the focused gaze when you can, as you can. It gives you more balance. Besides, many yoga poses done properly make you a little dizzy. It is a moving meditation.

Just for interest you might check out the following books:

American Yoga

by Carrie Schneider

The Yoga Tradition It's History, Literature, Philosophy, and Practice

by George Feurstein

 

I'm doing P90x but taking it easy and going slow- on my schedule not theirs. It's not a race. I just need to get strong enough to lift my own weight again (literally).