Yoga Videos

Yoga Videos for Beginners

As a beginner, you’ll want to look for yoga videos and DVDs that provide lengthy explanations of the Child’s Pose, Downward Facing Dog, Cobra Pose, and other popular introductory yoga poses. To get you started, check out the following selections:

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• A.M. and P.M. Yoga for Beginners features a 20-minute energizing morning workout and a 20-minute relaxing evening workout. In the morning, you’ll learn from yoga guru Rodney Yee against the backdrop of a beautiful Maui beach. In the evening, you’ll be guided by Patricia Walden on the golden sands of Death Valley. Both workouts feature extensive explanations of the various poses.

Yoga Journal’s Yoga for Beginners features Patricia Walden in a 60-minute yoga practice, plus an in-depth interview and bonus flexibility workout. A good introduction to Iyengar yoga, this workout covers standing poses, forward bends, seated poses, and inverted poses.

• Yoga Zone: Total Body Conditioning for Beginners is designed to help beginning yogis build strength, improve posture, reduce stress, and learn the techniques of deep relaxation. This 40-minute workout was filmed outdoors in Jamaica, so you’ll be able to enjoy beautiful scenery from the comfort of your own home.

Intermediate Yoga

As an intermediate yoga student, you’ll want to look for videos and DVDs that build on the basic principles you’ve already learned. For example:

• Rodney Yee Intermediate Yoga assumes that you understand the basics of a yoga practice, so the majority of this instructional workout is devoted to mastering the more challenging inverted poses. This complete workout also includes sections for backbends, headstands, and shoulderstands.
• Power Yoga for Athletes is a workout designed for marathon runners, tennis players, figure skaters, and other people with a high level of physical fitness. As a result, the poses are more challenging than what you’d find in a beginner’s yoga video or DVD.
• Yoga Journal’s Yoga for Energy is a 60-minute workout with separate sections for awakening, centering, creativity, reflection, and surrender. There is no narrative instruction, so this yoga practice is best suited for those who’ve already mastered basic and beginning intermediate level poses.

Advanced Yoga Videos and DVDs

As an experienced yoga student, you’ll want to search for yoga videos and DVDs that provide the challenge you need to stay motivated in your workouts. The following selections will push advanced yogis to take their practices to the next stage:

• Shiva Rea - Yoga Shakti is marketed for yogis of all levels, but advanced students will find plenty to love in this workout. Four complete practices are presented, as well as a matrix that lets you customize each workout to find your own unique needs. If you’re well-versed in the various poses, you can even turn off the audio track and listen to your own music.
• Yoga Journal’s Yoga Step by Step: Volume 3 is the most advanced volume of this three-part series. The practice teaches inversions, arm balances, and ways to build upper body strength. A special bonus section discusses the importance of proper alignment.
• Rodney Yee Advanced Yoga is a special two-disc set that features a 45-minute total body workout as well as a 20-minute hip opening routine and a 35-minute centering pranayama session. It’s more advanced than other yoga videos or DVDs, so minimal instruction is provided. You might want to watch the entire routine before attempting to follow along with these yoga exercises.

Whether you're attempting yoga for the first time or want to expand your postures, these are just a few of the yoga videos and DVDs available for dedicated home practice.

~Dana Hinders