Search - Power Up - The Best of Rodney Yee on DVD

Less than the best and not for beginners

vaporgirl | Los Angeles, CA USA | 10/22/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I disagree that the is the best of Rodney Yee....and despite the description here, none of these DVDs is for beginners. I bought this set because I LOVE Rodney Yee's Power Yoga Total Body as well as the yoga practise on Body Target ABS. He's very good at reminding about breathing and prompting you on how to move through the poses. This exists in a limited way on Stength Building Yoga and Power Yoga Strength but not on Energy Balance Yoga. Since it's impossible to look at the TV and do the practise, I find it very helpful to have prompts. This set really disappoints in this respect.

Stength Building Yoga says that it's chapter marked for the sequences but it's only marked for the two primary segments. There is no way to move between the numbered sequences in those segments. Although the cover depects Yee outdoors on a beach, the actual practise takes in a studio that is dark and not too attractive. The first segment is fairly standard - sun salutes and standing poses. He names the poses, and mentions breathing but doesn't always tell you how to move into the pose. The second segment is inversions - there is more instruction here but this is in no way for beginners.

On Energy Balance Yoga, there is little instruction for how to move from pose to pose or how to get into the poses and no prompts for proper breathing. He just names poses, sometimes using names that are inconsistant with the pose names used on his other DVDs (side stretch instead of extended right angle pose for instance).

Power Yoga Strength says it's for beginners in the title and there is more instuction about how to move into the poses, but not enough for a beginner to move into very challenging arm balances like pendulum or crane.

Quite frankly all three feel like older practises that have been repackaged as a "Best of" set. One of my complaints about the Yoga DVDs I've bought from GAIAM is that the creation dates are missing - there isn't any way to track when a practise might have been recorded. Teachers evolve and improve over time and it would be nice to know whether a given release is older or newer. GAIAM tends to obscure this info....

If you're intermediate/advanced and don't require the prompts - then this set might be ok. If not, I'd try one of Yee's other DVDs."

Excellent Choice for daily practice!

L. Cruz | Sacramento, CA United States | 03/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of course you aren't going to be as good at Yoga as Rodney Yee! But, I found that I can practice the poses to the best of my ability and slowly my flexability is improving. I like that he shows me the highest level, as it inspires me to achieve that strength and ability. Although, it would be helpful to purchase additional instruction if you are totally new to yoga. I really like how he connects the movements to personal awareness and innerpeace. I find his choreography to be very beautiful as well. One drawback is that I can see is that he often repeats some stances so my arms are real tired and it could get boring I suspect, but it hasn't yet for me."

Not what I bought it for, but I still like it.

Q wave | Chicago, IL | 10/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Let me start with this: I don't bend. Have never been able to. I started doing Rodney Yee's Yoga for Athletes when injuries sidelined me from the races I competed in. I thought maybe some increased flexibility might prevent me from getting injured again. I love that DVD: slow-paced, good instruction, easy flow and you stay in poses for a while (I've estimated about 20 or 30 seconds, but I've never actually timed it) so you end up feeling your muscles stretch out. Eventually, I got to a point where I wanted to make yoga a regular part of my workouts to keep me that flexible.

I bought this set thinking "it's yoga and it's Rodney Yee, so it probably still focuses on all the stuff my first DVD focused on." I was wrong. These are definitely strength workouts (duh..."power"). I don't notice flexibility increasing near as much as I notice sore muscles that I never knew existed (and also a puddle of sweat on the mat that never occured before).

That said-I love it. It's much faster paced than what I'm used to, which required adjustment. Sometimes I have to pause or rewind, so I can practice poses more (or get out of a pose as I have yet to be able to step to a lunge from downward dog). This doesn't bother me too much as I feel the "flow" aspect of the sequences will come with time after I've learned how to breathe without toppling during half-moon pose. It may, however, bother people who don't like doing yoga with the remote nearby.

I didn't buy this set looking to build strength, but I have certainly managed to do that in the month I've used them (about 3 times a week). My friends have noticed that my arms have turned from "no definition" to "rock". They are quite impressed with my results despite being startled when I cheered at being able to maintain crane pose for four seconds before my arms gave out (mind you this is a huge improvement from the unintentional somersaults I was doing across my living room the first few times I tried). I'm still searching for a good long workout that focuses on flexibility, but I would definitely recommend this set to someone who has some experience with yoga that is looking for some good strengthening workouts."

Don't Bother!

Dorothy Di Liddo | 07/30/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"While doing the P90X I found that I was really enjoying Yoga days, anxious to do & learn more Yoga I purchased this set. The Vinyasa DVD takes forever to start, spending a really long time watching Rodney practice Yoga, when it finally does start the workout is so broken up into little bits that getting a good workout is a lost cause. The Power Yoga DVD is a little better, but the workout is so short it's hardly worth it. I briefly glanced at the third DVD and got so frustrated trying to find the actual workout segments I turned it off. Quite honestly Tony Horton may not be a Yoga Guru, but his Yoga workout leaves this sad set in the dust! I'm really sorry that I purchased it!"