Search - Rodney Yee: Yoga Journal's Family Yoga on DVD

Great for the family--good instruction and enthusiasm

Sav Par | Pensacola, Florida | 05/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD is not for total beginners. You should watch it completely and then figure out what you think you can do with your children.This DVD is truely a gem but you just need to be careful when they do handstands, ect. It is about sharing Yoga exercises and bonding with your family. My little one likes to do about 3/4 of it and it gets a little hard for both of us at the end. The basic elements are there with out a new age feel (I personally like new age). It is relaxing, invigurating, challenging, and best of all you get to bond with your family."

Not what I expected

MBechtold | Westminster, CO USA | 01/02/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a beginner, and I bought this DVD to work out with my 4-yr-old daughter.

I was expecting a slower pace, simpler poses (hand stands are NOT simple to a beginner!), and very detailed verbal positioning and breathing instructions (presented by an adult, not a child). It was very distracting to have to look up at the screen while I was doing the poses.

My daughter enjoys other exercise DVDs and (unlike me) has joints like rubber bands, but she didn't like this DVD, either.

If you and your child are already experienced yoga practitioners, this DVD might work for you, but if you're new, give it a miss.

I hope Rodney Yee remakes Family Yoga DVD one of these days, because the concept has a lot of potential, and he has a demonstrated talent for making beautiful, soothing yoga DVDs. I wish this DVD had been presented in the style of, say, AM Yoga (which I received free with my yoga kit)."

Great yoga class for *intermediate* yoga families

Jill Florio | Southern CA United States | 07/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 40 minute DVD yoga class is a blast to play along to, whether you are with your family members or not. The energy is playful, fun and infectious.

The DVD takes place on a sunny rectangular stage right in front of the crashing waves of Maui. The stage has enough room for their five yoga mats and is surrounded with lush tropical foliage. There is soft new age music and you can hear the sounds of the waves and birds during the presentation.

This practice starts with sun salutes, moves into standing poses, handstands, backbends, crow/crane and a variety of sitting stretches using straps. A savasana and sitting meditation complete the routine.

Rodney Yee, with his wife and three children, take turns demonstrating poses and leading sun salute sequences. They are a very cute family and giggle together a lot.

I can see where children from young ages to preteens can associate themselves with the kids on-screen as "yoga teachers." Kids at home would probably enjoy leading their own families in sequences - what a great confidence builder! Altogether, doing yoga as a family in this way should create fantastic bonding time as well as promoting strength and flexibility from a young age.

Couples without children can also enjoy this DVD. Lots of poses are shown using a partner to assist into arm balances, backbends and inversions. I showed the handstand section to my husband to help him get a feel for how to help me, and we did the relaxing coupled backbend together as well.

My main caveat is a big one - this is no DVD for beginners. Novices will be hopelessly lost during the fast-moving sun salutations. There is no instruction on basics like downward dog, upward dog and side plank pose. The sun salutes include a lot of jump backs and tougher transitions that Rodney and his flexible family take for granted.

Advanced beginners will be caught short by the inclusion of intermediate poses like handstand, upward bow and crow/crane.

Nowhere on the DVD package does it mention that this might not be appropriate for beginners. This oversight might get some people hurt!

For beginners who buy this program I recommend they go right to the standing poses, which have actual pose instruction and take things slowly. Skip the fast-moving sun salutes sequence. Try not to worry about getting up into handstand unless your kids are already athletic.

As the DVD does not have a section menu (just hit PLAY and off it goes), you'd have to manually fast-forward to the parts you want to use.

I wouldn't blame Rodney for the inappropriate marketing - this is a delightful practice and I appreciate that there's a family routine out there that isn't all just easy beginner's work. So there is certainly room in the market for a disc like this - for families already familiar with yoga, who want to get in some playful family time and help each other with challenging poses.

Ultimately, I found this DVD really quite enjoyable and will be adding it to my rotation as a short, "fun" choice."

A great way to spend some quality time with the family

Kika Bisogno | Caracas, Distrito Federal Venezuela | 05/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a die-hard fan of Rodney Yee. This DVD although very different from his regular routines is absolutely fantastic because one get's to see another side of him which is truly endearing: him as a DAD.
I practice yoga everyday and my kids have always wanted to participate. The other routines I have on DVD are too difficult for them. This one allows children to be introduced to the basic poses in a fun and easy way. It's a great way to spend some quality time with the family"