Search - Yoga Complete for Weight Loss on DVD

Let's start by stating that this is an Iyengar practice.

SuZen | NJ United States | 08/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I didn't realize that Mary was an Iyengar instructor until she started stacking up blankets to form a bolster, then I caught on.

If you already are practicing the Iyengar style, I am sure you will like this video. There are not a lot of Iyengar videos out there, and this is well done.

For those not familiar with the style, it is not a "flowing" style like Ashtanga. In a typical class you would work on a pose for a while, then work on a different pose. It's actually ideally suited to construct practices out of segments, as on this DVD.

It's a great way to really learn a pose thoroughly, even if you are practicing a different form of yoga.

By the way, ignore the "weight loss" title. There is nothing on this video that is specific for that purpose. If your aim in practicing yoga is to have an intense workout and burn calories, this is not the type of video you are looking for."

So glad I found this.

Kristin Summerlin | Two Rivers, AK USA | 03/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Clawing my way out of yet another bout of clinical depression, I've been trying to make small positive changes in my life. Things like getting up in the morning, making the bed, and doing yoga sound simple on paper, but anyone with depression knows they can take every ounce of energy when you're in the depths.

I believe in serendipity, and I'm grateful this DVD found its way into my hands. I've been using it for a little more than a month, and I find that it has become an essential part of my life. With varied session times and several different areas of focus, this DVD is easy to fit into my day, and it allows me to choose the intensity or discipline to match the day's tone. I've never seen a yoga or fitness DVD like it.

This is, as noted, an Iyengar practice, which makes it perfect for me, because the constant insistence on paying attention to each nuance of a pose allows me to go deeper inside myself, at the same time allowing me to move outside myself to become an observer.

I don't have easy access to a yoga teacher or class, and I find that the Iyengar method -- combined with a mirror and this DVD's unique menus that make it possible to tailor the session to meet the day's needs -- is as good a substitute as I'm likely to find.

I consider myself an advanced beginner, and I have not yet become bored by the beginner routines -- haven't yet done them all, in fact. I'm finding that this DVD offers me more opportunities to move deeper into poses I thought I had "mastered."

I do need to lose weight, but that wasn't the main reason for purchasing this DVD. If you believe, as I do, that yoga allows one to develop both awareness and acceptance of oneself, then it naturally follows that with regular practice you'd reach a balance and begin to take better care of your body and spirit. I've found this to be true, and I'm losing weight slowly as an indirect result of a more wholistic awareness.

As noted by other reviewers, rather than leading a hard calorie-burning workout, the instructor focuses on poses that affect the body's hormonal balance and organs. My energy level has heightened as a result, and I often find myself heading outside after my yoga session for snowshoeing or some other healthy activity.

The one negative has transformed into something more positive, as well. At first I found the instructor's voice a bit irritating, as was the endless loop of the soundtrack. As I've continued working with the DVD, I've begun to hear compassion and comfort instead.

If you are interested only in a "power" yoga workout, you won't find it here. If you want only a spiritual/aesthetic experience, this isn't it. But if you want to learn more about yourself, your body and how it relates to your spirit, and to move deeper into various poses, this is the DVD for you.

The varied workouts at three different levels of difficulty promise to keep me engaged for years to come. And that's what I want and need."

Great Yoga Training In General Plus Designed For Weight Loss

Denise G | VA | 07/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this DVD after the great review it received in the Yoga Journal. I needed to lose some weight but was also looking for a good yoga practice, and this DVD does that well.

Mary's instruction is clear and precise, as she is an Iyaanger trained instructor as others have indicated. So you carefully go into the poses and hold them, more so than some other styles of yoga. Great to really open up your body and developing form. You move fromm one pose, working on the pose, then move onto the next pose, in Iyanger fashion as oppossed to other styles of yoga, which are more of a pure flow style. The routines, however, are carefully put together and make sense if you have ever studied yoga.

She is encouraging without being too overly sappy or annoying like some others can be - she is much more enthusiastic on her interview than in the actual instruction sections, but it is worthwhile to watch to understand her more, she relates well to the issues that the DVD is trying to address. Her instruction sections are toned down more than her interview, but she is nevertheless encouraging.

Some have mentioned that the set is not a beach scene, but since I have taken classes more in rooms with wood floors, and not on a beach, this is not a problem for me :) It is more like a very good class it its presentation, as oppossed to beaches/poor instruction that other DVDs are.

If you care about seeing beaches or looking more for a Vinyasa style of yoga, then you may want to skip this, though if you are looking to really develop your yoga practice it really should give this a chance.

If you are looking to develop good technique in general and/or looking for routines that are designed to affect your metabolism to help increase the bodies ability to work in a certain way to assist in weight loss, you should not hesitate - get this DVD. The extensive amount of material on this DVD from Beginners to Advanced will keep you going for a long time."

I LOVE this DVD

M. Holman | Montana - United States | 05/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am using this DVD along with Brian Kest's 'Power Yoga' Series. I am a beginner and also getting close to 50 so I am doing this more to be limber than just to lose weight.

This DVD is soooo great for many reasons. Mary has more than 25 routines on this DVD, a set for Beginner, a set for Intermediates and a set for Challenging. The exercises range from 30 mintues to 90 minutes. She offers several variations for the poses should you need bricks, straps or chairs to assist you. It is not flowing like Power Yoga, but it gives you a chance to really feel the pose and breath into it.

The BEST part of this DVD is that there are NO annoying commercials at the beginning that you can't escape from, that have become the bane of many an exercise DVD. I can not tell you have many DVD exercise programs that I have that I will never watch again, no matter how wonderful the program because of those endless commercial pitches. (k, off my soap box.. sorry)

I highly recommend this tape to any and all that want to learn yoga, it is worth every penny."