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Yoga has experienced a huge surge in popularity in recent years. More and more people are coming to appreciate the holistic benefits that come from adding yoga to their wellness routine. This has led to huge growth in the home yoga market. Yoga DVDs have become extremely popular for both weight loss and general well-being. In this article, we uncover the top 5 home yoga DVDs available today to help you find the best Yoga DVD for your needs.
Summary: The Best Yoga DVDs
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Mental Benefits of Yoga
Yoga is well known for improving the mind as well as the body. An Oxford University study found that people who practiced yoga at least once per week were less stressed, had lower blood pressure, and slept better.
Yoga has also been found to benefit our mental wellbeing. In a recent study, researchers found that when women were split into a control group, which did not practice yoga, and an experimental group, which did, results showed that the yoga group had markedly lower levels of anxiety and frustration.
Another study looked at the mental health benefits of yoga in secondary school. Yoga exercises, including deep breathing and relaxation exercises, mindfulness, and meditation allowed students to be much better at controlling their anger, developing resilience, and developing resistance to stress.
All of these areas are linked to emotional intelligence. This suggests that people who practice yoga are more able to emotionally balance their lives. This has led to the promotion of yoga as a preventative measure in mental health treatment.
Physical Benefits of Yoga
Yoga’s physical benefits are just as profound. According to the National Institute of Health, yoga can help with muscular skeletal issues, especially lower back pain. It can even help relief anger.
A study out of India focused on the cardiovascular benefits of yoga. Heart rate systolic and diastolic pressure were recorded before and following yoga activity. All of these markers improved after just 4 weeks of yoga practice.
Yoga has also been shown to help reduce the incidence and severity of migraine headaches.
The mental and physical health benefits of yoga are so well established that the practice of yoga is internationally regarded as an example of integrative medicine.
Easing into Yoga
Many people are aware of the benefits of yoga, yet are reluctant to give it a try. They may feel that they don’t have the flexibility or coordination to be any good at it. But yoga isn’t a one size fits all proposition. There are a vast number of types of yoga. While some types do encourage a hard workout, involving lots of bending and flexing, others use yoga as simply a meditative tool.
A key aspect of yoga is pranayama, which focuses on deep breathing and gentle stretching. It has been found in many studies to be connected with inner peace and happiness. Anyone at any skill level can try pranayama. It simply involves getting into a comfortable position and then breathing deeply from the diaphragm. Raise your arms as you breathe in and lower them as you breathe out.
The DVD Yoga Alternative
Yoga classes have their place. They can provide you with expert instruction, social interaction, and plenty of external motivation. Practicing yoga at home, however, allows for a convenience factor that could be the difference between developing a consistent yoga routine and doing the occasional class.
DVD yoga allows you the best of both worlds. You get expert instruction from acclaimed yoga practitioners and you get to train in your own home. You can even practice your yoga out by the pool as you soak in the sun’s rays.
There are a whole lot of Yoga DVDs out there vying for your attention. We’ve scoured the marketplace in order to bring you the 5 best yoga DVDs. Let’s check them out.
Yoga DVD Reviews
Our Rating
Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners provides expert guidance for the yoga novice. It includes the best pose instruction you’re likely to find, followed by a couple of very effective workouts that integrate the moves into a seamless sequence to tone you up and calm you down.
Content
Internationally recognized trainer Rodney Yee presents a 40-minute movement introduction, followed by two full-length workouts in this comprehensive DVD package. The workouts are designed to be done in the morning and evening.
The in-depth posing instruction is one of the best guides you’re likely to find on how to do basic yoga moves correctly. The workouts are between 15 and 20 minutes in duration and are ideal for general well-being, toning, and stretching.
Who is it Best Suited For?
Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners is the ideal introductory DVD for people who are experiencing yoga for the first time. More experienced practitioners will also benefit from watching the movement guide to check that they are doing the movements correctly.
Value for money
Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners can be purchased for under $10. This represents exceptional value for money.
Pros
- Internationally renowned instructor
- Detailed pose guide
- Short workouts
Cons
- No cardio element
- May not be intense enough for some people
Our Rating
Bob Harper’s Yoga for The Warrior is an intense workout for the intermediate to advanced trainer. It is highly motivational and highly sweat inducing.
Content
Bob Harper is, of course, the counter to Jillian Michaels on The Biggest Loser. His yoga offering, just like Jillian’s, is not part of the Biggest Loser franchise, but an independent production. Bob’s DVD is suited toward the intermediate / advanced trainer.
Along with Bob, you’ll see three other people training on this DVD. The two ladies perform the moves as Bob does. The guy provides modified moves for beginners. After a brief warm-up, Bob gets straight into the power yoga moves. He doesn’t spend a lot of time on instruction, but he does dish out plenty of motivation. The workout is challenging and includes a 15-minute Yoga Ab workout that will finish your session with an intense core burn.
Who is it Best Suited For?
Yoga for The Warrior is best suited for intermediate to advanced level yogis. Bob doesn’t give a lot of instruction, assuming that people who buy this DVD know what they’re doing.
This DVD is not intended for the meditative, zen-like yoga training that you may be used to. This is an intense, hardcore physical challenge.
Value for money
Bob Harper’s Yoga for The Warrior can be purchased for under $10.
Pros
- All moves are modified for differing levels
- Challenging for intermediate and advanced practitioners
Cons
- Not much actual instruction on how to do the move
- This is not a soothing, relaxing workout
Our Rating
Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown provides challenging workouts for both beginners and experienced yogis. You won’t feel too relaxed, but you will get a good sweat.
Content
As the hard as nails female boot camp instructor from The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels has established a reputation as a hardcore trainer. So, when you buy a yoga DVD with her name on it, you know what you’re in for. The workouts are tough, but they are split into two levels.
The workouts start with a brief warm-up before going into the work sequence. These involve a series of 3-4 poses. In each pose, Jillian has you doing repetitions. The last rep on each pose is held for 15 seconds.
Between work sequences, Jillian has you doing salutations as transitions into the next phase of the workout. This work, salutation sequence is repeated several times, before going into the warm-down.
Level 1 is a beginner’s workout with an emphasis on the upper body. Level 2 is more intense and involves more lower-body work. Each workout is 30 minutes long.
Who is it Best Suited For?
Yoga Meltdown is a good introduction to yoga training for newbies as it features a Level 1 workout that is accessible for newcomers. Those who have a background of gym training will transition to this type of workout more readily, as Jillian incorporates reps type training into the program.
Value for money
Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown can be purchased for under $10, representing very good value for money.
Pros
- 2 levels of workouts
- Each move offers both beginning and advanced modifications
- The workouts range from easy to very tough
Cons
- Jillian Michaels will probably not bring on a calm, relaxed feeling in you – if you’re after a zen-like experience, look elsewhere
- The instructions that Jillian gives are a little rushed
Our Rating
Elements of Yoga: Air and Water Flow with Tara Lee provides a solid, challenging workout for advanced beginner / intermediate yogis. Tara’s voice and demeanor are relaxing and her workouts just challenging enough to get your body responding.
Content
Elements of Yoga: Air and Water Flow is a far more gentle, calming offering than those presented by the Biggest Loser trainers. It is presented by British star Tara Lee in voice over. It consists of three 20-minute sessions that are crammed with interesting poses, stretches, vinyasas, and breathing exercises.
As you move from Practice 1 to Practice 2, you’ll find the intensity and the pace of the sequence increase considerably. The DVD features some valuable extras, including a 10-minute balance workout, a 10-minute abs sequence, and a 10-minute breathing routine.
Who is it Best Suited For?
Elements of Yoga: Air and Water Flow is ideally suited for advanced beginners or early intermediate trainers. Tara provides plenty of instruction and modeling on how to do the moves and the program progressively increases in intensity to make it accessible to people who have a basic grounding in yoga movement.
Value for money
Elements of Yoga: Air and Water Flow with Tara Lee is available for around $10.
Pros
- Divided into 3 twenty-minute phases
- Progressively increases in intensity
- Good level of instruction
- Includes a meditative, calming aspect
Cons
- Not suitable for advanced trainers
Our Rating
The Biggest Loser: Weight Loss Yoga offers a balanced program that increases strength and flexibility while shedding the kilos. It is accessible for all experience levels, but beginners may find some moves too tough.
Content
The Biggest Loser TV show has an immense worldwide following. The people behind the show have capitalized on that popularity by releasing a line of fitness products. Their entry into the Yoga DVD market is by way of a 5-segment workout hosted by Bob Harper.
Bob begins with a gentle 5-minute warm-up before moving into 20 minutes of Level 1 vinyasa poses. The pace then increases with 15 minutes worth of yoga-pilates-abs moves that target the core area. Level 3 involves strength exercises that require the use of dumbbells. The workout finishes with a 5-minute warm-down and stretch.
Who is it Best Suited For?
As the title indicates, this DVD is targeted toward people who are looking to use yoga as a means of increasing their fat loss. It is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced trainers.
Value for money
The Biggest Loser: Weight Loss Yoga can be purchased for under $10.
Pros
- The DVD balances core, flexibility and strength training
- Some good stretching segments
- Challenging, graduated workout
Cons
- Requires dumbbells
- Some parts may be too challenging for beginners
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