Search - Strength Building Yoga on DVD

Rodney Yee gets it all RIGHT!

T. Sheppard | Jeffersonville, IN USA | 11/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This tape is quite amazing! Paced perfectly, and quite challenging. I practiced yoga at a studio until my schedlue prevented me from attending classes. I bought this tape so I could continue at home. My hunch was that no tape could take the place of my class. I was pleasantly surprised! This tape is not as good as class, but it surely comes in a close second! Highly recommended!"

Wonderful, thoughtful strength-building practice

Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 08/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been practicing yoga for several years now and consider myself to be at an approximately intermediate level, but I've been wanting to incorporate challenging postures such as inversions and arm balances into my home practice. I found Yoga Practice for Strength to be a perfect video for meeting this goal. Rodney Yee has created two practices of less than 30 minutes each; the first is designed to prepare for inversions, particularly headstand, whereas the second consists of balance work, including arm balances.



The first practice begins with several vinyasa sequences. Rodney slowly builds up to a full sun salutation and then adds additional poses such as triangle and side angle; I loved that he moved slowly and held each pose for a long period. After the 16-minute vinyasa segment, Rodney goes through 20-minutes of inversion work. He starts by working in down dog, first doing a bent arm down dog (tough!) and then holding down dog for two minutes; both of these moves are designed to build strength. Next, he practices bridge pose and then moves into a shoulderstand and plow sequence using a chair and a strap. He finishes with a reclined leg stretch and a very short savasana.



Rodney begins the second practice with a vinyasa warm-up, moving through the vinyasa twice and including a beginning balance posture, side plank. He then works on standing poses for balance: triangle, side angle, half moon, forward bend, tree, warrior 1, forward bend with feet apart, warrior 3. He did not hold the poses as long as in the first program, but he still moves slowly and precisely. Rodney then moves to the floor for more challenge postures, including boat, pendulum, and crane pose. Although I couldn't do pendulum, Rodney showed how to modify with blocks, and he made me feel that I could get there eventually. Rodney ends with a reclined twist and savasana, bringing the total practice time for this session in at about 23 minutes (Rodney spends additional time talking between sections).



This is definitely one of my favorite Rodney Yee practices, and I highly recommend it for intermediate yogis wanting to build strength. However, if you are used to a faster-moving, power yoga style, this video is not for you."

2 really wonderful, challenging yoga sessions...

Beth Cholette | 07/08/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though this is definitely not for beginners or people still feeling intimidated by yoga, it's a tape with 2 really great sessions with different focuses. I find the second session to be more difficult because of the super challenging arm-balances, which you may need an instructor to help you with if you've never done them. But as usual Rodney is clear in his instructions and you get a well rounded "workout" no matter which one you choose to do. I even use the vinyasa at the beginning of the tape to warm up for other yoga tapes or other workouts sometimes."

This DVD helps strengthen out your poses.

Jenny J.J.I. | That Lives in Carolinas | 03/24/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This has a lot of challenging asanas as well as some gentle ones for beginners. It is a tape that you can grow into as you improve your yoga skills. The main reason why I'm using this DVD is to properly strengthen some of my poses that I'm still a bit shaky on.



Although I have to agree with the reviewer who noted that the final segment of the tape contains two impossible poses such as the super challenging arm-balances, which you may need an instructor to help you with if you've never done them. This segment literally comprises no more than a minute or two of the otherwise wonderful 75 minutes of the entire tape. I usually make up my own modifications for these two poses and just go along with it -- it's a very insignificant portion.



I like how this DVD moves slowly enough so that I can really get into the poses, feeling each one, and practicing them. Then, when I go back to other DVD's, I notice an amazing difference in strength, balance, and flexibility. I also appreciate that he merely names the next pose without unnecessary cheerleading a explanation -- if you've learned the beginning poses elsewhere, it makes it very soothing and allows you to concentrate fully on the poses without undue distraction. This DVD also provides options for more advanced work, either repeating vinyasa or holding certain poses for longer amounts of time.



Overall, this DVD is very calming and resourceful. I look forward to each workout with this tape and will purchase others similar as this, probably the Flexibility because I have my eye's set on that one......... Namasta.

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