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sun_salutationRodney Yee: Power Yoga Total Body Workout
I can't believe that I have never actually reviewed this DVD.
This DVD is, in my opinion, a perfectly composed yoga experience. It doesn't have everything. Prominently lacking – inversions, arm balances, and Sanskrit names. There is also a complete lack of yoga spiritual references. This is all about the asanas. But if you are looking for a good, vigorous workout, a wide range of postures, and excellent instruction, including good breath cues, this is a great DVD.
Mr. Yee opens with a nice pranayama that develops into simple alternating lunges. After the first Downward Dog, he eases you into basic sun salutations, which get faster as he ads standing postures between the transitional vinyasas. The major standing postures are all there, with an emphasis on Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): Powerful Pose (Utkatasana), Triangle (Utthita Trikonasana), Extended Side Angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana), Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I), Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III), and Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana). Although Mr. Yee moves quickly through the transitional vinyasas (great for getting the heart-rate up!), he gives you time in the standing postures to really settle in and experience the pose and gives good advice on how to adjust all the parts of your body – the position of the ribcage and pelvis, attentiveness to the position of the shoulders and the relaxation of the face – so that you can develop the posture and deepen it. There are some quicker combinations of standing postures prior to the balance poses, too, that allow you to transition between the postures and feel their relationships to one another. A really well-developed, challenging sequence.
Just when you think you can't take any more and are going to have to quit halfway through, Mr. Yee backs it off, for Wide Angle Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), and Pyramid (Parsvottanasana).
He then starts a slow build toward Wheel, progressing from Warrior I, Deep Lunge (Anjaneyasana), Sphinx, Cobra (Bhujangasana), Upward Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana), Bow (Dhanurasana), and Camel (Ustrasana), with a nice shoulder opener in while seated in Hero's Pose (Virasana), which works to prepare and limber up the knees. Finally, three nice, long, well-instructed iterations of Wheel (Urdhva Dhanurasana).
THEN, just when you think you are about to die AGAIN and have to quit, ah, supine postures that let you relax and restore. Reclinging Big Toe Pose (Supta Padangusthasana) releases the hamstrings, and a hanging version of it releases the lower back. For hip opening, he uses Reclining Pidgeon (Supta Kapotasana) (small icon here at the bottom of the page).
But Mr. Yee is not done with you yet! Now for the rocking! First, he has you rock on your back with your legs tucked and crossed, gradually rocking all the way up to seated and back towards Plow (Halasana). After you do that for a while, he switches you to rocking with your legs extended, from Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana) allllll the way back to Plow, the forward again. Fun, envigorating and stretchy!
Then, the seated postures. This segment transitions between Cobbler's Pose (Baddha Konasana), Staff Pose (Dandasana), and Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana), with Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana) and Boat (Navasana) added to the flow. He also includes a seated twist in Half Lotus, and a deep forward bend in Half Lotus.
Mr. Yee guides you through Savasana with practical advice to assist you in finding and relaxing tension in your bdoy, and concludes with a final, brief seated meditation.
In all, this DVD would be an excellent addition to any home practice. Although some of the balance postures and backbends are challenging, I believe even a beginner can tackle most of these postures. There is an element of endurance and stamina needed to make it though, but there is a nice, balancing component of relaxation and restorative postures as a reward. Expect to sweat and work hard, but you can do it!
Namaste.
I can't believe that I have never actually reviewed this DVD.
This DVD is, in my opinion, a perfectly composed yoga experience. It doesn't have everything. Prominently lacking – inversions, arm balances, and Sanskrit names. There is also a complete lack of yoga spiritual references. This is all about the asanas. But if you are looking for a good, vigorous workout, a wide range of postures, and excellent instruction, including good breath cues, this is a great DVD.
Mr. Yee opens with a nice pranayama that develops into simple alternating lunges. After the first Downward Dog, he eases you into basic sun salutations, which get faster as he ads standing postures between the transitional vinyasas. The major standing postures are all there, with an emphasis on Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): Powerful Pose (Utkatasana), Triangle (Utthita Trikonasana), Extended Side Angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana), Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I), Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III), and Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana). Although Mr. Yee moves quickly through the transitional vinyasas (great for getting the heart-rate up!), he gives you time in the standing postures to really settle in and experience the pose and gives good advice on how to adjust all the parts of your body – the position of the ribcage and pelvis, attentiveness to the position of the shoulders and the relaxation of the face – so that you can develop the posture and deepen it. There are some quicker combinations of standing postures prior to the balance poses, too, that allow you to transition between the postures and feel their relationships to one another. A really well-developed, challenging sequence.
Just when you think you can't take any more and are going to have to quit halfway through, Mr. Yee backs it off, for Wide Angle Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), and Pyramid (Parsvottanasana).
He then starts a slow build toward Wheel, progressing from Warrior I, Deep Lunge (Anjaneyasana), Sphinx, Cobra (Bhujangasana), Upward Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana), Bow (Dhanurasana), and Camel (Ustrasana), with a nice shoulder opener in while seated in Hero's Pose (Virasana), which works to prepare and limber up the knees. Finally, three nice, long, well-instructed iterations of Wheel (Urdhva Dhanurasana).
THEN, just when you think you are about to die AGAIN and have to quit, ah, supine postures that let you relax and restore. Reclinging Big Toe Pose (Supta Padangusthasana) releases the hamstrings, and a hanging version of it releases the lower back. For hip opening, he uses Reclining Pidgeon (Supta Kapotasana) (small icon here at the bottom of the page).
But Mr. Yee is not done with you yet! Now for the rocking! First, he has you rock on your back with your legs tucked and crossed, gradually rocking all the way up to seated and back towards Plow (Halasana). After you do that for a while, he switches you to rocking with your legs extended, from Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana) allllll the way back to Plow, the forward again. Fun, envigorating and stretchy!
Then, the seated postures. This segment transitions between Cobbler's Pose (Baddha Konasana), Staff Pose (Dandasana), and Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana), with Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana) and Boat (Navasana) added to the flow. He also includes a seated twist in Half Lotus, and a deep forward bend in Half Lotus.
Mr. Yee guides you through Savasana with practical advice to assist you in finding and relaxing tension in your bdoy, and concludes with a final, brief seated meditation.
In all, this DVD would be an excellent addition to any home practice. Although some of the balance postures and backbends are challenging, I believe even a beginner can tackle most of these postures. There is an element of endurance and stamina needed to make it though, but there is a nice, balancing component of relaxation and restorative postures as a reward. Expect to sweat and work hard, but you can do it!
Namaste.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 02:06 pm (UTC)(Also, I was rereading some of your old reviews last night, and realized I never answered your question about whether detailed reviews, with links to the postures are helpful: YES BY ALL MEANS. Thank you for all the time and thoughtfulness you put into your reviews - for me they are among the most helpful features of the site.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 02:19 pm (UTC)Haha! I wondered if you would have any contradictory comments regarding the pace of the standing postures section!
no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 02:24 pm (UTC)Between him, Brian Kest, and Kristin McGee, I'm really feeling much more confident over most of my standing postures (but still frustrated that I can't yet manage that, what is it called, Stick Your Big Toe Out In Front Of You Pose, on my Barbara Benagh dvd. It's like my Holy Grail of standing poses, and it really, really doesn't seem like it should be that difficult.)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 02:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 04:36 pm (UTC)Extended Big Toe Pose, a.k.a. Extended Hand To Big Toe Pose? This one?
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2473
From now on, though, I'm always going to think of it as Stick Your Big Toe Out In Front Of You Pose. Because it is. *g*
What's causing you most difficulty with it? Is it the hamstring stretch, or the balancing, or the taking-the-leg-out-to-the-side bit? Or all of the above?
no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 04:43 pm (UTC)The problem is with my balance, definitely. I can almost do it while standing on my right foot, but have terrible difficulty while standing on my left foot. I'm working on all kinds of balance poses, thanks to Rodney and Brian and Kristin, so I feel hopeful that I'll get there eventually, on both feet.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 05:19 pm (UTC)One is a weird-sounding bit of advice I found somewhere to point your perineum at the ground. Which makes sense when you try it -- if your pelvis is tipping over to one side (or front or back), that automatically unbalances you.
The other thing I find is that the higher I can get my leg, the easier it is to balance, especially when taking the leg to the side, because I can stand up straighter; I'm not leaning forwards in order to be able to reach my foot.
So if there's some room for your hamstrings to relax a bit more, working on that (maybe in the reclining version of the pose) may make balancing a lot easier.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 07:21 pm (UTC)