Yoga for Beginners: Boxed Set (Yoga for Stress Relief / AM-PM Yoga for Beginners / Essential Yoga for Inflexible People)

I like the vibes and different options so it never feels dull.

So I am starting yoga for the first time and thought that a "beginners" DVD set would be right up my alley.....I was wrong.The DVD set is well boxed and looks nice sitting on a shelf. There are three discs in the set and they are labeled so that you can guide yourself towards the correct starting point. Well at least thats what I assumed.I placed the AM/PM disc into my DVD player and rolled out my mat. I saw an interview with the Dalai Lama and thought I would give it a listen. This was at 7:30am and I had just risen from the bed so I though maybe a little inspiration from His Holiness would do me good.........BORING. I nearly fell asleep listening to how wonderful we are and how much inner peace we can find if we open our minds. At this point I had a feeling this DVD set would not be for me......and I was right.After fast forwarding through the Dalai's words of wisdom I moved on the the AM yoga. Now this is disc one and you would expect some sort of intro to yoga since this is a beginners set. Nope, they dive you right into doing poses and most have your head tucked between your arms and into your chest so you can't see what is going on in the video. I had to stop multiple times and look up at the TV to see what the narrator was describing. Many of these moves hurt me and I was under the impression that yoga was low impact.Let me give you some insight into who I am. I am 5'9" tall and weight in at 330lbs.....yes I am obese. I am in the process of trying to get healthy and thought I would give yoga a try as I have been told it does not require strenuous movements and thus not hard on the body. This DVD hurt my body.I tried moving to the disc labeled yoga for inflexible people and it too did not do a lot more then the first DVD. In fact the first pose put me right back into the same pose as disc one that I was not flexible enough to do. You would expect a DVD titled "Yoga for inflexible people" to show you alternative poses.....nope.I am disappointed in two aspects of this DVD set. One, as titled for beginners, I think it can be deceiving and cause people to purchase them based on wanting to learn about yoga. There is no learning in this set, only doing. Two, they need to teach you the poses separate from the routines. Having to stop and learn the moves as they are being done is horrible and cause you to have to start and stop your movement, not how yoga was intended to be done.With all that said, if you are in good shape and maybe know the yoga poses this could be a great set for you. There is a lot of routines across the three discs and plenty to keep you occupied.So in the end I gave it three stars, it did not work for me. It was a little too guru for me. It was too peaceful and serene for my likes. I don't want to fall asleep during the program. I am more a DDP Yoga fan. I need motivation and did not find any in this set.

These DVDs are great. The one for inflexible people modifies the poses into easier versions.for people who aren't too limber just yet. Even I can manage to do the easy routines on this disc, and I'm an obese couch potato, trying to lose weight, at 260lbs.I've had to choose the easiest parts of each routine and put them into action, because my heart and weak sedentary-life body can't handle the more demanding poses just yet, but someone who ISN'T obese and keeps at least a somewhat active lifestyle, should find all these routines a breeze to complete.The voice over is pretty straight forward, enough that you can follow what it says and not have to constantly look at the screen to see what the model is doing. Sometimes the voice over is a bit behind the actual motions in the video, but I think this only happens in the second time around for certain poses.I like how the people who do the Yoga in these DVDs, aren't the perfect-body, slender, sexy, zero body fat, model types. But instead, they are regular, middle aged women (one of them is the Yoga teacher who's famous, yet her name escapes me), with average bodies and even if they are incredibly flexible and strong, you can also make out a lil belly fat on them and that very lack of perfection is something that I find very interesting and useful for one of these DVDs. I can actually RELATE to these people.The AM-PM yoga is amazing as well. Again, some poses are too demanding for me, but for a younger, less chunky person, it should all go easy and once you master all these, you'd be well on your way to a better, healthier body and mind.My favorite is Yoga For Stress Relief, because it has relaxing guided meditations and breathing exercises that truly put you in a mood that can't happen without such sessions. It puts an easy smile on your face and your body feels amazing. Corpse pose is a godsend.Highly recommend this boxset, as you may notice.

Only reason I didn't give this product 5 stars is because she tends to use too many props. I was looking for straight floor exercise with out the need of towels, chairs and a wall.

I started really appreciating this video after I had some experience with Yoga. The exercises are extremly helpful for releasing muscle tensions and reducing muscle pain. I used to have back nose dripping. By doing the exercises daily (especially downward dog), I no longer have the problem to my great surprise. The programs are also very instrumental if you are interested in mediation.

It was suggested that I start doing yoga to help me relax and bring down my stress level. I don't have the time to go to any groups/classes, I have limited time at home, not very flexible and have never done yoga in my life. This set didn't cost too much so I thought I would try it out.This set solved my problem of not having time to go to groups/classes. I love that the routine times range from 10 - 90 minutes so even if I am busy I have time to do yoga. I have found it very easy to understand and follow what I should be doing and have had no issues with having to watch intro's or other scenes that I am not interested in watching.I gave this a 4 mostly because I haven't tried everything yet and there are a select few poses that I feel could have more of an explination of what to do.Overall I am very happy that I purchased this set of yoga DVD's and have noticed a great change in my everyday mood, how I sleep and my energy level.

Barbara Branagh has a great way of explaining things, calm, nice, nothing too difficult, with different options within the same pose to make it easier or more challenging.Much of it oriented towards relaxation, with lots of sitting and lying down poses, but I suppose that may be the "beginner" part of it.Suggested uses of pillows, blankets and blocks make it easy enough for my inflexible husband to join in!Great that it's divided into sessions of 10, 25, 30 mins, etc... because they you can pick and choose what you feel you have time for that day. Makes it easy for me to do yoga every day, even if it's only for 10 mins.Find the Inflexible people DVD less useful, the routines are too short to give any real yoga effect. However, there are so many routines to choose from on these 3 DVDs, that there is bound to be something for everyone.I've stopped going to the class I was going to with the male teacher with his over-complicated moves that he did just to show-off, and am having a brilliant time with these DVDs in my own home.Only downside, they will not run in my DVD player, but do play on my Laptop.Wish there was an "intermediate" version of these with the same teacher!

Many years ago I did for a short time take a yoga class and have found this great for getting me back into it. The pace is good and the explanations clear , did find it hard to watch the TV on the wall and do the positions, and found I had to rewind a few times in the early stages but once you've hacked the basic posers its easy to follow and progresses gently . Best to start with the AM/PM , master the short sections and then move on. Must admit that I haven't looked at the meditation DVD yet as my reason for re-starting yoga was to improve strength and flexibility. Would recommend this for anyone wanting to teach themselves , any age as they offer modifications for all levels of fitness. After 2 weeks I could touch my toes for the first time in years!

I am very pleased with the purchase of Yoga for Beginners and Beyond. The instruction is well paced and easy to follow with ongoing support and guidance not to push beyond my current capabilities to prevent injury. I also appreciate the suggestions for alternative positions since my physical limits prevent me from performing some of the moves at this point . But best of all is the way I feel after the sessions; focused. relaxed and flexible. The physical and mental benefits of each session lasts well into the day or evening depending when I did them. Since I started just over a month ago, I already feel the benefits. My step is lighter and my walk is taller.