Beryl Bender Birch Power Yoga: The Practice

I loved this DVD. The workout is by no means easy. I think that if you either have good endurance or want to improve your endurance, then buy this DVD. This DVD goes no stop for roughly 75 minutes. This is the full primary series she is doing, plus a few poses she throws in. The DVD has no bookmarks or stopping points, it's basically either you do the whole thing or you just fast forward past what you don't want to do.I know some reviewers saw this this as a hindrance moreso than a help, but the idea is do all of the poses in a certain sequence. The fact that there 8-10 people of different skill levels doing either the full pose or some modification makes up for lack of bookmarks/stopping points. If you do want to just perform segments, then purchase Richard Freeman's Primary Series workout. You can elect to do the whole workout (including opening and closing chants), or just perform segments (sun salutations, standing poses, seated poses, etc.). However, there are no modifications, and Freeman is performing these poses at a near perfect level (check your ego at the door). If you are looking for a shorter more accessible version of Ashtanga yoga, then try either Baron Baptiste's Power Yoga 3 or MTV's second power yoga tape. While Baron offers a condensed (45 minute vs 75-90 minute) version that includes most of the easy to intermediate poses, the MTV version is a loosely based version of the primary series where many of the poses are there, but not necessarily in order, and the instructor uses a lot more creative license.I found this DVD highly motivating. Seeing people of different skill levels get through the entire workout spurred me to go on. Berly makes the primary series fun and accessible, but you will sweat. If you think that 75+ minutes is too long, then try one of the other tapes I suggested, however, if you want to try to complete the primary series, and want to build the endurance needed to do 1-1.5 hrs of yoga, then buy this tape.

I've got three months of yoga under my belt and I couldn't do half the moves. Maybe a year from now I'll be able to give this a try again. Three things prospective buyers should know. First, Beverly Woods uses the original language of yoga to instruct and you may get lost. Second, she goes very quickly, going through the sun salutations twice as quickly as Bryan Kest on his Power Yoga DVD. Third, there are a lot of advanced moves that she does not describe or give you detailed instruction. She assumes you know the moves from her book or that you are advanced and already have a familiarity with them. If you're a beginner or transitioning to intermediate, you may find this DVD discouraging and frustrating. Wait until you're advanced. At my level I've had more success with the power yoga of Bryan Kest and Rodney Yee.

I admit it -- I've only done this tape once. So please take my review with a grain of salt...As an at-home exerciser, I've been doing yoga videos for years. All kinds, from Living Arts's mellow hatha yoga routines, to Bryan Kest's & Baron Baptiste's "advanced" power yoga workouts. Some I enjoy more than others but until now I had never encountered a yoga workout I did NOT like. This one, unfortunately, changed all that.First, at 75 minutes in length it seems mercilessly long. However, I've done other yoga tapes that go on for a similar stretch of time, and did not feel the need to watch the counter on my VCR, as I did with this routine.Maybe the problem is the constant repetition. After EVERY pose, you jump back to staff, down slow to a low push-up pose, pull thru to updog, push back to downward dog. I understand, this develops strength and gives this yoga it's "power," but doing this series of moves after every single posture for 75 minute straight was maddening for me.Other tapes, you do this for half the routine and then move to mat stretches and then a final cool down. With Birch's yoga workout, though, even the mat work is punctuated by these movements. The cool down, too -- she has you stretch out like we're getting ready to relax and then oh here we go, more power moves...The only break we get is when she instructs the class to go to the wall to practice hand stands. Well, I don't have one bare wall in my house that I can kick my feet up against & not worry about slamming into furniture on my way down (or denting the drywall with my heels on the way up). There's also a headstand segment, but Birch doesn't provide any instruction. It's more like "OK, class, time to do your headstands. Nice! Alright now come on down to staff....etc."I was a bit disappointed by the lack of explanation, because I was looking forward to learning some new poses thru this routine. Unfortunately, while I was eager to learn handstand & headstand, these postures were not TAUGHT, they were merely demonstrated. Sigh.If you do a lot of power yoga and are really into the moves, you'll probably find my review pointless. However, if you're a home exerciser like me and were looking for a challenging workout to introduce you to some new moves & poses.... Sorry. I don't think this tape will deliver.