SO YOU WANT TO LEARN YOGA...

I enjoy resistance training, vigorous aerobics (especially rebounding), and most of all, yoga, which I've been practicing for many years. My favorite styles of yoga are Bikram's and "power yoga." I have dozens of yoga videos, and am very glad that the MTV Yoga DVD is now part of my collection. This is an excellent workout! I would rate it "Intermediate," although modifications are shown throughout, so I don't think it would be beyond the reach of a beginner in search of an energetic workout.
If you enjoy power yoga style routines, and you're looking for something fresh that doesn't feel and look like just another Baron or Bryan video (as good as they are!), I think you'll be very pleased with this one.
The instructor is Kristin McGee, and she is excellent! She's very "normal," down to earth, and has no annoying traits or habits, like some teachers do. There's not a trace of woo-woo on this video! Her instructions are precise and very helpful. I only caught one mistake - she does a variation for one of the poses on one side, and neglects to do it for the other side (in the pigeon pose with the bent right leg forward, after extending upper body over the leg, you sit upright, still in pigeon pose, reach back with the left arm, grasp the left ankle and bring it towards you to stretch the left quadriceps. She doesn't do that for the right quad). That surprised me, since she pays so much attention to details. Now when doing the workout, I just come out of the forward bend pigeon on the right side a few seconds before they do, and stretch the quad.

The workout is 45 minutes long. It's nonstop flowing, but never grueling. I really appreciated and was impressed by her breath cueing. She tells you when to breathe in/breathe out throughout the entire workout, but does it so quietly and with such rhythmical regularity, that it's kind've hypnotic and almost becomes subliminal. Hers is the best and most consistent "breath coaching" I've seen in any video.

There is one sequence I especially like for its dance-like feel: at one point you go into Warrior 1 and hold for several breaths, then into Warrior 2 for several breaths, move through Plank, Updog, Downdog, then repeat for the other side. Kristin then repeats this sequence 3 times, matching 1 breath to each movement, so it flows quickly and smoothly. Nice!

This is a total body workout, with a good selection of Warriors 1 & 2, Extended Side Angle, Triangle, Wide Leg Forward Bend, etc. There are balancing poses, starting with Tree pose. From Tree pose, you bring the bent knee to the front and bend forward at the waist while straightening the bent leg out behind you, going into Warrior 3 (Standing T Pose). After coming back up to Standing, you bring the right foot up, grasping the big toe with the first two fingers of the right hand, and extend the leg out straight (Lori does an easier modification). Then you take the extended leg out to the side, looking over the opposite shoulder, return the leg to the front, release the big toe and hold the leg in the air ("Imagine a helium balloon tied to your foot, lifting the leg as high as it will go"). Repeat on the other side. There's a bit of back work (baby Cobra, easy Locust and Bow) and seated forward bends. There's a seated spinal twist and the Boat pose. There is no Plow, no Shoulder Stand, no Bridge or Wheel.

The music has a good beat, but I never found it intrusive; was mostly just aware of a beat in the background. The DVD lets you choose between the workout with music, or with no music at all!

The set is pleasant. There are 3 students in the class; a young man showing the more advanced version of the poses, a young woman showing intermediate modifications, and Lori Trespicio (from MTV's The Real World) is the "beginner." They work in "mirror image" which I always appreciate!
After the workout, several of the poses are broken down in a Q & A format. Lori, who "hosts" the video, tells Kristin that she has some questions about several of the poses, and Kristin walks her through those particular poses, giving helpful pointers. Lori asks questions that anyone fairly new to yoga might ask, so I thought that was a great way to do it. Even experienced practitioners might find some helpful advice in Kristin's pointers.
Hope this review was helpful - I've tried to include the kinds of things I like to hear in video reviews. And I hope I've shown that this is definitely a legitimate yoga workout, led by a very competent and likable instructor!

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