Power Yoga

Kristin McGee
Year Released: 2006

Categories: Yoga


I’m reviewing this workout after doing it once.

General workout breakdown: This 48-min. power yoga practice focuses on building strength, both outer and inner.
Postures include standing in mountain, standing forward bend, half lift, lunge, downward facing dog, 1-legged down dog – knee to nose, high lunge – straighten front leg, down dog variation w/ Achilles tendon stretch – plank, chaturanga, several rounds of sun salutation A (w/ plank – down dog), warrior I, several rounds of sun salutation B (w/ utkatasana or chair & warrior I), lunge w/ torso inside front leg & hands clasped behind back, forward bend w/ reverse prayer, warrior III, warrior II w/ straightening & bending knee, reverse warrior, triangle, extended side angle, wide-legged standing forward bend w/ hands clasped (suggested but not shown option: tripod headstand), tree, twisting lunge (w/ some arm variations), ardha chandrasana (half moon), reverse half moon, standing split, standing forward bend w/ toe hold, standing forward bend w/ hands under feet, squat on toes, crow, staff, head to knee w/ twist, head to knee, (half) pigeon, full pigeon (w/ back leg bent, knee to back), seated spinal twist with foot over opposite leg, countertwist, rolling down, (a short) corpse, and return to seated position with a final bow to seal the practice.
As with any power yoga video, the pace is quick, although Kristin doesn’t move at a lightning fast pace and has some holds, allowing you to get deeper into poses to build some strength and/or flexibility.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced exercisers at the beginner / intermediate level of yoga or higher. There’s not enough basic form and alignment instruction for true beginners; Kristin assumes you have some idea of what you’re doing on the yoga mat already as well as some preexisting strength and flexibility. Kristin offers only a few slight modifications for some moves (e.g. suggesting holding elbows instead of taking reverse prayer, showing the hand on the shin instead of on the floor for triangle).
As with pretty much any power yoga practice, those with wrist, elbow, and shoulder issues should approach this with caution. This was a little too much for my elbow, but that’s pretty much true for most power yoga practices.

Class: Kristin alone, who instructs live.

Music: upbeat instrumental (mostly guitar), with almost kind of a rock flavor.

Set: interior space with floating blocks of reds and browns along the back and side walls.

Production: clear picture and sound, with Kristin’s voice louder than the music but the music not too quiet. The camera angles are mostly helpful rather than being distracting, although there are a lot of close-ups of Kristin’s smiling face.

Equipment: yoga sticky mat (or equivalent).

Space Requirements: enough space to do a full sun salutation and to lie down with arms and legs extended.

DVD Notes: I have the mass market version, but I’m assuming the details are the same as Kristin’s original production. The main menu allows you to Play Routine or choose one of three chapters.

Comments: This video is different than Kristin McGee’s MTV Power Yoga. (The back cover says this is to take those who like Kristin’s MTV yoga videos to the next level; I only had Kristin’s original MTV Yoga, and this is definitely more challenging than that.)
Kristin suggests that if you don’t have enough time to do the full practice that you can break after the first 25 min. (more like 30 min.), which stops before the balance section; this gives you an energizing practice that would be great for mornings or whenever you need to recharge.

Instructor Comments:
Kristin exudes a friendly, encouraging, positive but not too perky presence. She cues well, with mirror cuing (i.e. when she says “right,” she is referring to the viewer’s right). She has more of an athletic or Western approach to yoga, in that she focuses during the practice on the physical aspects of the poses, uses mostly English names for poses and straightforward language, doesn’t include chanting or anything metaphoric, flowery, or spiritual, but she doesn’t lose sight of connecting movement to the breath or yoga’s potential to help you reconnect with yourself.

KathAL79

10/30/2008