MTV Power Yoga
Kristin McGeeYear Released: 2003
Categories: Yoga
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she exercises with 3 others doing the modifications but they're sorta worthless since you can't see them up close the whole time and the first part flies by so fast you'd break your neck trying to watch them! she usually refers you to them at the start of something so you'd better look quick!
I do like this dvd, but I'm sure glad I previewed most of it before starting it. I felt my arms the next day no doubt! for 3 days even after doing it the first time!
I've done mostly beginner yoga and can finally do downdog when it's in the workout..she does a TON of them. I though Joy of Yoga had a lot...be prepared with this one and the speed. She does salutations and then does some variations with them and to me the poses are held a long time or move extrememely fast. I worked up a sweat but keep in mind that I'm not a full intermediate or advanced at all...my main cardio is a brisk walk for about 45 minutes-1 hour tops...and not much upper obdy strenght. There are a lot of bends, downdogs, planks and I learned the term 'chataranga'..fancy yoga word for pushups! yep, you do fancy pushups..by the time you sit on the floor you're ready for a break! She puts these all together in the salutations.
One of the floor moves I could not do..I subbed table instead. she bends the knees with the heels by your butt and puts the hands on the floor above the head and pushes butt and upper body up at the same time. Impossible for me!
Overall this workout for me required upper body strength as well as lower body strength and IMO is done at a pretty fast pace.I kept up better the 2nd time through since I was familiar with the order. I don't know how others will like it...it's more athletic yoga I think instead of 'woo woo' and the music is pretty cool and a nice change of pace.
Overall I like this workout and consider it a challenge I'd like to work up to. It is not a slow and relaxing workout though!
Instructor Comments:
pretty upbeat and pleasant...female gumby!
I really enjoyed this workout! I felt it had a nice mixture of slower warmup sequences, faster paced warmup sequences, longer holds for the standing postures and a wonderful floor segment that comprised of intense deep stretches for the hips/legs along with some spinal twists. I felt wonderful during and after this workout. I felt relaxed, stretched and challenged throughout.
The DVD is chaptered so that on the menu you can select either the entire 45 minute workout, the shorter version which is 28 minutes or the floor stretches which is 10 minutes. The only sequence she leaves out in the shortened version is the 10 minute 3rd sequence which has the most challenging standing balancing postures which is probably why it's not in the short version. You do one side first consisting of a tree pose into a crescent lunge into half moon then into reverse half moon. Then you repeat on the other leg and then you finish with crow pose. She explained crow pose so thoroughly that I was able to get into the pose and hold it almost the entire time which is unusual for me.
The music is enjoyable and different. When previewing I didn't think I would like the music but when working out with it the soundtrack fit right in with the practice. It's just herself with no other participants and she instructs live with no voiceover. The background setting is not elaborate but very simple and calming.
There are no floor postures such as camel, bow, core etc. other then the last 10 minute deep intense stretching for the lower body and spine. She goes into shivasana for a couple minutes and ends with you sitting in cross legged pose. The first 38 minutes is all standing postures and if I remember correctly it's broken into 3 standing sequences after the various warmup vinyasas. You do a set of standing postures on one side, then repeat onto the other side. Then you move onto standing sequence #2 and then #3. There were some innovative unique flow patterns to make this yoga workout stand out a 'little' bit. I also felt it was much different then her MTV Yoga workouts so I didn't feel like I was doing the same practices.
Instructor Comments:
Kristen has a really cute, warm and engaging personality and she smiles the entire time In my opinion she has a wonderful enthusiasm with her instruction/teaching style.
This is a very good workout. It is not a relaxing/rejuvinating yoga workout. She starts out doing several sets of Sun salutations very quickly. Then she does some lunges and twisting poses. She does some balance, backward bends (including full wheel) and stretching poses and ends with a very quick relaxation/corpse pose. I really enjoyed the workout for how difficult it was. This is NOT a workout for a beginner as she gives almost no pointers on form or how to get into certain poses. I know after doing this workout several times, I will have built strenght and stamina as well as gained flexibility.
Instructor Comments:
I really like Kristin, she is a good instructor.
I am a yoga dabbler. Mainly, I use yoga DVDs/tapes for stretching, along with athletic stretch tapes. Once in awhile, I do a longer workout instead of weights. My favorite workouts are Suzanne Deason’s Yoga for Weight Loss and the Firm’s Power Yoga. I was doing a major round of trading and was interested in seeing a workout by Kristin McGee, just to see her and her style. Someone offered me this DVD, so I took them up on it.
The workout is shot outside, which is nice. She does have modifiers that show different levels, but they often are not on camera, so it is hard to follow them. I really like her instructing style. She has a calm manner and gives specific instruction. For those looking to build strength through yoga, I can’t imagine this workout wouldn’t help them accomplish that goal.
This workout was not for me though. It moves too fast - I simply need yoga workouts that move at a slower pace than this one. And, it was too hard on my wrists and hands. (I have major wrist/hand issues, so this would not be a problem for everyone.) This drawback is inherent in any power yoga workout, but because of the pace I found it overly difficult to figure out what I would do.
Although I will trade this workout, I will go for other workouts by Kristin in the future. I think I would enjoy Pilates workouts by her.
Instructor Comments:
She is warm and encouraging and specific in her instruction. I liked her a lot.
I know this dvd is older, but I wanted to give a more updated review on this.
I am no means an expert when it comes to yoga, but I do yoga on occasion. I also don’t consider myself very strong, although I have come a long way this year in upper body strength. That being said, I really enjoyed this practice.
Kristin started off the practice by doing a forward bend. Didn’t ease into it; just straight in. This was different, but I like different so decided to keep at it. Then you do a backward lunge, then into plank position, then a round of chaturanga and up dogs. Then it’s on to full sun salutations. The sun salutations started off very quickly, I’m assuming to build heat very quickly in the body. I thought at first that the entire workout would continue at that pace, but thankfully I was wrong. About 75% of the workout, however, was sun salutations and standing poses. Lots of warrior 1, warrior 2, side angle, reverse warrior, triangle, standing forward bend, side plank, downdog, chaturanga, downdog splits, lunges, Shiva dancer (I think?), warrior 3, chair pose. There were also some seated forward bends and side bends, twists, and we went into wheel twice. Nothing really complicated (for me anyway) like shoulder stand, headstand, crow, etc.
[U]What I liked: [/U]
The outdoor setting and the music by Deep Six were a wonderful complement to this practice! Kristen was also very careful to remind you to constantly breathe and to not worry about getting into specific poses. She also offered helpful cues without being too talkative. I liked how the postures were all sequenced so that it didn’t feel like the same old yoga practice, even though many of the postures were common.
[U]What I didn’t like: [/U]
Although there were modifiers shown on-screen, you couldn’t really see them most of the time. Kristen did call out a few modifications that beginners, intermediates, and advanced could use, but I found that most of the time either I was looking away from the screen and could not see to do them, or the modifiers were turned away. Additionally, savasana was wayyy too short! It seemed like we got to the mat and it was done in like two minutes. After all those standing postures, it would have been nice to have received a longer savasana. One minor comment – her voice was not very soothing, a bit too high. Can’t quite place it, but her voice just irritated me a little. Not enough not to enjoy the practice, but enough to notice.
[U]What you might want to be aware of:[/U]
This dvd has a lot of downdogs, chaturangas, up dogs, plank moves, and wrist intensive moves. If you can’t do them, avoid this dvd.
All in all, a very powerful practice with a nice setting, excellent music, and capable instructor. I will be revisiting this practice soon.
Instructor Comments:
Although her voice was a little irritating, Kristin seems to have a very pleasant demeanor. I loved her instruction (not too much, not too little, somewhere between Rodney Yee and Alan Finger).
