Tough yoga without many sun salutes/vinyasas

[Vee]

Hi Cristina,


I think the Yoga for Energy could still be a great suggestion for people who dont like Rodney yee's usual style. It is a very unique practice (although it is "purist" yoga) compared to the usual Yoga DVD fare. Not at all downdog or chaturanga/up-dog intensive.

If I need two wrods to describe Yoga for Energy, they would be peaceful and beautiful. I dont want to give the impression that it is easy. It is just not tough. It is low on instruction, so it is meant only for experienced beginners who know how to get into a pose. The low-instruction creates such a special meditative mood. Rodney cues just by mentioning pose names in a voice-over. Most of the sections are done with one partner or multiple background yoginis and they are all in perfect sync. Everyone's form is perfect. The background scenery is absolutely gorgeous. The music is minimalist too. It has a standing sequence that is the most beautiful vinyasa I have ever experienced. It makes me feel graceful and artistic and time almost stands still until it ends. It is one of my all time favorite practices.

Tilak Pyle's Altar of the Heart is not core focused. It is an all-round, balanced, non-power-style yoga session. It is a yummy-feeling long practice.

I exercise quite intensely with weight training and cardio, so I am not necessarily looking for strength/resistance training when I do yoga. If your objective is to do yoga for calorie burning or a ripped core, neither of these practices is suitable. They combine emphasis on strength (but in a gentle style), flexibility and balance.

[KathAL79]

Tilak doesn't include a lot of core work, but he has some fabulous sequences to release lower body tension. I Altar of the Heart; it's one of my treat yoga practices. He also has an MP3 workout called Evening Release that has some good strength and flexibility work for the lower body but not much in the way of core work. Still, check out a clip of Altar of the Heart and listen to a clip from Evening Release to see if it's something you might enjoy. (OK, disclaimer: I went to a workshop with Tilak and absolutely love and adore him as a teacher and as a person, so I'm biased! )

Ana Forrest is dry and grueling and intense, but if you want tough yoga corework, she is your person. She has one amazingly strong core. Have you seen the clip of S&S at Fitness Organica?

[cristinalatina]

Okay...okay...I just put both Ana's and Tilak's dvds on my wish list... maybe someone who's had enough core work will care enough to swap~

Thank you all for the input!!!

[Peggy T]

Baron has a core focused short practice. Tilak is a must have just because its such a lovely practice. Sherri Baptiste has a nice practice with few to no sun salutes and long holds.

[Yogadad]

Originally Posted by Peggy T

Baron has a core focused short practice. Tilak is a must have just because its such a lovely practice. Sherri Baptiste has a nice practice with few to no sun salutes and long holds.

I have to second Peggy's suggestions here. Sherri's in particular if you want to avoid Sun Salutes. It's expensive but it's a great practice and worth it if you think you'll use it a lot!

The Baron "Core Power" which is what I think Peggy was referring to is a great short practice as well (I'm a HUGE Baron fan). It's not Sun Salute heavy either compared to most Power
Yoga practices.

For a nice short practice, Yoga Zone's "Strengthen and Tone" has one lower body and one upper body practice. I haven't done it really recently so I can't remember if it has any core work in it though.

Oh, also, Bryan Kest's "6 minute Abs" is a great one if you want to focus specifically on core. It has two practices, each does like one Sun Salute A and one Sun Salute B and then goes on to the core work. They are more like 15 minutes each total, but good. Bryan does do a lot of talking in these, but I enjoy how passionate he is about Yoga.

Best,

Scott

[dmhammy]

I lik Baron's Core one too. I hate down dog and if a workout has a bunch of them I just will not do it lol.

I love my Namaste Yoga set. I have season one and the exalted warrior is my favorite. I don't think it has a down dog in it. It has I think 12 diffrerent workouts on it. Some are more advanced then others. I bought it for 40 bucks and its worth all 40 and then some.

Dawn

[cristinalatina]

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

I just broke down and ordered Tilak Pyle's Altar of the Heart - the music sounded yummy, and I'd love to see something filmed so close to home!

I also am embarrassed to say that I did find a dvd with some interesting yoga poses without down dogs - but it's not authentic yoga, it's Ellen Barrett's Yoga-Pilates fusion. It was challenging and enjoyable.

I really like the clips I've seen of Namaste Yoga, but I have no idea where they can be purchased and what the formatting is (half-hour episodes maybe?) Also looks very elegant, something I'd like.

[Kyra]

Where did you find Tikak's DVD? I watched the clips and was interested, but couldn't find it in stock anywhere.

[SharonNYC]

Originally Posted by Kyra

Where did you find Tikak's DVD? I watched the clips and was interested, but couldn't find it in stock anywhere.

I think you could probably ask Tilak himself: tilak@tilakpyle.com. He's pretty prompt with emails.

[Kyra]

Thank you, Sharon! I think I will.