Need recs for beginner yoga

[Pam61]

Originally Posted by sillygirl

Another good one is the Weight Watchers Yoga with Sara Ivanhoe.

This is a great suggestion for absolute beginners, and Sara's voice is so soothing. There are two thirty minute practices with (Get Moving and Get Strong) and there are two modifiers for easier or more advanced options. You will recognize backgrounder Kat here from Autumn's Beachbody 21 Day Fix program.

Sara is also very detailed with her explanation and this is a little more accessible than her Crunch Candlelight Yoga, though that setting is so nice for an evening practice! The Weight Watchers workout has something different with using block between legs and extending reach in triangle pose, etc.

If you have blocks and straps, the DVD can be purchased on Ebay on it's own.

Here's a short clip of this one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtVddBReA24

[Karla25]

Jason Crandell has some nice beginner yoga practices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92WOUMP-YU4&t=2022s
They're also available on DVD.

[BunnyHop]

I like J Brown's yoga dvd quite a lot.

He's got some stuff on Youtube, and does streaming.

Here's the YT page:
https://www.youtube.com/c/Jbrownyogavideo/videos

In particular for beginners, I'd recommend the Seven Minute Practice with extra instruction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Tdm_0PAGc I've used that one many times, and it's especially nice as a reintroduction to a practice if you've been away for a while.

And the talk he gives as an introduction to yoga is good. Since following his advice I was able to establish a practice that felt as though it were my own, a few moves with forward bends, back bends, side bends, a bit of a twist. On the floor, seated, standing. Simple, and fairly quick, but not something I'd have thought up without his encouragement.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sho6NimebYw

The full practice is too hard on my shoulders, but I do love the shorter ones, they fit in my schedule quite nicely.

[Vintage VFer]

Jane Adams!

[toaster]

Gams, I think it depends a bit on what type of yoga you want to do. Do you want your yoga to be a workout? That would mean more athletic, flow, or even power yoga. Do you want yoga more to stretch and relax? I think a lot of the suggestions already been made fall more into that category.

[fanofladyvols]

I am a big fan of Yoga Zone and 3 week yoga retreat.

[toaster]

Originally Posted by fanofladyvols

I am a big fan of Yoga Zone and 3 week yoga retreat.

The Yoga Zones are older but offer a nice variety of different styles. I thought 3 Week Yoga Retreat was good, but what I didn't like about it for those brand new to yoga is that they don't use much in the way of props, so newbies who aren't as thin/flexible/able-bodied as the instructors could get discouraged.

[Pam61]

I did Rodney's Flexibility for Beginners today and would NOT recommend this one to absolute beginners!

Cons...it moves too quickly and it's filmed indoors.

Please, don't be fooled by workouts having "Beginner" in the title.

Some instructors have forgotten what it's like to be a beginner and I don't think they are especially good at guiding someone who is new to yoga.

I also thought I would enjoy revisiting a Gaiam workout, and maybe Rodney is phoning it in at this point?

[toaster]

Pam, you make some good points. I agree 100% with what you said about AM Yoga for Your Week - it's perfect for those newish to yoga, but it helps to have just a bit of experience before starting with this one.

For older Gaiam videos to start with, I'd recommend either Rodney's Yoga Conditioning for Athletes (don't let the "athletes" part scare you away) or Suzanne Deason's Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss. The good thing about both is that they show 3 different variations for each pose.

[Pam61]

Originally Posted by sillygirl

My favorite yoga DVDs are the Element ones with Alanna Zabel - beautiful scenery and I like her instruction style. I think at least 2 of the 3 DVDs I have include a nice 10-11 minute bonus meditation.

I'd forgotten that I had a couple of Alanna's workouts in my yoga collection. I did both Beginner Level Yoga DVDs recently and she was very good! The pace was nice, her sense of calm, verbal cues, imagery, meditation all in a gorgeous setting. She has one called "Slow Flow" that was perfect for just before bedtime and unwinding. The other one I did was her "Flexibility" practice which was good for total body.

I'm thankful to sillygirl for suggesting her, in this thread! Often, I get into buying mode and never get to the actual doing of the workout.