Yoga Zone: Power Yoga for Strength & Endurance

The first time I did this I sweat buckets. What really revs this workout up is the chairs and twisted prayers which are held for what first seemed like an eternity. Those asanas are part of an extended sun salutation which progressively builds. You start with warrior 1, then move into warrior 1, warrior 2. This continues until you have built into warrior 1, warrior 2, right angle, crescent, triangle. Throughout, you are interspersing the chairs and twisted prayers. Following the sun salutation are several balancing poses. They don't look that challenging on preview, but when your legs are quivering, you feel it.

This is a nice, challenging video, and I enjoy Lisa Bennett's instructions and tips, particularly to pay attention to the breath and not push yourself beyond a flowing breath. However, it would have been great if the video had begun with instruction on ujjayi breath and ended with a longer guided relaxation. This would have put the tape at over an hour, though, and maybe they were trying to keep it brief.

I would recommend this tape for being familiar with the breathing; however, beginners should try the Total Yoga series to get acquainted with the basics.


An Underestimated Video that is Actually Excellent   September 14, 2004
gorillagorillagorilla (Durham, NC United States)
29 out of 29 found this review helpful

I think this disc is better than some comments would suggest. From my perspective, I saw little or none of the infomercial tone some reviewers commented on. Perhaps previous negative experience with other Yoga Zone productions sensitized some viewers. I also found the warm-up at the beginning of the disc quite sufficient to build heat, especially if practiced in a room that is heated and/or not over air-conditioned. Also, viewers should of course take it easy with the first few poses till they warm up.
Overall, the disc contains a clean, relatively simple flow-oriented routine which does a nice job of building heat and deep breathing. There are relatively few of the more complex standing or seated postures, but the postures that are included are entered into in unusual and interesting ways.
The disc includes a standing one-leg balance with a twist, which is not very common on yoga videos. It also includes sequences in which you move from a twisting chair (thunderbolt) position back into a twisting lunge. This presents a new challenge and brings the body into the position in a way that opens up new sensation and insight into the posture.
For the money, this is a simple, enjoyable, challenging and very rewarding routine that is well worth checking out. It is accessible and challenging at the same time, which is nice. This will allow many viewers to have a great yoga experience without getting caught up in the details of a lot of unfamiliar poses. Experienced yogis will like the chance to flow through a clean routine and build heat.
I was surprised at how much my wife and I enjoyed it.


A challenge for beginning and intermediate yoga fans   April 24, 2001
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

This video is, by far, my favorite of all the yoga tapes I own. I've always like Yoga Zone videos, and this is no exception. The workout, a tough power yoga workout, takes about an hour, and you'll be covered in sweat by the end! The instructor thoroughly explains each pose, and has two assistants, one that demonstrates the full pose, and one doing an easier, modified version. I've been doing yoga for quite awhile, but even beginners could handle this tape, with regular practice. It's really wonderful.


Very hard, but excellent!   May 4, 2003
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

I started doing yoga about a year ago, with "beginner" videotapes and some classes as well. I really like this tape a lot, for those days when I want a more strenuous practice or want to work on getting in shape. I usually don't do this whole tape two days in a row, because I find it VERY tough, and I am often sore the next day.

Even though I like to think I'm in pretty good shape, and I have always had strong legs, I can't get through this video completely without stopping to rest or doing modified versions of some of the poses. After the warrior/chair series, they go straight into balancing poses, and this is where I usually have to stop for a minute -- by this time I'm sweating like crazy and my legs are burning, and you don't really get a rest before switching gears. By the time they get to the floor poses, I'm so ready to rest my legs that I don't even mind the "screaming pigeon" pose!

I agree with the other comments about the lack of warmup on the tape. I don't think this is a tape for real beginners, even people in good shape because although they do describe the poses pretty clearly, they don't go into the details of the breathing, except to remind you to keep doing it. And the instructor is a little chipper for my taste. But I find her very informative about the poses.

Right now, I am currently rotating this tape with Fat Burning Yoga by Crunch (which is excellent, and deceptively hard) and Yoga Mind & Body with Ali MacGraw (which is also terrific in a totally different way). Both are good "active" tapes, especially compared with many of the Yoga Zone tapes (Flexibility & Tone, Stress & Conditioning) which are good for stretching and de-stressing, but you don't feel like you've had a "workout" after doing those the way you do with these. I have about 9 or 10 yoga tapes and this one is by far the hardest -- although I am about to get a Baron Baptiste and a Brian Kest power yoga tape, and we'll see how those compare.


Ashtanga yoga here I come   June 28, 2001
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

I have been an avid user of the "beginner" Yoga Zone videos but after using them for a long duration (over six months now) I needed something more challenging -- enter Power Yoga. Power Yoga contains a lot of yogas asansas which are familiar to a regular yoga practicioner but "arranged" in more challenging ways. Ashtanga yoga really works out a sweat and I saw some muscle tone after a few sessions. Furthermore, the video is "friendly" to both beginners and advanced as there are two students demonstating the different stances throughout the video and was filmed outdoors - a real welcome relief to all the other studio-filmed ones. All the instructions were clear and thorough. A real worthwhile video!!