It Was a Very Yoga Christmas

A belated Merry Christmas to all the yogis out there!

I’ve come home to Ontario for the holidays and although I always enjoy time with my family, yoga is crucial to my relaxation. And as it turned out, Santa remembered me in his list of nice girls this year, and I got a new yoga block and two new DVDs, Rodney Yee’s Ultimate Power Yoga and Seane Corn’s Vinyasa Flow Yoga, both by Gaiam. I’m already a huge fan of their products as they have tons of variety, plenty of different variations for those who need a lower or higher level of intensity, and usually some great added bonuses to each disc.

Yoga DVDs have come a long way since the early days, when my first yoga DVD consisted of Ali MacGraw leading the whole thing. Seriously. Ali MacGraw. That disc had one 45 minute long session that I did so often, I still can complete the entire session from memory over ten years later. To say the very least, in the beginnings of my practice, the word “variety” had no place.

But now, DVDs have come so far, with several different sessions on each disc as well as great bonus features such as guided meditation and breathing classes, all designed to enhance your practice and deepen your connection with yourself.

So after a few iterations of each DVD, I’ve become partial to the Corn flow, but I think that’s only because I prefer flow vice power yoga, since I feel it gives me a great workout but also captures what yoga is all about, which is relaxation. I love the breathing session on the Corn DVD and found it to be a great addition, easily completed flow either before or after my yoga session. I did some further reading on Ms. Corn and it seems she is very well educated and practiced, and she leads a great class. Excellent DVD for any flow lover, or even flow newcomer.

This isn’t to say that the Yee DVD isn’t also an excellent choice, however, it very much is power yoga and an intense experience. I was more than a little sweaty by the end but it was extremely well-taught and a really great workout. Yee has many DVDs out at really great prices, not all of them power yoga, so I recommend taking a peek at the Gaiam website, or grabbing one from Amazon.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and found the time to return to themselves and remember their yoga practices, even if that means just popping a disc into the DVD player.

Kelly