Good Yoga DVD

Hi everyone,

I have wanted to take up yoga for some time now, but there is not a local gym near by where I can attend classes. I was wondering if anyone can recommend some yoga DVD's that I can do in my own home? Thanks!

i've said it before: if you're not already quite skilled in yoga, practicing with a DVD is not a good idea.  you will not be able to tell if you're aligned and doing the poses correctly.  it takes a long time to develop the body awareness necessary to do yoga properly, and without a skilled instructor to correct you, i can guarantee that you'll get it wrong.  this can easily lead to injury; even if it doesn't, you won't get the benefits.

if you really can't get to a class (where do you live?  must be some kinda backwater town), i suggest you try something less...precise.

  It's very important to have a hands on instructor before you begin to practice on your own. Yoga consist of more than just poses, breathing exercises are very important as well as the spirtual aspect.

Both of these sites list locations for Instructors and offer DVD's once your ready.

www.yogaalliance.org

www.himalayaninstitute.org

Best of Luck!

yoga DVD's are CRAP, even for me, and i'm very experienced and have studied under  renowned yogis.  crap. it's not yoga.  it's hard to even develop a personal practice w/o craning your neck at the tv or listening to someone talk, even w years of experience.

Wish I could help you but like pgeorgian & msydel said it is no small feat. I did yoga with a dvd through some I bought on TV call P90X..the yoga is 90 min and you get a really good sweat but my form was all wrong; I thought I was doing it right but after 1 1/2 weeks doing it 2-3 times a week I really started feeling it in my back. I just wanted my husband to pick me up by my upper half and swing me around to crack my back...even though I really don't think it needed to be cracked. After I stopped doing it and started doing stuff to strengthen my lower back, core I felt better, but I will never and I repeat NEVER do yoga again...If you lived in Las Vegas I'd give you the DVD cause I will never use it...mind you my gym also has yoga classes for free for gym members but most every one- well everyone is slim and lean I like the look of muscles..exp. the way they look on me. To each it's own.

As a yoga teacher, I have to echo what has already been posted -- DVD's are not an ideal way to learn the practice.  Where do you live?  Is there a yoga studio in your town or within a reasonable distance?  Most studios will let you take one or two classes for free before expecting you to pay.  Tons of studios offer beginner's series classes, where you make a committment for six to twelve weeks of instruction (you get a really good deal on the classes and sometimes a free mat).  These types of situations are much better for learning proper form, which is hard to do from a DVD.

There are some good ones for beginners out there, however, once you've gotten instruction on proper form.  Go to www.collagevideo.com, or www.gaiam.com and you'll find a lot of options for beginners. Some DVD instructors that I think are particularly good:  Patricia Walden; Rodney Yee; Ganga White; Shiva Rea (not for absolute beginners); When you are ready for a bit more, try Cyndi Lee; Baron Baptiste; Bryan Kest. 

Also, believe it or not, Ali McGraw has a yoga DVD that she is the model for, but is actually taught by a wonderful yoga instructor, Erich Schiffman.  It's a very good practice for all levels.

Good luck!

bodywisdom meadia is really good.... yoga complete for every body. it's really good, one of my favorites. it really helps you try and think about body position and if you're doing stuff right. AND it has little options to make the poses harder or easier, depending on what you can do. over 35 workouts.