10 Minute Solution: Yoga

This workout has already been very thoroughly broken down by KathAL79, so I am just going to add my opinions on the workout.

This is an all yoga workout from the 10 Minute Solution series. It was their only yoga-exclusive offering until they came out with Yoga for Beginners in 2008. I do not have that video so am unable to offer a comparison. I was prompted to get this video when it was issued in 2005 because I had such good experiences and results with both Lara Hudson and 10 Minute Solution in 10MS Pilates. I really enjoy 10MS Yoga - it offers short 10 minute increments of yoga (short but sweet which suits my preference for yoga practice). I am glad I purchased it and really enjoy Lara for yoga as well as pilates instruction.

The short 10 minute segments benefit me because I primarily use the workout as an add-on yoga video after strength or cardio workouts. I have only done the DVD in entirety once or twice. It flows nicely but if I prefer to do a longer video I will reach for an uninterrupted sequence from Baron Baptiste or Rodney Yee. I like to rotate the 10MS Yoga with Yoga Body Burn from Denise Austin - another DVD with short independent chapters. If you like Denise's DVD you will probably enjoy this one too. Neither videos are new-agey, they both move at a fast pace with a variety of poses, they are both intermediate level, and like I said they are both broken up into short segments which can be done individually or strung together and the time goes by really fast.

Like all 10MS videos, there are five 10 minute workouts, which can be played alone, in sequence, or in any combination, and each section focuses on a specific goal. In this video, the five selections are:

(1) Basics, an introductory sequence with breathing techniques and simple slow moving vinyasas. This is my second most used segment in the DVD. It provides a quickie yoga sampler which provides a nice stretch and relaxation series in a short period of time.

(2) Buns and thighs, with warrior series and an impressive chair series that really works up a burn in the legs. This is a very fun sequence and I should do it more often. The only reason I don't is because I primarily use the video for stretch/relaxation, and this segment is so strength-focused. It is however a great segment for the legs and very enjoyable overall.

(3) Abs, consisting of yoga-inspired floor work. I have far better ab add-on segments (not yoga) on other DVDs so this section is rarely used. I think it is peculiar that they do not put planks or side planks in this series since those are more yoga-related than the crunch variations that they used.

(4) Burn, a total body sequence that moves at a very fast pace (the fastest in the video). This is my absolute favorite sequence and the one I do most frequently. The first five minutes focus on vinyasas with warrior 1, 2, and triangle. Then side planks and three very unique sequences including camel flow, up/down dog flow, and chair pose to floor roll over then stand again without arms (something I am still unable to do!). I feel so stretched and strengthened in this series and am having a blast doing it.

(5) Flexibility / stretch, a series of floor stretches. I thought this was a peculiar choice for a segment for a yoga video since stretching is emphasized throughout the whole DVD. I think they could have better added to the video with another total body or leg sequence. After an initial trial period, I found I do not reach for this section much at all.

Like all 10MS videos, Lara instructs by herself in a spacious uncluttered room, the production quality is excellent, and the music is average but not bland. Like I said, I really enjoyed this video and the instruction by Lara. I really enjoy the Basics, Legs, and Burn section and use these as add-ons on a regular basis. However since I thought the Abs and Flexibility sections were "just okay", I would rate the video as a B overall.

I'm reviewing this workout after doing it once today.

General workout breakdown: This yoga workout combining has 5 distinct 10 minute segments. There isn't much of a centering and/or warm up section except for the short bit on the first segment, and the savasana (corpse) is very short and at the end of the last segment.

The five segments are the following:

(Please note: ?Vinyasa? will be used in this review to refer to the combination refered to as such by Lara: plank?body lowered down via triceps push up?upward facing dog?downward facing dog.)

*Yoga Basics begins with breathing in seated cross-legged position. Lara does 2 sun salutations A with vinyasa. The next 2 sun salutations involve raising one straight leg in down dog and then moving it into warrior 1; after a vinyasa this is repeated with the other leg. (N.B. Lara goes straight into upward dog; feel free to modify this to cobra, especially if you're new to yoga and/or jumping in without much of a warm up.)

*Yoga for Buns & Thighs begins with chair pose. This moves into vinyasa (with an extra focus on squeezing the glutes) with straight leg into warrior 1, then warrior 2, and next warrior 2 with movement (straightening and bending bent knee), and back to warrior 1 before a vinyasa and a repetition of the sequence on the other side. After the last vinyasa, Lara moves onto the stomach for a move where she slowly squeezes her straight legs together and then releases, all while keeping her legs raised off of the floor. After a quick cat stretch and child?s pose, she moves back into down dog before finishing out a sun salutation B. This chair pose then twists to each side. She moves back into a vinyasa, with the straight leg moving into a high lunge, where she first does a crescent with movement (straightening and bending the front bent knee) and then holds still while holding the body diagonally above the bent knee. This lunge series is repeated on both sides before a final vinyasa, finishing in mountain pose.

*Yoga for Abs is done on the floor and includes a lot of work for the lower region of the abdominal muscle. Lara begins in boat pose, raising & straightening and then lowering & bending the legs. She then repeats the leg movements while leaning back on her elbows. She then lowers and raises her straight legs while lying on the floor. Next she brings her legs to 90 degrees with her knees apart and pulses with her arms through the legs, then to the outside of each knee. After a quick stretch, she lies on her side (using the Pilates side leg series position) and lifts both legs. She returns to boat pose, raising and lowering legs, arms, and torso together. The last pose begins in table top; she then pulls her hips down and through her straight arms, hovering just above the floor. Lara finishes with rolling her wrists, sphinx, and child?s pose.

*Yoga Burn begins with sun salutation 1, taking the straight leg through into warrior 1, which becomes warrior 2 and then triangle (first with arm vertical and then horizontal). After moving back through warrior 2 and then 1, she repeats the series on the other side following a vinyasa. Next come side planks, again with a vinyasa in between. After child?s pose she introduces a camel flow: standing up from her knees, she opens her arms and bends back, raises up and rounds forward, finally returning to the starting position with hands in prayer position. This is repeated several times before an up dog-down dog flow, which she does without rolling over her toes, for several times. She finishes the sun salutation and begins this sequence: from a low chair she rocks back on the floor, with her legs reaching up overhead (like jackknife in Pilates), and then rolls back up onto her feet before moving her arms together behind her back for a shoulder stretch in forward bend; when she raises her torso she does a mini backbend before returning to mountain pose.

*Yoga for Flexibility & Relaxation is done on the floor. Lara begins with bound angle pose with forward bend. Then, with one leg bent in and the other extended out she does a side bend; after readjusting the legs to cross each other this becomes a seated twist. This series is repeated on the other side. She then lies on the floor for bridge and a series of leg stretches repeated on both sides: pulling the bent leg in for a hip flexor stretch, extending the leg straight up for a hamstring stretch, opening the straight leg out for an inner thigh stretch, and then moving the bent knee to the opposite side for a spinal twist. Lara ends with a very short savasana (corpse); you?ll want to stay down much longer.

I strongly recommend programming the DVD to play the segments in this order in order to achieve the best flow and to avoid moving from standing to floor to standing to floor: Basics, Buns & Thighs, Burn, Abs, and Flexibility & Relaxation. (In other words, just switch the Burn & Abs segments).

Level: I'd recommend this to an experienced beginner (i.e. someone with some yoga experience) to a mid-intermediate exerciser. There is not enough instruction and too many more intermediate poses (and few modifications) to make this suitable for a true beginner to yoga. At the same time, someone who is at a high intermediate or advanced level would find this too easy or only suitable for light days. I consider myself a low intermediate in yoga; I have almost three years of experience but still need to improve my strength and flexibility. I found this a suitably challenging yoga workout, particularly since I used this video after a brief weights session.

Class: Lara alone, with a different outfit for each segment.

Music / Set / Other Production Notes: The sometimes synthesizer, sometimes Spanish guitar-inspired instrumental music with a light beat is OK. The room has light colored walls, high windows, and hardwood floors. Yoga mats and blocks are stacked in the back, and plants and a stability ball also line the back wall. The picture and sound quality are very good.

Equipment: sticky mat (or equivalent). Lara performs all segments barefoot.

Comments: You don?t need much space for this workout. You should be able to lie down with your arms and legs extended. Allow yourself extra space for the Burn segment, as you will rock back with your legs going past your head.

DVD Notes: Like all of the 10 Minute Solutions DVDs, the (here very pink!) menu allows you to play all five segments in the order I listed above, choose just one segment, or program your own routine.

Conclusion: I was pleasantly surprised by this workout. I like it, but I don't love it. Lara is the reason I purchased this video and one of the reasons I'll keep it. The other reason is I like the flow (the modified one I posted above) and can see myself doing this video despite my general lack of love for sun salutation-heavy yoga. (I'll probably skip the abs, though.) That said, I wouldn't be surprised if months in the future it moves to make room for something else.

If you love this video, you should also consider Quick Fix Power Yoga. (I liked the QF but ended up trading it away because it didn?t grab me the way my other new yoga videos?Shiva, Erich, Eoin?did. I prefer the flow on 10 Minute Solution to the QF.) If you like the idea of short yoga workouts but find this video (or the QF PY) too intense / challenging / intimidating, check out the Quick Fix Yoga (on the Quick Fix Total Mix: Pilates & Yoga DVD), which is a level lower in intensity but includes a number of the same basic poses. And Karen Voight also produces yoga videos, namely YogaSculpt and Yoga Focus, which also focus on an ?athletic? style of yoga free from mentions of Eastern religion / spirituality / philosophy or anything New Agey. (That may be another reason why this DVD, like the QF PY, eventually leaves my shelves since exploring beyond yoga?s physical aspects has become increasingly compelling to me.)