10 Minute Solution: Yoga for Beginners

Whoever did this and said that they used to strap once is lying. She has you use the strap to get into several positions. I used this DVD 5 days a week for a month,I lost 15 lbs and gained amazing definition. Angie is not a yoga instructor so she doesn't let you hold poses for very long. Easy fix,opt out of the last minute of the cool down session,and do your own thing for a while. I focus on my forward folds and lotus. Other than that I would rate this DVD 5 stars out of 5!!!

This workout is set up like all 10MS DVDs, with five 10-minute segments. You can do one, all five, or choose and program whatever number you want in any order you want. When I purchased this DVD, it was in a set with a pretty blue yoga strap. A strap isn't required for the DVD and isn't used too often. You could get by without it on some moves if you're flexible enough, or you could substitute a belt or towel.

I'll summarize each of the segments. I won't give specific poses, etc. There weren't any unusual or difficult ones (which makes sense in a beginner DVD). I don't know all the names and am afraid I'd label something incorrectly and be misleading!

Energizing Yoga Flow - this segment is to build heat in the body. There are no sun salutations. The strap is only used on one pose. This could be a good warmup before cardio or strength training.

Yoga for Strength & Toning - starts off with 3 sun salutations, then a lunge series, plank series, side planks and ends with a couple stretches, including one that uses the strap to stretch the triceps. I didn't find this segment too challenging in a strength & toning sense.

Core Strength - begins standing, using the strap holding it overhead and stretching in side bends. Then there is a series on all fours and another on the back. Then it's planks and ends with a nice short stretch focusing on the arms, which is good because of the planks. My arms needed it.

Yoga for Balance & Flexibility. - Begins with a warrior/crescent series. Then to the floor for boat pose, some twisting poses, and uses the strap at the end during a seated forward bend stretch.

Stress Relief Yoga - This one uses the strap most of all. This really has a lot of stretches for the legs, and would be a good post-workout stretch. I didn't find it particularly focused on stress relief (there isn't even savasana), but it is a stretch I'll use often.

I like this DVD, especially the Balance & Flexibility and Stress Relief segments. Those will be my most-used ones, followed by the Core Strength and Energizing Flow. The Strength & Toning probably won't get used much by me.

I would not recommend this DVD to pure beginners in yoga, despite the title. Angie doesn't give a lot of form pointers that I would think are necessary. She does always use English names for the poses and there is no 'spiritual' talk at all. But I would wait to do this until you're familiar with basic poses and breathing. Angie does not have any explanation of breathing in yoga. She does mention belly breaths, but that's about it. There is not much or consistent cueing of the movements. They're basically with the music, but I had to glance at the screen to double-check, which I don't like to do in yoga. There was a lot of work on all fours, or planks/downdog, which was a bit hard on my wrists. The Balance & Flexibility and Stress Relief segments had little or none of this, which is one reason they were my favorites.

I've been doing yoga for awhile, mostly from DVDs, and I'm definitely not advanced in it. I can see using this DVD as add-ons or doing one or two segments for a quick yoga workout or good stretch. Doing it from top to bottom didn't flow well as a yoga practice. Again, I would say beginners with some exposure to yoga would be fine, up to intermediates. Advanced could possibly make some use out of a couple of the segments as add-ons.