Barbara Currie - The Power of Yoga [DVD]

Barbara Currie is wonderful! For most of my life I never really fancied the idea of yoga, it seemed to me a bit wishy-washy with a focus on meditation, and my fitness philosophy was always to cut to the chase and just exercise. So for many years I did pilates and barre, and never gave yoga a chance. Then I injured my back quite badly in an accident, followed by months of having to rest and keep still much of the time. The pounds crept on, my flexibility diminished and my muscles began to tighten and bunch up. Once my back had recovered I set to getting back into pilates, but I found the moves much more difficult, some even impossible, with my loss of muscle tone and still having to be careful with my back. I was at a loss, how could I get strong and fit again without straining my back. Then the idea of yoga popped into my head. But not just any yoga dvd, I wanted something with a no nonsense approach that a complete beginner could follow, and that's harder to find than I expected. Then my search brought me to Barbara Currie.Power of Yoga is just fantastic. It's pitched at the total novice, but includes progressions for you as you get stronger and fitter. Currie's instruction is faultless, explaining every move in detail and stressing the importance of not over-straining as you begin, and that you'll increase in flexibility as you go on. She's encouraging and clear, never patronising. Each move is demonstrated for beginner, intermediate and advanced level, very clearly described so you know exactly what to do. There are four sections; 10 minute tone up, 10 minute power workout, 35 minute power toning and 20 minute power stretching, which can be done separately or combined as you wish. The absolute godsend for me was the first section, 10 minute tone up, because it's all done standing. My back may have healed but lying on the floor was still uncomfortable for a while, so a strengthening routine done standing was perfect. After a week my back feels stronger and I can do the floor exercises now without any twinge of discomfort.I've been quite amazed by this introduction to yoga. It's anything but wishy-washy and really does work, strengthening all the muscles and changing the shape of your body. I may even be a convert from pilates. I've already bought Barbara Currie's other yoga dvds and sought out a few others that look suitable, too. I wish I'd tried yoga years ago instead of being so cynical. Everything in this dvd is achievable whatever your fitness level. You can start off with very simple, basic moves and work towards the more advanced ones, so this dvd alone will provide an effective workout for a beginner wanting to progress. Yoga really works, and this dvd is wonderful.

I purchased this DVD for my sons girlfriend who suffers from upper body aches and pains due to laptop use. I have followed Barbara Curries The Power of Yoga for around 3 years now and it has done wonders for my mental and physical health. Its the only exercise dvd/programme that I have stuck with. I am 56yrs old and although I am unable to do all the poses perfectly (yet), my flexibility and ability is improving all the time. There are moves that I am able to do now that I simply had no hope of doing when I first stated doing the routines. Barbara is a joy to follow, she is encouraging and I look forward to my (almost) daily yoga workouts. I honestly feel so much better once I have completed some yoga, evenif I've only had time to do 30mins. Do give it a go if you want to do something positive for your mental and physical health. I am hoping that although I started rather late in life that this will benefit me into old age.....

I bought this DVD after a friend recommended it to me (if you saw her body you would understand why!) and I was pleasantly surprised. I am a total beginner to yoga and found this very easy to follow. It is split into manageable 10 minute sections so you can do as little as you want without having to turn off half-way through. Throughout each section there is a little clock in the corner of the screen split into 2 minute sections which change colour once the 2 minutes is up. I really liked it being there as it seemed to make the time pass quicker and I knew how much progress I was making without continuously checking my watch.Barbara doesn't talk for ages, she seems to keep explanations and descriptions of what you are supposed to be doing to a minimum, although not so much that you are at a loss of what you are meant to be doing, which I really liked.The DVD also includes a diet plan which I can't comment on as I am a vegan and this diet plan is suited to a meat-eaters diet. However I'm sure it would be helpful to someone in need of guidance when it comes to improving their eating habits.I'm sure after about a month of using this I will be ready for something more challenging as this is definitely one for beginners, would recommend.

This is not original as she has presented the same sequences in other DVDs. I am quite experienced at yoga but found this slow and boring.

The reason I like Barbara Currie's DVDs is because they are broken down into sections. I've practised yoga on and off for a few years, and I've found that you really need to do a little bit of practice everyday, rather than just doing one long session a week. That's why I like Barbara's DVDs, I can just do a 10 minute section each day to keep me flexible, and then do a longer DVD when I've got more time. Having these short sections makes it convenient to just do 10 minutes a day, as I wouldn't have time to do a whole DVD everyday! However, the criticism I would give to these DVDs is that they are very rushed, and if you're looking for something relaxing rather than something just for exercise, then I would not recommend Barbara - sometimes you've barely got into a posture before she's telling you to move out of it! And the relaxation sessions at the end are very rushed and you barely get a chance to relax. If you're looking for something relaxing I would go for something more like Geri Yoga, although Geri's voice can get even more annoying than Barbara's!