Exercising within your home has several benefits. You can do it on your own time, you can certainly decrease travel time, save membership and class fees and also the hassles of sweaty gym rats. It is in fact very simple to spend a lot of your money on expensive home gym equipment which is quite likely to just take up valuable space and remind you just how in poor condition you may be while it gathers dust in your basement.
A great, low-cost alternative is to use equipment you’ve got: a DVD player and TV. There are lots of styles of home exercise DVDs, but in this article, I will give attention to doing yoga effectively at home using DVDs which you’ll find easy to acquire from Amazon, your neighborhood library or many stores or web sites which provide exercise videos.
There exist wide ranges of yoga DVDs. You should choose carefully based on your fitness goals, experience level with yoga and yoga style preference. Common fitness goals that may be achieved through yoga are:
1. Manage Stress 2. Lose Weight 3. Enhance Flexiblility 4. Increase Muscle 5. Build Endurance
Of course, these goals are certainly not exclusive and quite often complement each other. The key for selecting the best video is determining which of the above your primary goal is.
Experience with yoga and general level of fitness is an additional important factor. These are generally broken down into the following categories. Do not feel bad if you are in the limited beginner level. Everyone has got to start somewhere and beginning with a level too difficult will undoubtedly discourage you against continuing.
1. Limited Beginner – No fitness experience, coping with injury or limited flexibility/mobility. 2. Beginner – A healthy body but little or no exposure to yoga or group exercise 3. Intermediate – Has some yoga experience or other fitness experience, fairly active and mobile with average degree of flexibility and strength. 4. Advanced – Have a regular yoga practice, fitness experience or seasoned athlete with reasonable amount of flexibility.
This may not be definitive listing of where you ought to be as far as challenge for a yoga class, there is some leeway. For example, anybody who is fairly active and limber, able to climb stairs, walk regularly and perform normal daily activities, but has never participated in a group exercise routine at a studio or fitness center, may do fine by using a Beginner or Intermediate yoga video. If someone is limited in range of motion or has knee, wrist or back issues they might fare better using a slower paced video for a limited beginner where they can have a chance to make adjustments to suit their needs. A marathon runner with tight limbs with out yoga experience may want to start with a Beginner video.
Regardless of what your level of fitness, yoga is extremely personal. The beauty of yoga is you should be encouraged to modify your positioning, whether in a class setting with a live instructor or with a yoga video, to best provide what you need. If you might be limited in positioning you can adjust to a simpler posture to attend a routine. A proficient athlete should have the skills necessary to adjust any class to challenge themselves, whether through tightening up muscles in any area or strengthening your body and mind in focusing on the yoga positions, breath and the entire body alignment.
No matter what your workout goals are, finding the suitable yoga video starts with matching a video to your needs: finding what type of yoga you desire to practice, versatility of the workout, instructor style, options offered for varying levels, scenery and music.
For more help in deciding the best home yoga video for your particular needs, consult Yoga DVD Reviews. I am a certified yoga instructor and have been teaching yoga and other group exercise classes for over twenty years. I have seen many teaching styles and reviewed many exercise videos and this site will help you wade through the alternatives.