Yoga DVDs 101 - Spirituality While Your Getting Fit

by AlicePopkorn

Article by Joshua Killingsworth

The sheer availability of yoga DVDs says something to the popularity of the practice. Because yoga is part of a larger Hindu tradition whose goal is spiritual enlightenment through use of the body and the breath, the original yogis never had firming their things, building muscles, or getting six-pack abdomens in mind when they developed the practice. Yet because the industry of fitness videos often gears itself toward a weight- and muscle- conscious demographic, we see yoga DVDs advertised accordingly. Thankfully, most instructors in the DVDs do get at the spiritual components of the practice, even though the yoga media market does not reflect the full breadth of lineages. We see four main kinds of yoga represented in instructional DVDs: Vinyasa Yoga, Power Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Prenatal Yoga.

Vinyasa, Power, Kundalini, and Prenatal Yoga fall under the umbrella of Hatha Yoga, which is represented most basically in the standard Vinyasa DVDs. Hatha yoga begins with a series of progressive asanas, or poses, which form a sequence called a vinyasa. The vinyasas then give way to more held poses, balances, and inversions. The Hatha Yoga practice always ends with a back-bend, and then finally, shavasana, or final resting pose. This sequence just described is always central to Vinyasa DVDs, and largely informs the other DVDs, as well.

Power Yoga, traditionally called Ashtanga, involves a faster, more strenuous form of Yoga similar to Vinyasa Yoga. Often advertised as a fat-burning yoga, Power Yoga is designed to create more heat in the body, make you sweat more, and even to provide a challenging cardiovascular workout. The ultimate goal of Ashtanga Yoga is of course stillness of mind, which the instructors of the DVDs will share. Marketing, however will probably gear these DVDs toward building muscle and burning fat.

Kundalini Yoga, which is said to be the first kind of yoga ever developed, has also become popular in the mainstream DVD market. Although part of the Hatha family of yog! a, it ma y appear quite different. The poses of Kundalini Yoga often flow more whimsically from one position to the next, evoking the notion of play. The goal of Kundalini Yoga is to awaken the Kundalini, or coiled serpent-like energy at the base of the spine.

Prenatal Yoga DVDs are also quite popular, and the practice has emerged as its own form of yoga. First developed for adolescent boys, a traditional Hatha Yoga practice is not compatible with the changing body of a pregnant woman. Although pregnant women can use regular Yoga DVDs, they ought to be aware of the modifications used in prenatal DVDs so that they can experience the benefits of yoga, while being good to the little yogi growing inside.

Using yoga DVDs can give you a taste of the different forms of yoga, and is certainly the less expensive option. For the full experience of yoga, many instructors and practitioners, alike, will maintain that nothing competes with having a teacher guide your practice.

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