Product Description
Yoga for Intermediates with Rodney Yee offers an intensive workout that is full of challenges. This session contains greater posture detail with a focus on perfecting the accuracy of each pose. Yee's control and flexibility are inspiring and his in-depth explanations are demonstrated both verbally and visually. Participants are asked to imagine their bodies sinking into the earth, or to think of their eyes as soft. These specific cues are conducive to relaxation and focus while simultaneously reminding participants that every part of their bodies (and minds) are involved in the practice of yoga. These cues come quickly and an understanding of terminology and poses should be present in order to keep pace with this workout. Yee expands on some basic moves like sun salutations and forward bends while introducing inverted and standing poses. The latter of these postures are presented slowly, with modifications offered if you are unable to hold (or even get into) these poses. This format is great for aspiring yoga beginners or participants that are well in their comfort zone while standing on their heads. No matter what level of yoga proficiency you have, Yee offers a substantial workout that can increase flexibility, stamina, and strength while building the fundamentals of body awareness. The scenery is beautiful and the music is not invasive or loud. You will need a sticky mat (or towel), a block, and a strap. --Olivia Voigts
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Nice but potentially dangerous
Not a bad routine, at all. However, the segment where he instructs handstands & headstands is just awful. AWFUL!
First, who has a solid, bare wall in their house where a full grown human being can freely kick up against it, without any danger of knocking into furniture on the way down (we all wobble when we're learning, don't we)? Or, denting drywall with your heel on the way up, for that matter...
Second, from what I've read in various yoga books since aquiring this tape -- it is not recommended that students learn these poses against a wall! The thinking is, with the wall keeping your balance for you, you're not working all your stabilizing muscles; plus, with the wall essentially holding you up, a beginner is able to stay in these inversions longer than they really should, risking injury. Better to work your way up from the ground at your own pace, heeding the pressure in your neck & shoulders as indications that you need to come down, rest, and then try again -- gradually learning to hold the poses longer.
Experience has shown me this is true. When I first got this tape, I didn't know any better and diligently practiced these inversions w/ Rodney. After weeks of regularly doing the tape, I encountered a website with step-by-step instructions on how to do headstand (and a big warning on the page saying NOT to use a wall for support). I figured with all my experience from the tape, I shouldn't have a problem trying the pose a different way.
Yeah, right. I had none of the balance & coordination needed to do headstand away from the wall. All that work w/ this tape had been for nothing -- except, I guess, I was getting comfortable with being upside down, so that's something, at least. But not enough, for all my effort.
So I abandoned this tape & started working on headstand the way the website (and some yoga books I bought) advised. Within a week, I was able to achieve the pose. So much for Rodney Yee's method.
Otherwise, the tape is a nice workout. More like advanced beginner, I think, than intermediate, but then that's just mincing words, I suppose. If you're comfortable with backbends & shoulderstand, you're probably not gonna learn a lot from this tape. However, you might find this a handy tape to have around if you just want a decent workout that holds poses a little longer than Living Art's beginners stuff and provides some nice inversion work, to boot.
Just please, for your own safety, skip over the handstand/headstand section! Or, at least, research some alternative ways to master these poses and perhaps practice this way when you're ready to wean yourself away from the wall.
Have fun!
Great intermediate tape
I've been practicing yoga for 18 months and was looking to expand my practice of inversions. Since my instructor does not always include them in my weekly studio class, I bought this tape. While I have enjoyed the other Rodney Yee tapes I have (AM/PM for Beginners, Partner Yoga), I have often found that he moves too quickly through the poses with limited instruction, so I was somewhat anxious about buying this tape.
My fears were unfounded - Rodney does a great job of providing very detailed instructions on working into the poses, alignment, etc. The pacing of the tape is great - poses are held long enough to make you really work at them if you know the pose, or to get into them with good alignment if they are new to you.
I am a novice at handstand and forearm stand, and found the instruction very helpful at learning how to get into the pose safely and effectively, while overcoming the disorientation, etc. that comes from beginning to work upside down. I have been practicing shoulderstand for a while, and found the hints about how to deepen the pose to be outstanding. The work in the wheel/inverted bow is also excellent. After a few weeks of using this tape a few times a week, I can get into these poses confidently (although I still can't hold them very long). I'm looking forward to continuing to use the tape to deepen my practice.