Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A word of CAUTION: This is not the yoga you are probably used to if you are unfamiliar with Jillian's take on yoga. Yoga with Jillian is not yoga with anyone else. So be prepared to wonder what on earth she is doing, making you do mountain climbers in yoga. But it is completely, and totally worth it. Just don't expect a nice, relaxing yoga dvd when you order this one. Also, when I realized Jillian and her dancers were on a desert landscape doing yoga in aviators, I thought this was going to be a waste of money. It's a little weird at first. But it is a fantastic workout, so all of that can be overlooked pretty quickly. The only negative thing besides the set that I can say is that she goes through the movements a little fast- even though I am experienced in yoga, this takes some getting used to. Normally she takes time to tell you what each move is and how to get into it and mistakes to avoid, but she really doesn't do that too much in this video. It's okay, once you do the video a few times you get used to it anyway, and then the time she does spend explaining a move feels like a waste of time. So it's not really a huge con to me. Definitely not enough to rate this below 5 stars. THE WORKOUTS: Wow! Workout one is intense. The cardio she combines with this yoga is ACTUALLY cardio. Her previous dvd combined cardio with yoga- sort of. It was just going in and out of yoga poses, which does increase the heart rate to a degree. THIS workout uses actual cardio moves in between yoga sets- like mountain climbers and squat jacks. So my original plan was to do a real cardio workout after I did this one the first time. Well, I didn't end up needing to. By the end of this workout, I was dying. I was soaking wet with sweat and in dire need of hydration. So it was a job well done. I woke up sore the following morning, so my muscles definitely felt it as much as my heart and lungs did. All in all: this is a really good workout. Workout two is also intense, and combines weights with yoga poses. Be prepared- it also has some cardio intervals, too. She recommends using 3 lb weights, which I did. I could probably handle a heavier weight if I so desired, since I am coming off of a summer of P90X and I feel pretty good about my strength abilities right now. HOWEVER, when you are intentional with your moves and use isometric resistance with your weight training, sometimes those 3 lbs are enough. In this case, I felt like they were enough most of the time. I am not trying to bulk up as much as I am trying to tone, so I am less concerned about the heavier weight. But by all means, if you need to use a heavier weight to make yourself feel like you're getting something out of this workout- go ahead. Just know that I think you might be nuts, and you need to be CAREFUL, because you could really hurt yourself with heavier weights. Like I said, it's all in how the weights are used. I am really feeling this workout as well. It is a complete workout. The cardio in this is slightly reduced from the previous workout, but it is still there and you're still going to feel it. This is also a really amazing workout. A note: These workouts aren't leveled. They are 2 separate and equally challenging workouts- one has more of a focus on cardio and the other a focus on strength, but you get both in each of these workouts. This yoga workout puts her Yoga Meltdown dvd to shame, and I really like that one. Initially, I hated that one because it was not what I was used to with yoga, but after a back injury left me unable to do much besides yoga for a time, I grew very fond of that dvd. This one is definitely my new favorite.