Home Workout Essentials: Rodney Yee is My Top Yoga Pick

…and let me tell you why.

I’ve tried a lot of Yoga DVDs. Too many to count. I have a useless stack of ‘em buried in the basement where I make the husband sleep. Some of the DVDs were a let down. Others left me wanting. And then there’s the Yoga flicks that put me in contorted, uncomfortable poses and made me feel like a Yoga loser.

But I am not a loser, dammit.

I was about to abandon Yoga until I discovered that cool Asian dude, Rodney Yee. He brought out the best in me with Yoga benefits that are truly priceless. You can’t buy this stuff:

Mental clarity and lower stress levels.The feeling of a weight off my shouldersFaster “rest day” recovery.Restorative ability to aid in injury.

My top Yoga DVD pick is Rodney’s Ultimate Power Yoga. This DVD comes with 5 workouts, ranging from 15-20 minutes long. Do one, or combine a few for a longer Yoga experience.

Greedy Kid #2's Ultimate Power Experience:

My kid used Workout 1 (Power Foundation) to recover from a painful hip injury during his first season of Cross Country in his 9th grade year. As a new distance runner, the season was pretty rough on his body. Greedy Kid’s hip would howl and not even the fancy Orthopaedic doctor’s advice made it any better. The dang kid was still in pain under medical care and could barely walk normally at times, so I forced asked him to try the DVD (he was brand new to Yoga).

When his running was manageable, he would come home after practice and jump right into Power Foundation. The DVD’s restorative magic went to work and Kid #2 made a complete recovery over the course of a few weeks. Go figure.

My Own Ultimate Power Experience:

In 2002 I was hit by a car while crossing the street and came out with a back injury. Physical therapy was a bitch. I was repeatedly cold-packed, heat-packed, back-cracked, electrical muscle stimulated, and way more. The infliction of treatment was so bad one day that I almost passed out. They had to pull out the smelling salt to bring me back to full consciousness.

In addition to my doctor (a rehab specialist), I was treated for nearly 9 months by two different Chiropractors and two different physical therapists before medical benefits ran out. I was definitely doing better than on day one of the accident, yet still in a level of pain that caused daily discomfort and sadness…for 9 long years. Remember, that accident happened in 2002, but I didn’t find Rodney’s Yoga, and Workout 5 (Ultimate Power Restoration), until early 2011.

Workout 5 focuses on a series of forward bends and elongated stretches that restored my back and prevents the pain from returning. If I stay away from Yoga far too long, I sometimes start whining when I feel small inklings of pain and tightness return, but one session of Workout 5 is enough to get me into maintenance mode so I can enjoy a pain-free back.

I also made big time progress with general flexibility of my entire body that “athletic-type stretching” never delivered.

Here are some quick sample clips from the DVD to get a feel for Rodney Yee’s awesome style and instruction.

If you haven’t tried Yoga yet, go get on the bandwagon. And if Rodney’s Ultimate Power Yoga isn’t part of your own Home Workout Essentials, it’s time to seriously consider it.

Have a fabulous week, you guys. And don’t forget to Yogaaaaa !!!

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