I have 6 of her DVD's and I love them all, even if they are super pyscho killer power yoga torture sessions.
http://www.adriennereed.com/TvVideos.htm
To the pain, baby. Adrienne says just to go until you feel sensation, but for me, that would usually mean sitting on the mat watching her. This stuff hurts. Because, let's face it, not every "yogi" can twist her body into a shape that not even a pretzel would attempt. But, the beautiful thing about her DVD's is that she always has some people on there who are normal, who cannot do the "full" pose. Most recently for me, this was the pose where you start in a plank position, then bend your elbows, then lean forward and put your legs on your arms and lift them up and them straighten them out to the sides.
This one:
The modified version is to not straighten your legs, but to keep them resting on your arms, with your knees bent. I tried to show my kids how to do it this morning. Most of them just stared at me and couldn't get past the plank part. When I SHOWED them the pose, Reuben said, "Mom, that is only for professional gymnasts". I cannot extend my legs yet, BUT I WILL! Even if Reuben says it is impossible. I guess he thinks I'm an old lady.
But, I digress.
The point is that I love it! Unlike some videos, which will remain unnamed, Power Yoga is hard, but doable. Even if I can't attain the full pose, I can do something. I once watched a yoga video where this extremely flexible fellow guided us through a series of backbends, where we were supposed to be bent completely backward with our legs still fairly straight. It hurts just thinking of it. And yes, all I did was stare at the video while this guy contorted himself ala Cirque de Soleil style.
Not unlike this:
Okay, truly, it was more like this:
Just kill me now, because I am not doing that! Adrienne does do some terrible back bending business, but she also offers intermediate poses for those of us who want to be able to walk later in the day.
Then there are the yoga videos where you stretch just enough to get ready for a nice nap. Up dog. Down Dog. Baby pose. Corpse. Nighty night.
Adrienne Reed Yoga is just right for me. It gives me something really hard to reach for, while still giving me something really hard to do while I'm working towards those harder poses.
And she wears clothes. These clothes actually cover her body, so we can focus on exercising instead of staring at her midriff or bosom. I'm not embarrassed when my husband walks through the room. Win. Win.
AND, and this is REALLY important, Adrienne doesn't say super annoying things. She doesn't threaten to come through the t.v. and kill you, like a certain famous lady who likes to pull her pants down lower and step on her assistants to make their pushups harder. Her name might rhyme with Billian Pichaels.
Adrienne doesn't have a fake cheery voice either that makes YOU want to reach through the t.v. and kill HER. It's really important to have a balance there where nobody is having a desire to kill anyone. You know, so you can do the yoga breathing and everything. I like her. She's cool. And so are her DVD's.
THAT SECOND PICTURE MAKES MY BACK HURT!
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