New Yoga Challenge
"Each of us has unlimited potential. How completely we realize it is the challenge," says fitness guru Kathy Smith. Smith has been enjoying yoga as part of her own program for more than 20 years. She finds yoga beneficial on its own, and complementary to her other fitness activities. Here she teams up with yoga master Rod Stryker for a rigorous, intermediate-to-advanced yoga routine. This workout is more vigorous than you would expect from yoga--you move from one challenging pose to another without stopping, building strength and stamina as well as flexibility. Stryker does almost all of the verbal direction, and he is a superb instructor: precise, personal, welcoming, and offering plenty of alignment cues. Both instructors demonstrate the poses beautifully with exquisite form--you may get distracted just wanting to stare at them. Occasionally they show modifications so you can do a pose in good form even if you're not as flexible as they are (and who is?). The production is polished and top quality. Running time is one hour, divided into deep breathing and warm-up (5 minutes), continuous standing poses (30 minutes), floor poses (20 minutes), and guided relaxation (5 minutes). If you're experienced in yoga and would like a new challenge, this tape will delight you. --Joan Price

Functionally Fit: Lower Body Firming
Kathy Smith's 30-minute Functionally Fit: Lower Body Firming video is a sculpting and toning workout for all fitness levels targeted to shape the hips, buns, and thighs. Smith's "fitness made easy" philosophy features functional movements from everyday life. Groups of muscles are trained in an integrated lower-body workout to distribute the effort naturally--as opposed to isolating one muscle at a time. You get great benefits--fast and easy total lower-body strengthening and sculpting, and natural shaping of the hips, buns, and thighs from balanced movements in everyday life--and all with safe, easy-to-follow directions. And no exercise equipment is needed. An active 5-minute warm-up precedes Smith's two powerful 10-minute lower-body workouts. You can do them separately for variety or back-to-back for a definite challenge. (A note for beginners: videotaped exercisers demonstrate modified moves throughout.) You will love Smith's endless variety of squats, pliés, and lunges; her encouraging you-can-do-it approach; and her no-nonsense, simple, yet highly effective moves. A 5-minute cool-down stretches lower-body muscles to safely complete the 30-minute workout. --Christine Aiken