5/5 Great Work Out
  by Lost in the Supermarket (Cleveland, Ohio)
I have been taking Yoga classes for almost a year and wanted to do some Yoga at home. I borrowed this DVD and a couple of others from the library and really liked this one. I renewed it a couple of times and decided to just buy it. I started out at beginners level even though I already knew all of the poses because adding the weights makes you work on balance even more, which is definitely a benefit. The instructions are very clear and easy to do even if you have never done Yoga. This is a great work out in many ways - over all strengthening and balance. Although it is not a "cardio" work out, it does get your heart pumping.

5/5 Iron Yoga
  by Darlene
I really liked this dvd because the added weights along with all the different yoga postures make it really challenging. I am a mouth breather, so trying to do yoga breathing in and out of the nose and concentrate on proper alignment and balance with the weights is an added challenge.

I need to do all the balance poses that I can to try and help delay the progress my spino cerebral degeneration disease. I know this dvd will not only challenge me but give me the added balance I am trying to keep as long as I can.

The instuctor gave clear advice on how to do the moves and breathing.

3/5 A little of everything, but not enough of it all
  by Brandy (NY)
I have been practising yoga for several years, and purchased this DVD with the hope that I could combine the use of weights with the stretching and strengthing of yoga.

What I found was...yeah, okay.

While I found the premise of the use of weights a good one, and plan to continue using weights with my other tapes, I would hesitate to recommend this DVD on a few points.

First, if you have rotator cuff/shoulder problems, stay away. While the movements are all slow and steady, even a slight handweight would place undue strain on your shoulders, in particular if you are not too flexible in the upper body region. I have pretty strong and flexible arms, and by the end of the workout my shoulders were hurting (hurting:bad; sore:okay)Some of the standing positions are pretty much more for intermediate/advanced yogis, and there is very little in the way of alternate positions. Don't let the 'Core' thing fool you; this is an upperbody workout. There is very little in the way of core exercises outside of a modified Boat Pose, and the standing exercises seem to just exist so that you would not hit the floor with your weights.

On the plus side; it is close to an hour workout. By the end, I WAS sweating, though the movements were slow and therefore I was not out of breath. I used my heart rate monitor on this, and at least for me, it showed that I used close to 300 calories, have of them at the 'low target heartrate (fat-burning) rate. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not have a problem with the instructor's voice (but then again, I also don't find Brian Kest's irritating, either).

This is a good back-up tape for when you don't want to use your typical few favorites, but again, I would either do the exercises with little to no weights to save your shoulders, or use it to supplement a cardio or core workout.

5/5 Wow...First Time Doing Yoga and I love It!
  by Grace (Dallas)
I bought this video after reading everyone else's reviews. My main goal is to get lean and not bulk up my muscles. I have done everything from the Biggest Loser videos to Taebo and they all leave me feeling tired and sore. This video however excercises more muscles than Taebo and makes me feel so relaxed after it's done it's amazing!
The yoga poses really stretch your muscles and the added weights really challenge your strength. I think this exercise is the best I've done and I would highly recommend it for someone that want's to challenge all muscles and not feel exhuasted after it's done.

4/5 Not your "usual" yoga
  by Shel (US of A)
I am not generally a fan of yoga, but recognize the benefits of core strengthening and flexibility. This DVD did not disappoint! While most yoga DVD's leave me either befuddled and confused about which foot and hand goes where, or in a fit of giggles over the sappy music and the seriousness in which the leaders seem to take themselves...this DVD was very clear and straight forward. I really appreciated the instructor's concise, to the point instructions...no flowery image inducing nonsense...but reminders to inhale and exhale with the movements. He also mentions specific muscles and targets where you should feel the movements so you know immediately if you are doing it correctly. There are also frequent reminders to keep your core muscles engaged. The balancing poses are challenging...but not impossible. And as other reviewers mentioned, there are 3 levels so you can increase or decrease the challenge as needed. I haven't even done the workout with weights yet...figuring that it would be better to work on correctly achieving the positions/movements...and it is still challenging. If you are looking for a more "traditional" trance-like yoga workout, you may want to look elsewhere. But if you want a challenging core body workout with the benefits of upper body toning, check this out!