Day 7: All Yoga is NOT created equal

I know I have cursed Rodney Yee in the past, but that was  because I was using Accelerated Yoga Now with Rodney Yee and Mariel Hemingway.  Yoga Now features both Rodney Yee and Mariel as the guides of a class with three "students" in the background, a male, a female, and Renee. All I can say for Renee is that she is the class's punching bag. After every instruction, Rodney will be like, "And look at Renee who can't touch the ground, she is using blocks instead," or "Notice how Reneee doesn't go all the way down but chooses to instead rest at this portion."


This is Renee:

Notice Renee's Block, the subject of much derision.

It's not like Renee is doing anything wrong, in fact she's probably the only non-super Yogi in the group, and yet Rodney Yee an Mariel make fun of her constantly. "If you can't bend all the way, like Renee, then don't (but we'll judge you later when we make the audio recording)."

So yes, this can be funny at times, but it also makes it really hard to concentrate when you are doing this for the 5th or 6th time. Enough with Renee, enough with Mariel talking over everything. The only person who should be allowed to talk is Rodney Yee. He has a smooth, calming, and deep voice that tells you how to do the postures and offers advice like, "Smooth your eyes" or "Hollow your belly," whatever that means. So, he should be allowed to make comments.

The other problem with Yoga Now is that it is a class set in a dance studio. I don't want to see a bunch of other people doing Yoga. This is not jazzercize, this is not Tae-Boe, this is yoga. I want to be at peace.

So, anyway, the purpose of this rant was that I have been doing the Yoga Now for the last week and am tired of it. For example, in the very beginning, you do breathing exercises, and Rodney Yee says, "Drop into the ground, really get a sense of releasing, the ebb and flow of the breath moving through the body . . . Ahh, just that nice simple ease of the release." And then Mariel says, "It's always nice to have a moment of silence," but she ruins it by the fact that she is speaking over the whole take! It's so annoying. And even if it weren't, there is no way to turn off their commentary when you get advanced enough to know what is coming next.

Anyway, despite the fact that I could not do the entire hour of Yoga Now, this morning when I sat down to do the program, I decided, nuh uh, no more. So I switched to Power Yoga: Stamina.

What a difference. First of all, this is the screenshot of Power Yoga:

While an almost Naked Rodney Yee does not do it for me. The fact that there is no dance studio, there is beautiful scenery, and Rodney Yee it the only instructor, and he only instructs as necessary was a breath of Fresh Air. Additionally, Power Yoga is 20 minutes, my perfect goal, and it gets you moving and constantly going from position to position, so it is tough, but moves quickly and feels amazing!

It is unbelievable what a difference I felt after Power Yoga. I was not anxious afterwards but relaxed and thankful. So from now on, it is Power Yoga. Plus, I could use some stamina.

Overall, this was a great way to start the day. I know that as my schedule gets more hectic in the next couple of days, I will appreciate Power Yoga for keeping me relaxed and energized as I go into the day.

Good luck today and keep tight to those resolutions, today marks a full week since we started and I know we can finish them.

Find 1 minute of peace today to think about yourself and what you hope to accomplish. Think back over the last week. Think about what you have done well and then think about what you will do even better in this coming week. Don't give up.

In the words of Galaxy Quest: "Never Give Up, Never Surrender!"

See, even a skeptical and young Tim Allen is ready to launch forward out into space and complete his mission.