REVIEW: FIRM Yoga

Okay - as a FIRM tape I give it 4.5 stars, but as a yoga tape I only give it 2 stars.

The workout is 35 minutes long. The moves are typical yoga moves. here is a mixture of what I would consider stretch poses and strength poses. Modifications are shown for the more challenging postures.

I wore my HR during this workout, and it really got my heart pumping. I spent a good deal of the workout in my target HR zone, and burned around 250 calories. I believe this was from the speed with which the moves where done, and the emphasis on using more large muscle movements.

The music is okay. More upbeat, trying to get you moving than soothing. Although I think they had a small segment with Enigma in the background.

What I don't like, is while the moves are yoga based, they do not try to integrate the breathing with the movement (an important yogic philosophy). Much of the time you are either moving to fast through the moves to follow the traditional inhale/exhale pattern for them, OR you are in a pose longer than a person can conceivably inhale/exhale.

For example - cat/cow posture - you arch your back as you inhale, and round as you exhale. The movement should follow your breath. But she has you hold both the arch, and round a little too long. You can't just do the lmove in one breath, you have to take extra breaths during each phase of the move.

So while I like it as a body sculpting/calorie burning beginner FIRM workout, it's not what I would recommend if you are a) a new comer to yoga, b) wanting a true yoga workout.