namasteph yoga blog » Online Yoga

Learn Breath of Fire in One Minute

Stephanie — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:28:13 +0000

I was looking for a video that explained breath of fire to email a client. The first one I found was long-winded and a bit tedious to get through…just get to the instruction! So I was happy to find this clip on YouTube…she teaches you breath of fire in a very simple manner, in one minute:

Free Yoga for Shoulders Video

Stephanie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:36:42 +0000

My number one problem area is my tight hamstrings. My number two problem area is my tight shoulders. Years of doing web design, plus a natural tendency to round my shoulders, has resulted in a lot of tension being held up there. Les Leventhal has put up a nice 30-minute free yoga video working on the shoulders. Hurrah! I need more videos like this one! You can watch it here:

FREE Class 5 – Shoulders [Full Length Premium Version] from Les Leventhal on Vimeo.

This is a good class for physically fit people who want to work on strengthening the upper body while opening up the chest and shoulder area. The beginning portion is a bit strenuous, particularly for the upper body and core. If you are a beginner, I’d recommend coming to your knees in dolphin plank.

P.S. I love half-hour online yoga classes like these. You can get a decent workout at home without having to invest two or more hours of your time (as when you go to a live yoga class).

Free Chair Yoga Video

Stephanie — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:13:26 +0000

Here’s a free video showing a simple chair yoga routine for people of varying yoga levels and abilities. Even if you think you don’t need the chair – try it. You may find you get some additional stretches in surprising ways.

Rise in Internet Yoga Injuries?

Stephanie — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 05:43:14 +0000

Here’s an interesting news clip on an apparent rise in yoga injuries due to amateurs watching other amateurs teach yoga on the Internet. (Or, alternatively, amateurs trying to attempt the advanced yoga poses they see online.)

Getting Started With Gaiam Yoga Club

Stephanie — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:38:12 +0000

I have to admit I am not a huge fan of a lot of Gaiam videos…I do think they have gotten better in recent years, but the ones I had in the 90s (more the Living Arts era) were so serious. Gaiam Yoga Club is Rodney Yee’s online yoga course (with his wife Colleen Saidman) and it thankfully leaves behind that solemn yoga pretense for a joyful, down-to-earth course.

The 12-week self-paced course is geared towards beginners (though I’d have to suggest it would be better for fitter beginners and not those with serious physical limitations), but experienced practitioners can also benefit. Each week begins with a video illustrating the various postures, followed by daily audio practices with PDF guides to show the poses.

Rodney and Colleen are happily married and it shows in their comfort and obvious joy in each other’s company. (I must admit – I’m a bit envious and wish I had a relationship like that!) They are very free and casual in showing the postures and yet quite specific.

I’m impressed by the comprehensive nature of the program. It is very well designed and executed, and definitely an excellent investment if you want to learn yoga from home.

I’ve only finished week one – I had gotten a cheap yoga pass at a local studio with a special and thus have been taking more outside classes than doing home practice lately – but the nice thing is, there’s no deadline.

I’ll perhaps review more later as I go.

Free Yoga Videos at Yoga Today

Stephanie — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 04:58:51 +0000

There’s this nice, semi-slick website that is offering free daily yoga videos for free. (Eventually, they will charge a fee for accessing the archives.) It’s called Yoga Today. I just heard about it so I will try some videos and report back to you later! But this online yoga thing is definitely the future of home yoga, that’s for certain.