Oxygen TV’s Inhale Yoga
If your cable company carries the Oxygen network, then you’ll be able to get your yoga groove on with Steve Ross and his Inhale Yoga. It’s hip, it’s happening, it’s ahhh…Inhale.
Actually, as far as yoga TV shows go, Inhale is a good one. It’s not dated and cloying like Lilias, and it is is a welcome antidote to the cheesecake female exploitation on Namaste Yoga.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of young female hotties here with midriffs a’showing, but not all are super slim, and there are cute guys thrown into the mix. (My friend David, who appears in these videos, is a major hottie who has been a model for many years. He is, in fact, a walking sex magnet. If you need proof, when Inhale begins, just look for the tan guy in the back who is often either giving, or receiving, a shoulder massage with one of the young ladies. Flirtatious Leo!)
So while Inhale has enough sexy people to appeal to all genders and sexual persuasions, it’s really all about the yoga. Well, for me at least. I can’t speak for some of the horny yoga guys reading this blog. (Nod to one of my brave, honest commenters.)
So how is the yoga? Pretty darn good. The “draw” of the Steve Ross school of yoga is that you don’t have to listen to boring new age music the whole time. You get to listen to…bum bum ba dahhhh…motown hits! Reggae! And maybe even a little mild hip-hop!
It’s the Big Chill soundtrack of your life, this time synched to downward facing dog.
Wow! This is sooo revolutionary, at least that’s what the marketing portrays. Ehhh, maybe. It is definitely a refreshing change from the annoying, pretentious new age soundtracks you’ll find sometimes (like the notoriously bad one included with Ali MacGraw’s video). But as to whether it really enhances my yoga practice…personally, I could take it or leave it.
The yoga itself generally follows a pattern of a lengthy “warm up,” consisting of a lot of power flow moves that can get quite repetitious at times. Downward facing dog. Up dog. Downward facing dog. Stick your leg up in the air. Plank. Lower to the floor. Up dog. Down dog. Up dog. Etc. etc.
I truly despise downward facing dog and the repetition in some of these flows can be a little annoying, but not any worse than those awful 20 sun salutations you often have to do in classical yoga. If you are out of shape, your muscles will definitely feel it the next day.
The second half will typically involve a lot of deep stretching. This is my favorite part of the show. In fact, this is what I started yoga for…to “exercise” while sitting down and not doing much of anything.
Because of the balance between the strenuous flow series and the deep stretching, you will get a terrific workout from these shows.
Steve Ross is a good teacher, and usually provides clear instructions that are generally easy to follow even if you aren’t looking at the screen. He has a very laid back personality and likes to poke fun in his classes. Mostly, I like him, though if I were in a bad mood I can tell I might find him to be a bit too smarmy at times.
He also plans out the class so that you will be doing some sort of standing forward bend during the commercials. Because the music is generally upbeat, if you are watching this “live” on TV then the commercials won’t be as jarring as they are in Namaste Yoga. Also, since you get an hour, you will not be cheated timewise.
I hear that Oxygen seems to be stuck running the same two episodes over and over again. If you are lucky, you can sometimes find other copies elsewhere, though they are not on DVD yet. I have a few now and they make a good addition to my yoga video collection. While I personally don’t find myself drawn to practice with Inhale daily because it’s almost too casual and workout-oriented for my tastes, having a few different episodes recorded means I have a variety of yoga routines I can rotate through and keep my home practice fresh.
My only big caveat is that these shows might be tough for total beginners. I would suggest pacing yourself in the beginning part of the show and resting in child’s pose if it gets too strenuous. But if you have a choice between this and Namaste Yoga, definitely choose Inhale…unless you are just looking for hot chicks to drool over.
Horny, no comment. Brave, maybe after a few shots. Honest, brutally. Thanks for the acknowledgment.
As far as a workout show for the at-home crowd, Inhale is probably the better bet. It’s straightforward, forgiving (I didn’t see Steve Ross do a single meaningful adjustment even though some participants were clearly in need) and about as mystifying as a typical class at Bally Total Fitness. What I didn’t like about it is that it looks like an infomercial and is completely uninspiring.
However, we are definitely on the same wavelength regarding Ross’ ability to cross the Line of Smarm.
Great article, thanks for sharing it! Would love to feature you on Wellsphere.com, a site that helps people to live healthier. Can’t find a contact form so thought I’d comment; look forward to hearing from you. Thanks, Larisa
I love both, and truly enjoy the Kate’s voice over for a good 20 min session when i’m pinched for time, which i usually am, and the girls are fun to watch as well. I really do like Kate’s 12 min flows. I’m a dancer so they appeal to my sense of choreography. It’s definitely not for a true yoga novice, but than neither is Inhale. And as with the other poster, although i don’t hate Down dog, i get bored easily with quite so many repetitions. Steve is swarmy, to some extent, but more fun than not, so he’s all forgiven.
that is a very odd commentary. classical yoga has 10 sun salutations, i suppose 20 if you count right and left of the B series, but this truly is the warm up and how we build strength, which is what you say you want. Sitting on your butt stretching is not going to shed pounds or make you strong. It will definitely make you flexible, as will classical yoga. I’ve not seen Steve Ross, but was researching him for a friend. Your blog post was not very helpful in that regard.
I just would like to know if a soundtrack of all the great music the show uses is available? Some of them I do know the artist and song title, but a lot of them, I don’t. Any suggestions?
I love the show, by the way
Carmen
What is the best Yoga dvd’s for beginners? Any help is appreciated, thanks.
HI CARMEN
I ,VE TRIED ALSO TO FIND THE ARTISTS & SONG TITLES NO ANSWER YET. I LIKE THE THE COOLDOWN PART. ONE SONG 1,000 MILES, 1,OOO SMILES. I STILL LOVE YOU, I STILL WANT YOU. I DON,T KNOW WHO IT IS . IF BY CHANCE YOU DO PLEASE POST IT I WAS BE SO THANKFUL
I believe it is Sting… I love the Inhale music selections……..
I second a notion for the soundtrack to the songs on Inhale…
My only complaint - the music repeats to often. He needs either a new DJ or a new mix tape.
I found the sting song. It’s called “A thousand Years”. Great song & Inhale is a great show. It just sucks that they only have a few episodes.
This show has been discontinued. It used to play on Oxygen at 6 am. I taped it knowing I wouldn’t get up that early. He actually has about 15 different shows they used to show. They would get harded as the week progressed. Yoga by itself won’t get you thin but it’ll jumpstart your working out. If you add cardio on top of it you’ll see more results. I suggest Yoga Booty Ballet. Though not as good music as Steve Ross, they are up beat and perky and will help you have fun while working out. They are offered at beachbody.com
Thanks To All , You,ll Will never know how hard iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,ve tried to find the title to Sting,s A Thousand Years. I,d thought just that, it was someone i,d never guess . I better get to taping, i still pick it up @ 6pm on oxygen. once again thanks, made my day
Hi, I just saw your show for the first time this a.m. on Oxygen. I’ve been advised by my Dr. to try yoga. I hope the show remains there for my benefit.
My comment is, why are there only young ,pretty, shapely girls on the show? All these type shows are like this. I’m not the only 50 some yr old who wants to be a part of the yoga and exercise world. It’s intimidating to see everyone on every show that look like they could be the instructor. It would be nice to see a person with whom the instructor has to actually instruct or help to give us newbies the same chance of learning.
I have Fibromyalgia along w/ other illnesses and would love to help get myself back as much as I can to my active self or at least more functional.
I can’t afford classes so I am glad to have this program to help me.
Sincerely, Teresa Dedman