Two 20-minute sessions, one Power Yoga-based, and the other focused on Pilates.

Anyone who is especially interested in strengthening their core muscles — the abdominals and back (the Pilates workout is challenging). It's not really a Yoga session. Light hand weights are suggested for the Pilates segment.

Although she may be a fitness personality, Denise Austin is just not a Yoga instructor. She does okay on her basic Yoga videos, but here she really misses. She calls her 20-minute "Power Yoga" session "functional Yoga," which implies (very incorrectly) that Yoga in itself does not enhance the body's ability to move through daily life. What she presents is a lot of great Yoga moves done so quickly and cued so carelessly that it is hard to benefit from them. Although she talks endlessly throughout the session, there isn't much useful instruction — no breathing cues, very little direction in regards to alignment. And Austin clearly doesn't get the mind-body connection (not to mention the spirit part). Her idea of mind-body is to urge the viewer to "feel the effects! (sigh)" The second half of the video shows that Austin has a much better grasp of Pilates. Pilates focuses on the core muscles, and this is quite a challenging abdominal workout. While her cueing here could still use some improvement, her attitude is definitely more in the spirit of Pilates. At the end she puts the viewer through a series of moves that utilize three to five pound weights to strengthen the upper body and develop balance at the same time. These benefit balance more than arms and shoulders — weights this light won't do a whole lot of toning and strengthening. My suggestion? Skip the 20-minute Yoga session and go for the 20-minute Pilates-influenced section if you feel your abs need a boost. If you want a real Yoga session — especially Power Yoga — there are many other more effective videos.

 

To Order Denise Austin: Power Yoga Plus on DVD

To Order Denise Austin: Power Yoga Plus on Video