Jillian Michael - Yoga Meltdown [DVD]

I enjoy yoga exercises but often find conventional yoga workouts slow and dull - great for conditioning and building flexibility, but not particularly good for burning fat. Also, I've got no interest whatsoever in the 'spiritual' side of yoga: I don't want to meditate or dwell on 'energy flows'. If you're like me and find most yoga workouts a bit repetitive and slow, and want to burn fat with more dynamic moves, then this would be a great DVD for you. It is challenging, particularly if you're not used to exercise or resistance/balance work, but do persevere and stick with it. You'll improve each time and you'll soon get used to following the instructions without having to keep stopping to look at the telly to check what you should be doing. This is very much a no-nonsense workout, and it moves fast. If you're working hard enough you should break sweat and you should find the last few reps in each sequence hard. Don't be disheartened if you can't manage to do as much as Jillian recommends. Just go at your own pace and you'll soon find that you improve a lot in a fairly short space of time. You should be slightly achy the next day; this is far from a gentle workout and it moves much more quickly than most yoga routines. Jillian is far less shouty and aggressive in this DVD than she usually is, and consequently far less irritating. My only complaint is that there isn't a huge amount of instruction on posture and form, so it does help if you've exercised before (but it's not essential). I enjoyed this DVD much more than I thought I would, and was also quite surprised to find it as challenging as I did. This won't replace my more intense interval training workouts, but it will certainly be a great addition to my workout routine and I can certainly see myself doing this a few times a week. The idea is that you start doing the easier routine (which, in itself, can be adapted as you progress, as you're shown easier and tougher versions of all the postures) and then when you've really mastered it and it starts feel 'too easy' you try doing the harder one. Both are only half an hour each, and you'll get a good workout in the 30 mins, so this is great if you only have limited time to spend exercising - I for one rarely have a full hour or 90 minutes to spend working out, so it's great to have a yoga DVD that compresses a lot of work into a shorter workout.

I did her Yoga meltdown video regularly (beginner level) from the youtube free viewing of it but one day my internet died for hours on me and couldn't do it so I figured I'd buy the dvd so this never happens again. At £5 with the added 30min meltdown level 2 which I didn't know yet, it is a no brainer great investment. Both 30 min workouts are extremely good, easy to fit in your schedule but tough enough to feel like you did a good session. I also believe bodyweight training (=barefoot /no machine/no weights) is the best way to exercise and stay lean, done it since I am 21 and you can do it ANYWHERE! Jilian is extremely good at motivating you and both her students show you 2 levels of difficulty. The 2nd video is especially great for abs, mine were sore the next day even though I do ab work 4 times a week and usually never get sore. I can also recommend for yoga dvds yoga teacher Travis Eliot. He has a 1 hour free youtube video "yoga cross training", and I also bought his dvd set off ebay (cheaper than the one on amazon). NAMASTE! http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Yogi-Travis-Eliot/dp/B007OYK32K

Yoga BEGINNERS this is fab! Anyone with sore backs, joints and feel they need a 'stretch out' some days again, fantastic! Needing an accompaniment to your workout schedule as well, try this! I had no clue at all what moves, poses etc to do and this DVD is brilliant! Let me break it down for you:- I get a lot of neck and lower back tension from spending loads of time working at a PC. Adding to that, once I decided to get myself healthier I started to find that in doing my cardio workouts and HIIT training my knees would kill me, my shoulders were screaming and still even after being fitter and more capable my joints were not happy. I got this DVD as a total beginner to yoga. Had never tried not one pose or move, my balance was awful and I laughed and giggled at myself wobbling out of the "hold" positions for the first week. But I persevered because with this DVD, in Jillian Michaels you find a more humane side to her than many would expect. As she says "It's not about perfection, it's about being stronger everyday and working at YOUR goals". She doesn't rush through the moves at such a pace that you can't keep up, her coaching is very calm and relaxed allowing you to find your balance in the moves but she is also not so slow about it that the better you get you feel like it's a bore waiting for the next bit. I've found I am more flexible now, I have so much less tension in my body and what I've found works for me (now that I have a regular workout routine I've constructed for myself) is that I do three days of my cardio, strength and toning workouts then day four I do this yoga DVD. When I started it was more a 2:1 ratio but as I have improved in my strength I feel that for myself, a 3:1 ratio is working great. Work Out 2 is of course more demanding but work at it - when you are ready for the challenge you CAN do it cause you got through Work Out 1 after-all :-) If you are totally new about exercise and doing yoga I wouldn't suggest you do the first workout and then next day go to workout 2, allow yourself the time to get familiar with it. I only started on Work Out 2 I think a good 3 weeks later when I could feel my body saying "I want more of a challenge please!". In the DVD she had got two assistants so you can start with the less demanding flow and holds, work your way up to Jillian's level which is more intermediate and then try for the advanced moves to things with her other assistant. But what do you do once you're done? Don't stop! What I decided to try was a yoga with weights routine so as I got fitter and stronger (had been kicking my rear-end for 4 months solid by this point though haha!) I modified things and started to use the 1.1kg dumbbells I have. I am hoping to get a kettle bell cause think that might work better. Or alternatively, do both workouts. I change things up now and again so that if I don't use weights, I go through both workout programmes - I do the warm-up on the 1st one, I skip the cool down part at the end of Work Out 1, I skip the warm-up on Work Out 2 and go right into it and then cool down with the 2nd workout's cool down phase. So why only 4 Stars? I will be honest with you that the "Lose up to 5 pounds in a week" claim on the DVD I don't think is true and that's where this loses a star from me. If you are ONLY doing this DVD I am sorry to say but you can't expect that. There simply is no fast-fix to burning fat and losing weight - take it from me, I struggled for years trying to get it right, putting it back on, trying again, it was a never ending vicious cycle of frustration and many a time self loathing feelings of inadequacy when I failed myself yet again. This DVD is great for anyone wanting a place to start out, needing to build some self confidence to do better and feel better in themselves but it is NOT the fix all solution. You could probably achieve that 5 pounds off a week provided you are eating less calories than you burn, you're doing Work Out 1 and 2 (5 times a week at the very least), or as an accompaniment to a regular cardio and fitness routine but stand alone considering the average calories you can expect to burn with one work out (as in doing either Work Out 1 or Work Out 2) is around 200 calories, that simply won't get you losing "5 pounds a week" in a hurry.

Jillian Michaels is amazing. I have loads of her DVDs and highly recommend them.

This one came as a shock to me, because usually I love the Jillian Michaels DVDs, but for some reason I didn't enjoy this one as much. I found it quite repetitive, and disk one waaay to difficult, but then again I'm not that flexible, and I can see where that would help alot. This product gets 3 stars for prompt delivery and quality of DVD. However I would not recommend this particular workout if you are like me and preferences fast past workouts.

The DVD is broken up into two levels, and both levels are made up of 3 circuits lasting a total of 25-30 minutes. Each circuit features three different moves, which you rep in and out of and then hold for 15 seconds. You go through a set on one side of your body, then repeat the set on the other, and then you're presented with either two sun salutations (Level 1) or a bonus move (Level 2) to end the circuit before beginning the next. As with all workouts, this isn't supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be easy enough to keep up with after the first few days, and it will gradually become easier. Balance is a must really, but balance improves in time, especially with workouts like this. My balance used to be atrocious, but it's pretty miraculous now. My boyfriend and I did a spontaneous balancing contest the other day (yeah, we're that cool) and I outmatched him by a few minutes. This is simply because I'm becoming fitter - though that doesn't mean that I don't struggle with some of the moves, because I certainly do. I also didn't think you'd get much of a sweat going either, but I was proven wrong there, too. I actually consider Level 1 to be more efficient than Level 2, perhaps because, with two sun salutations between each of the three circuits, it feels like it's all broken up better, whereas Level 2 is definitely harder, but instead of sun salutations (which are used in the warm up instead) you do bonus moves which are very difficult, but are there to give to something to work towards. You won't be able to do them at first, but you shouldn't feel bad if you can't. They're bonus moves. My single complaint is for the 'perspective-altering' motivational speeches she gives throughout the workout, but, in fairness to her, the things she's saying don't occur to many people and they are things worth taking to heart. For example: it's not about being perfect, it's about practise. And though it's kind of cheesy for her to say these things in a yoga DVD, she isn't exactly wrong in what she's saying. excerpt from my full review on ablackbirdsepiphany.co.uk

I love this DVD, each workout is half an hour long but it's the best use of half an hour ever! It's not a chilled yoga DVD but an intense workout based on yoga moves with repetitions .. It makes you sweat.. And the visual effect on your muscles is fast! The first few times i did level one I was sweating and shaking like a leaf.. But it gradually got easier even though it still makes me sweat. Level 2 is very hard! .I'm still not great at balance but i will work on it! Jillian is so motivational and fun and the fact that the workouts are only half an hour makes me keep doing them (I don't have a lot of free time) literally just as you feel like you're going to die Jillian ends the circuit. This is a woman who knows her stuff, I would recommend this DVD to anyone who wants to tone fast with a quick workout.. It's hard but keep at it, you will get stronger pretty quick and the physical results are amazing, Jillian is an inspiration!

I have a collection of Jillian workouts, and was slightly worried about this one as it didn't quite follow the norm for her. However i was pleasantly surprised. Initially it didn't seem that it was going to be tough enough, but i was wrong some of the moves are quite difficult, it uses your bodies own resistance for the workout, and it is unlike any yoga i have done in the past. It is not the normal slow pace hippy yoga but a cardio inducing fast paced version...loved it!! Recommend if you require a change of pace, good if you are already familiar with yoga as she tends to launch straight into the moves and if you are a novice you may find it difficult to follow.

Wer traditionelles Yoga sucht, der ist bei Jillian Michaels völlig falsch. Wer aber seinen Körper mit von Yoga stark inspirierten Übungen, welche sehr fitnessbetont ausgeführt werden, in Form bringen will, dem sei diese DVD ans Herz gelegt. Aber Vorsicht: Die Übungen sind nichts für Anfänger! Bei falscher Ausführung kann man sich hier schnell verletzen, insb. bei den sehr fortgeschrittenen Asanas wie z.B. der Krähe. Wenn man Yoga bereits beherrscht, so ist die schnelle und kraftvolle Ausführung mit vielen Wiederholungen anfangs sehr ungewohnt, aber mir persönlich gefällt der Trainingseffekt sehr gut.

Great video with introductory class if you are a beginner.

Non è un workout semplicissimo, non lo consiglierei ai principianti e io stessa non riesco a starle sempre dietro, però è molto utile e aiuta a riacquistare, piano piano, un po' di elasticità.

I don't get to try it because I received a DVD that is not for my region and I cannot play it in my American DVD player .

I cannot view this DVD since it is for Region 2. I have not idea how I ended up with a DVD that I cannot play.