HeavyWeight Yoga: Yoga for the Body You Have Today

Thank you Abby for getting me to try yoga. As an over 50 yr old woman, that is morbidly obese, with painful joints I was always leery of going to a yoga studio even though my doctor said it would be good for my joints.I decided to come on Amazon and see if I could find a gentle type of yoga that I could just possibly do and that is when I found this DVD. I love how positive Abby is. She makes me feel like anyone can do yoga.I love that I am now able to stretch and bend and move my body into yoga poses that I never thought I would be able to do. If you too are on the bigger side or have other physical limitations and want to try yoga don't hesitate to buy this.

*****I hesitated whether to give this DVD 4 or 5 stars and decided on 5, because the instructor is just so affirming and the DVD is incredibly versatile. It is not without its weaknesses, however: the DVD is very slowly paced (although this helps those of us who need things to go slowly), and there are sometimes few or no modifications given at the time of the pose. However, the instructor urges the viewer to constantly be aware of their body and to only do what they can. The DVD is very inexpensively made, too. These are the negatives I saw in what I think is an overall fantastic DVD for those of us new to yoga with large bodies. The instructor teaches "yoga for the body you have today" and models herself not waiting until you have a perfect body or a smaller body in order to begin.On the positive side, I have to rave! Abby Lenz is so affirming. She says that her goals are to help the viewer to develop awareness, acceptance, and affection for themselves, and I do believe that she was successful with me in fostering these feelings as I participated in the different parts of the DVD. This is a hard thing to achieve, and part of why I felt that I needed to give the DVD 5 stars instead of 4. You just feel so good after doing it!The DVD is organized into segments so that you can use it depending upon how you feel and how much time you have. You can assemble the segments into a custom workout on any given day, or alternatively you can do one of the four series that the instructor has already arranged together that range from 36 minutes to 72 minutes. The shorter segments that you can pick on your own include include a 25 minute warm-up series, two different posture series of just under 20 minutes, and a cool-down segment for 14 minutes that is really just some instructions and breathing to some serene photos and ocean sounds.There are instructions for props (including modifications for these--lots of household items until you decide what you need to buy), instructions for those people who cannot come to the floor and for those people who are bed-bound, and then bonus materials which include instruction on breathing, using a chair for downward facing dog, using a chair to get to the floor, and getting comfortable in the cool-down meditation.Overall this is a terrific DVD for aspiring yoga practitioners who have larger bodies.Highly recommended.*****

I'll be honest, I'm 30 years old, weigh 355lbs., and outside of working, I have never exercised regularly. I chose the first class to start, which is a little more than an hour long, but I couldn't finish it, which is ok to start, and I feel like Abby was suggesting that as well, it's ok to do as much as you can do, and stop if you're feeling any pain. Some of the warm-ups in that set were also difficult for me to do, one I had to improvise more than was shown in the DVD. I have never done Yoga before, but I like it. It seems to be a lot about finding your center and balance, which is very helpful, especially for a larger person.The exercises/stances/poses: For the most part, if you are an active person, this probably isn't the right DVD for you, even if you're just beginning Yoga I'd suggest something else. I've seen other Yoga DVDs, and this one does go a little slow, allowing you a bit of freedom or 30 seconds to readjust (which as my size I *NEED*). If you are like me, relatively inactive, do not know much about Yoga or have never practiced, I think you'll love it! ESPECIALLY if you're heavy.Abby Lentz: Is very encouraging, realistic, and doesn't make you feel like a big fat cow. She's heavy herself, and sometimes needs to put her foot down for stability, as well, and that just feels more real than a model or sports type teaching me. Abby speaks in a soft, easing tone, giving you all the instruction you need through her calming voice, reminding you to do the most basic things you might forget otherwise. Abby has an amazing range of movement, and appears to do most poses with such ease!DVD menu and choices: The menu itself is easy to use, I suspect that anyone with a DVD player would be able to make their way around, especially because there is a video of Abby describing the usage and ways to put together your own class rather than use a preset one. There are many to choose from, as well.

First, I have to say I love this DVD. It's adaptable, gentle and if you are truly a larger person, it will even be challenging. I came into this with no yoga experience and at a large size with limited flexibility. I carry most of my weight in the midsection so many of yoga's poses are impossible for me without modification. I also have so little flexibility in the backs of my legs that just straightening my leg burns. That being said, I learned enough watching it through the first time to understand that eventually, I could learn to be at peace enough with my body to work around its limitations. So parts of it were challenging. But I felt amazing the next day. And then I couldn't wait to get home and do it again and by the third day I developed a rhythm. I expect if I stick with it this will end up improving the the impediments I thought were standing between me and yoga. So I recommend giving it a shot.The only things I could ask improvement-wise are a better showcase for Abby's warmth and intelligence. I know the budget has to be kept in check, but the quality didn't feel as good as the content demanded. And a bit more instruction about working with a real belly. The kind of belly ladies with PCOS or "apple" shapes have. Some poses verge on pain and I wasn't really sure how to get similar effects while modifying the pose.