The Ultimate Yogi

One of my other big resources for starting my home practice was purchasing "The Ultimate Yogi" series by Travis Eliot and Udaya Entertainment.  When I was working out with coworkers, one of them introduced me to this series.  I am going to be completely honest with you.  If you are brand new to yoga or if you haven't worked out in quite a while this is not the series for you.  Several of these are intense and seriously demanding workouts.  You are supposed to do the workouts for 108 days and as far as I can tell they are meant to be without a break.  Of course some of the DVDs are meant to be gentler, lighter days, but I still needed to take days completely off.  I will put in the disclaimer that I was also doing this while walking several miles a day, which I don't normally do.  My body was in serious exercise overload, so that could have something to do with it.

That being said, if you have been doing yoga and are familiar with the poses or you are just looking for something to challenge you, this is it.  I saw AMAZING results EVERY single week.  It is worth the money and worth the time.  This set will take you to a whole new level physically.

So here is a quick break down of the workouts.

1. Crosstraining--This is one of my favorites.  It is a little bit of everything (strength, balance, flexibility, and cardio) and it keeps you moving, but I didn't get overwhelmed.  I had to take some breaks during the DVD, but when I finished I felt like I had not only worked out but also was a lot calmer.  I remember finishing one night right before I was going to bed.  After a quick shower I went right to sleep because I was so relaxed from the workout.  That has never happened before with any exercise.
2. Cardio--My cardio has never been great and most cardio workouts make me miserable.  I pretty much curse Travis Eliot's name during this DVD, but every week I did this routine I saw improvement.  That was a HUGE motivator for me in this program.  Every time I was getting farther before having to take a break.  If you want to see results in your abilities and cardio this is EXACTLY what you want to do.  Even more importantly, I didn't turn this DVD off after 10 minutes like I do with every other exercise DVD.  That says a lot.  Be prepared to do lots of sun salutations and variations.  
3. Strength--If I had to pick my weaknesses, strength would be number two on the list.  For me this was a difficult DVD, but once again I saw progress almost every week.  You will see lots of chatarunga, down dog, and so much more.  He really does strengthen your whole body though, upper body, abs, legs, this DVD does it all.  My favorite part is it doesn't require me to have weights or scary machines from the gym that I can't operate.  It's just you and your yoga mat.  It might sound hokey, but moving your own body weight around is more than enough.
4. Flexibility--After telling you about two DVDs that I struggled with, flexibility was easier for me.  Most people think of flexibility and think of touching their toes, but he works on your hips, legs, shoulders, back, and sides.  You get some balance and twists too. He really does hit so much in the hour or so that you work.  
5. Balance--I have as much trouble with balance in life as I do on the yoga mat. That's a lot. In my defense I have ear infections quite often.  You can't help, but have fun with this one though.  He has a great balance between challenging poses and foundational poses to help you progress.  It was definitely pretty demanding for me though.
6. Detox--You twist.  A lot.  That's about all there is to say about that. Twists help detox your body and aid digestion. He takes poses that you have been doing in previous workouts and throws in some twists for a variation of the pose.  
7. Vitality--This is another one that I really liked.  It reminded me a lot of the cross-training because it has a little bit of everything. You do a lot of backbends and it's just a lot of fun and not crazy intense. When I say backbends, I don't mean you are going to break your back trying to get into these poses.  He really works foundational poses to get you into deeper backbends.  I feel like this is probably one of my top three DVDs from this set just because it runs the gamut and you feel great afterwards.
8. Yin Yoga--In this one you do a lot of floor work.  You also hold the poses for 3-5 minutes.  They aren't crazy challenging poses, but for me holding still for that long was challenging.  I still have trouble just because I don't sit still at all during the day.  I am always multi-tasking.  This has come to be one of my favorites though and it is great if you are having a day that you aren't feeling the best or if you are about to head to bed.  I literally fell asleep on my mat one day I was so relaxed by this.  Plus it is good for beginners.  I showed this to my mom and her first response was "I can do those!"
9. Gentle Yoga--Again, one of my favorites. You are still doing the flows, but the pace is just beautiful.  It hits every part of your body, but it really gives your body a chance to relax and heal and deepen into the practice.  With some of the ladies I work with this was one of their favorites as well.  You work on everything and you can challenge yourself but it isn't as fast-paced and demanding as some of the other DVDs.
10. Mountain Pose/Pranayama--That's kind of self-explanatory.  It is a lot of mountain poses and variations of mountain poses.  It really chills you out and my shoulders and back feel amazing.  The Pranayama Breathing focuses on breath and this was the first time anyone taught me about pranayama breathing. He takes you step by step with what you need to do and this was a HUGE help.
11. Sun salutations--This DVD is only done three times during the 108 days.  The first time you do 36 sun salutations.  The second time you do 72 and the last time you do 108.  I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to do this.  I was pretty sure someone invented that idea specifically to torture me.  What they don't explain is that by the time they are done with you in the first 35 days of the workout, this isn't a big deal anymore.  If you really do the program and work your tail off with the workouts, the sun salutations are no problem once you get to them.  Ok maybe they aren't the easiest thing in the world, but they aren't evil and meant to torture you.  
12. Hard Core--This specifically targets your abs. This really was created to torture me. I swear. Ok maybe not, but that's what I decided the first time I tried it. I won't lie I didn't do so great with this one because I pretty much hate anything that has to do with your core.  As Travis Eliot says in another DVD though sometimes what we run away from is what we need most. If you do this DVD like you are supposed to (I so didn't) I can't imagine you not seeing results. 

Bottom line, this series will get you some serious results.  I can't stress enough the fact that I saw results every single week.  Poses I couldn't do the week before would suddenly become accessible.  I was able to go longer without a break on the cardio DVD.  I could tell I was getting stronger because poses like chatarunga got easier because I could take my knees off the floor for the first time.  I saw incredible results using this series.  It is by no means easy and it is not great for beginners, but he will yoga you into shape in no time IF you put the effort in.  Plus, if you listen to his words as you go through, he has great things to say about how yoga can change your life.  Hearing some of these was a huge help for me in getting rid of some of the stresses in my life.  Once again, I was learning to take what I was learning in yoga and apply it to my life.