Thursday, February 2, 2012

A review of Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga with Jennifer Wolfe

Ok, Ok, I get it I totally suck at this blogging thing- BUT I wanted to write a review for any expectant mothers to be that want to continue a healthy yoga practice throughout their pregnancy without sacrificing the challenges they may be used to in their normal classes. So here you go- a review of Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga. The DVD can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Prenatal-Vinyasa-Yoga-Jennifer-Wolfe/dp/B000IU36R6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328208570&sr=8-2

Hope you enjoy!!

PRENATAL VINYASA YOGA
(with Jennifer Wolfe)


While pregnant with baby boy number two, I felt as if my body was really suffering from the lack of hot yoga practice I was accustomed to. Because I am pregnant and get so overheated, I have had to cut out my beloved practice. So, off and on I searched for a yoga DVD to replace one of workouts that I do- preferably like what I used to do with hot yoga on Wednesdays.

I stumbled upon Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga with Jennifer Wolfe on amazon.com and got giddy while reading the reviews saying that this video was not for beginner yogis. Was this what I was looking for? I really needed a bit of a challenge as I missed my hot yoga classes at www.hotyogamassage.com with Heather every week. And by missed, I may have cried a couple of times about it. Every other prenatal yoga video I tried was far too easy. I have sampled 3 so far not including this one, and it goes over some basic stretches and Warrior poses, but it did not challenge me or interest me enough to continue after the first runthrough.

So I ordered it. I figured it was worth a shot, and if anything it would be a nice thing to do during the weekends when I felt my body was too uptight. For a 75 minute routine, I couldn't imagine it NOT helping me keep in some kind of yoga shape throughout these few months of pregnancy. I also liked the option of having a Partner Routine (Yes. For a split second I imagined Drew helping me do a couple of poses in yoga while following along a video until I remembered what reality I was in, haha!).

Well, after yesterday's first trial of this video I am MORE than happy with the workout, and the next day result. I am pleasantly sore in all the right places, I stayed cool throughout the practice, and it had a GREAT vinyasa flow throughout the whole workout. There are plenty of sun poses, squat exercises, warrior poses, and triangle poses just to name some off the top of my head. One of my favorite pros of this workout is that they have three ladies doing the workout, all representing the different trimesters. This is so you get any modifications that you feel you need throughout the practice. Throughout the workout they keep modifying the poses for people who want to advance, which was an excellent perk. I constantly felt challenged and alert, instead of bored and waiting for it to be over.

I am going to continue to do this workout at least once a week to keep me loose and relaxed. I think that this prenatal video is an amazing find for those who are used to a slightly more advanced yoga style (such at vinyasa or hot yoga) and since it is 75 minutes, I did not feel as if it was too short at all. With the relaxation at the end, I almost felt as if I was in a room full of pregnant women enjoying an actual class.

Hopefully I will be able to convince Drew to help do the partner section. When (if... probably not!) he does, I will write a review of that as well. Namaste!!!