Yoga for beginners: 7 DVDs to start practicing with

My road into yoga started by a detour while I was looking for peace, at first and once upon a time I would just listen to the cable channel that had new age music because it calmed me down, then I discovered yoga  dvds (back then through vhs) at the NY Public Library.  The peace I found in a dvd like “Yoga for Meditation” for example (see below), centered me and led me to more challenging ones.  Here is a list of the ones I still like to watch once in a while and that got me started on the path to deeper asana:

A.M. and P.M. Yoga – Yee/Walden:

When I first started practicing yoga I used to love the amazing focus obtained by doing the morning practice that Yee leads in this dvd, and relax to the short practice that Patricia Walden offers by night.  I was surprised that the night practice includes back bending but judging by the results and the fact that I am still practicing yoga it must have worked.

Relaxation and breathing for meditation

This is my favorite dvd on yoga.  Rodney Yee uses wonderful imagery to open the body and lead it into a state of meditation.  I still play it once in a while when I want to soothe myself.

Ashtanga Yoga: The Primary Series

Richard is in my eyes the most advanced, yet humble, most accurate yet detached yoga teacher that the United States ever had.  A treasure to learn to, he has a wonderful way to his wording and way of teaching the sequence.  He is a poet as well as an ashtangi and provides detailed metaphors that lead to precise alignment.

Yoga for Beginners

Patricia Walden is one of the most respected senior Iyengar teachers in the US, and it shows.  This DVD has been recommended to me, although I admit I have not watched it or practiced to it, I do add her to the list because she is a very effective communicator.

Yoga for flexibility (Beginner’s practice)

This dvd was part of my repertoire when I got started and I was fascinated by the backbending sequence in it. Patricia goes into much detail to get us into the brige pose with right alignment.  It is a bit of a challenge, but very worth the practice.

Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series DVD, Mark Darby

I have written before about Darby’s DVD and it continues to be my first recommendation for those who want to learn the primary series.  I particularly love that Nicole does variations for the most challenging asanas providing a clear relief for beginners.  It also has a French version, which is amazing considering not many dvds are available on the subject in other languages.

Bryan Kest Power Yoga

Bryan Kest has three levels of practice in this dvd and they are more and more challenging as you go along.  They guarantee a good sweat and a fantastic savasana.  I liked that he actually leads a class and you see students of all levels going through his sequences.

What did you start practicing to?