Gaiam Yoga Journal's Yoga for Back Care, Review

I originally purchased Gaiam Yoga Journal's Yoga for Back Care because of my chronic back pain that came about from a fall I had in the past. Typical yoga DVD's were not enough. I was hoping that this DVD would take it a step further and finally rid me of my never ending back issues.

I have become loyal to Gaiam workout videos. I have purchased several different ones in the past and now I purposefully search them out and buy them because I have been so happy with them in the past. The Gaiam Yoga Journal Yoga for Back Care workout also lived up to the expectations I expect from Gaiam.

The instructor for this back care yoga workout video is the internationally acclaimed yoga teacher Rodney Yee.

First I will start off by saying what I don't like about Yoga Journal's Yoga for Back Care workout DVD, as the list is shorter than the positives, plus why end on a negative. The worst part of this workout and my only real gripe is the fact that it requires too many props. Any one who is use to doing yoga is probably use to using one or two or maybe three props during a session a mat, a brick, a strap, etc. This yoga workout requires 2 blankets, 2 chairs, 2 bricks, a strap, a mat and essentially 2 different bolsters. And of course room for all of those.

Don't turn away from wanting this video just yet. I made due with what I had and you can too. For me I used only one brick, one blanket, sort of one chair and just one bolster. From the beginning he ask for you to sit cross legged on a bolster pillow. I have a bolster but I only have the large tube kind not the kind to sit on, so I just used a folded blanket for that part. For the 2 required bricks I just carried one brick over to the other side instead of having another one already there. I only have one chair so I used my one chair and my couch as the second chair. I didn't feel like getting out 2 separate blankets so I just used one for the one pose which required the two. I just switch it to the other side when it called for the other side.

For fear I might be scaring you away I will let you know what is great about Yoga Journal's Yoga for Back Care with Rodney Yee. This workout is essentially 1 hour long. I know that may sound like a negative, but it isn't, really because it is broken into 3 separate parts which you can choose to do all, two or just one. They are separated into Exploration, Strength & Flexibility and Restoration. Each part being about 20 minutes in length.

I think just about anyone can do this workout. A beginner shouldn't have any problem. You might want to watch it through first just to avoid having to turn your head every time to see what he is doing. I do yoga off and on, sometimes daily then sometimes a period or a season not doing it at all and I never have any trouble following this workout. It is gentle and doesn't push you too far off the limits where you will strain yourself, but it does push you enough to open up your body and loosen up and strengthen your back.

I like that in addition to the full Yoga Back Care workout it has a special feature video in which Rodney Yee talks about and shows you proper ways to sit and tips to make it better and most importantly why you need too and equally important that he states it is ok to not always sit the ways he explains. Knowing how to help your back by sitting better and why it is better and knowing that it is ok to not always be perfect sitting all the time is very helpful.

The video is set in Maui, Hawaii, so the scenery is so beautiful and a bit depressing if you live no where near a place like that. You will be in the poses too often anyway to really even notice the scenery, but it is beautiful when not. The music is slow and calming and so is Rodney Yee's voice, which helps you to move into and relax into each pose.

All in all Gaiam Yoga Journal's Yoga for Back Care is a really good Yoga DVD. I find it very helpful with my back pain. If you have occasional or chronic back pain I suggest you give this video a try to help you on your way to less or no pain. Even if you do not suffer from back pain and just enjoy yoga this is a great video to try. If it were not for the abundant dependence of props I would give this video 5 stars.