1) Product Description
Region 1 DVD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1) Bought this as a gift   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
for my relative. I work out at home with the Baron Baptiste's Journey Into Power Level Vol.1, Vol.2, Soul of Strength And Core Power.(4 Pack) on a regular basis.

2) Two very nice live yoga practices of varied lengths   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Each of the three videos from Baron Baptiste's Live! series was filmed during a large, live class. Both the shorter Core Power and the longer Soul of Strength are power yoga workout which move along at a fairly brisk pace, but Baron also builds in time for short breaks throughoutThe 23-minute Core Power begins with several sun salutations to warm up; each downward dog is held for several breaths. Following this, Baron skips standing poses and moves directly to the floor to focus on poses which engage the entire core area, particlarly the abdominals. Baron alternates between postures to stretch and lengthen the abs--e.g., bow, camel, bridge--and those that are designed to build strength, including crunches. At times, Baron moves quickly from pose to pose, but he uses postures like boat to provide longer, isometric contractions. The practice ends with a brief svasana, but since the music continues as the credits role, you could easily hold this relaxation pose for a longer period. Soul of Strength is a longer, more advanced practice that comes in at just under an hour. As with Core Power, Baron uses sun salutations to warm the body, but he also includes a series of standing postures, from more basic poses such as warrior 1, warrior 2, and triangle to more challenging ones such as revolved triangle and revolved prayer twist. Although he also includes a few more advanced postures--eg, crow and wheel pose--he pushes his students only to go to their "edge," never further. Furthermore, his alignment pointers are so thorough and detailed that he helped me attain several poses that I had never been able to do previously. In addition to the standing postures, Soul of Strength includes a floor series with abdominal work, and savasana is presented in the same manner as on the shorter Core Power.I really enjoy Baron's teaching style, which I find to be very accessible for all levels (although absolute beginners to yoga will want to learn the poses elsewhere). Baron is quite encouraging and completely non-intimidating as he praises his students for working to the best of their abilities, even if that means modifying the postures and/or using props. These two practices would be excellent for those who are familiar with basic yoga postures and who are ready to take their practice to the next level.