Yoga Boost: Beginner's Yoga System For Men And Women Who Don't Normally Do Yoga, With Modifications For The Inflexible. Build Muscle, Lose Weight, Soothe Sore Muscles, and Relieve Stress.

I stumbled across BBY on Amazon, and so very thankful that I did. I’m not a man, but Dean’s “man yoga” is exactly what I’ve been looking for all along – yoga for fitness without the all of the “yoga” hoopla. I am really enjoying his style. He is very likable and easy to listen to (and look at for that matter … a bonus for the ladies ;). For me, there is nothing annoying to get in my way, which is why I’d abandoned yoga so many times before. Dean provides the perfect amount of clear instruction, explanation on technique, why you’re doing it, what you should (and shouldn’t) feel, injury prevention, modifications (for both easier AND more of a challenge), etc. These are great work outs for building strength, balance and flexibility. He’s even cool enough that my teens (daughter and son) want to do it with me. I’m only three+ weeks in, and can already tell a huge difference in my strength, see daily progress / growth in my ability and balance. My son is very athletic, and I love that this appeals to him too.About me: I’m 51, 5’3”, right at 120 lbs, and although I’m not much overweight, I am out of shape right now (strength and muscle tone). I’ve spent the last 18 years having babies and raising kids, without consistent exercise. I positively don’t have time to go somewhere every day, and although I do like group exercise, a group of women is not my thing. I quit running, and exercise in general, about 4 years ago after a fall down the back stairs caused torn ligaments in my knee and ankle, along with multiple broken bones in my foot. I have mild arthritis (hands, knees, and left hip), and know that osteoporosis is a concern for me. I have always been, and still am very limber, but have never been able to do a push-up and balancing poses are a challenge! For a number of reasons, I’m done with running and high impact, but need and enjoy fast walking, strength conditioning, weights, flexibility, balance training etc. My first goal is to be able to do push-ups.Anyway, I’ve found the right “guy”, I can fit this in everyday before my shower, and I’m really enjoying the workouts. I started with Boost, and very quickly purchased Yoga Strong (more challenging for me than Yoga Boost) and Yoga Edge. I will likely add the variety of workouts available through the Man Flow Yoga online membership once I progress further. I have always struggled with upper body strength and have never been able to do real push ups, but can see that I am really making significant progress with my upper body strength and with the balance poses in only a short time. I was looking around on the BBY / MFY website when I found a recent post with information and videos on how to diagnose your balance issues, and specific exercises to do to help. Dean has a lot of great resources out there and puts a lot of thought into addressing issues you might be having (both in the video workouts and online). He makes you feel very comfortable and normal if it’s hard or you can’t quite get it, and offers up encouragement and suggestions. I really like that he provides constant reminders and instruction what muscles to engage and how to increase the intensity of the pose. I’m so impressed and pleased with his method and the workouts. The production of the video may not be exactly perfect, but it’s good, and Dean is awesome, so I’m thrilled and would recommend him (and this video) without hesitation. Just try it, and stick with it. You will see results!ps: I have three senior women in my life in their 70's-early 80's. None of them could do this. The workouts on this DVD are not that kind of beginner workout. A certain amount of overall fitness, balance (stability), and mobility are required. The purchase of this video does give you access to YogaStart (online video free of additional charge), which is yoga using a chair (for absolute beginners). This same video workout is available for purchase on Amazon digitally (for streaming or download), but does not seem to be available for purchase in DVD format. Even so, with using a chair, some of it still is not doable for the seniors in my life. I'm too concerned with their balance and fear of them falling. I wish that Dean would do a DVD just for less fit older seniors with very limited mobility using a chair ... whatever that may look like (not much I'm sure, but better than nothing for some of them). My senior women wouldn't stream anything from a computer or TV, even with me setting it up and showing them how. Guess it is what it is.

I absolutely love this DVD, seriously I can't even rave enough about it. I've had it for a little over a week and by day 3 I noticed a big difference with my body, I wasn't as stressed or achey, my tension headaches were nearly gone and I slept better than I have in YEARS, considering I suffer from insomnia, this was an unexpected treat. He's very easy to follow, has a soothing, patient tone and really explains each step and how it helps your body while also showing different modifications for any injuries or discomfort you may have. I have a fairly small at-home gym DVD collection ranging from P90x to Zumba to Julienne Micheals and this is probably my absolute favorite. I've tried yoga before and always felt disappointed having spent more time pausing the videos than actually participating because they were too fast paced and didn't explain wth was happening which makes this DVD so awesome, there isnt any of that, in fact, I look forward to it and have started using it 2x a day! There isn't any background music which I think is great, some might not but it isnt hard to pop some on at home if that's your thing. I find it feels more intimate, or personal, like you would with an actual face to face trainer, I can hear what he's saying and learn and grow without all that distraction that's in EVERY excersise DVD I've come across. There's 4 different segments, the very first is an in depth session on all the moves but is still a workout, just the launching pad for the rest of the DVD so you don't have to struggle to figure it out even though he stays very in depth through all segments, the 2nd and 3rd are more workout, I've sweat and felt my muscles shake from the challenge but not in that I'm-going-to-throw-up-a-lung type way which I'm so over, mentally and physically, I just don't want to feel that super intense strain on my body anymore. The 4th is a de-stress segment, for after another workout or whenever you need to just relax and stretch your muscles after a crappy day,I wouldnt say it's a "work out" but I totally recommend, I use it daily. All the aches and pains I grew used to and ignored are essentially gone, I don't feel like I'm a 100 yrs old anymore, I feel happier and healthier, less broken and weighed down. It's been fanstastic! Oh, also a little quick background on me if that'll help you decide if this is for you - I'm a 29yo work-at-home mom/step mom, my husband and I have 8 kids ranging from 19 to 7, I've always loved working out but the past couple years I've really let myself go by being too busy or too tired and I gained 80 lbs during that time, ish! I've since lost some of that weight but still felt bored and restless by my other workout DVDs and this is exactly what I needed to keep me going and really I guess, aside from saying hey, try it, it's awesome, I also wanted to say thanks.

I really like Dean's voice and personable manner, plus being good-looking didn't hurt.The intro module "Sharpen" was quite helpful on its detailed explanations to fine-tune each of the standard poses. However, I felt the Strength one with the balance poses at one point to be beyond beginner level; he even mentioned a certain balance pose might not be entirely suitable for beginners (so was he just showing off)? Not sure I will go on to the Sweat module since, as a senior, I prefer a slower pace and that one mentions it is faster.