Featured DVD Review: Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown

February 27, 2010

Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown - Buy from Amazon

Jillian Michaels is best known for her years on The Biggest Loser and the upcoming Losing It with Jillian. She has also put out more than a few exercise DVDs, the latest of which is Yoga Meltdown. I have nearly no knowledge of yoga, so I did what every critic would do in this situation: I gave the DVD to my sister and got a report from her.

Yoga Meltdown has two 30-minute workouts for different difficulty levels. Level One is 35 minutes long and features Jillian Michaels and her two assistants, one of which is doing the positions at a beginner's level, the other at a more advanced level. There is a huge amount of variation between people of varying expertise, so this is an effective technique. There are occasional problems with this setup; however, as a lot of the time you don't have both assistants on the screen at the same time, so it is hard to tell if the two positions are different. Also, as is true with a lot of yoga tapes, it's hard to look at the screen while doing a lot of the yoga positions. So unless you know what a reverse warrior is, watch the program in advance before you try to follow and stretch at the same time. Some positions are more reps than holds, which would be more like traditional yoga. However, I think reps are actually more beneficial than holds. I remember reading that while holding a yoga position helps, there are diminishing returns. It is better to change positions after 10 to 20 seconds.

On a side note, I don't buy the "Lose up to 5 pounds a week!" claim on the front of the DVD case. I don't think that is even safe, unless you are overweight to such a degree that 5 pounds is almost inconsequential. Then again, if you are that overweight, this program will probably be way too hard to do.

The Verdict

My exercise regime consists of walking about ten miles a week while watching cooking shows (I know, it seems like a contradiction). Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown won't change that, for a couple of reasons. Namely, yoga's not my thing. I have the flexibility of a lump of granite. This DVD is a little too advanced for a beginner and I'm below beginner here.


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