Karen Voight: Yoga & Sculpting (2002)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Starring: Karen Voight
Distributed by Entertaining Fitness, Inc.

Rating: NR

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Buy it.

Note: As with any exercise disc or program, please check with your health care provider before starting this or any other exercise regime. Even the slow and gentle nature of yoga could aggravate certain physical conditions and fitness levels.

This disc contains a full 45-minute “yogasculpt” workout that combines yoga and body sculpting exercises in a way pioneered by Voight. It consists of a 25-minute yoga segment meant to enhance flexibility and body conditioning, as well as a 20-minute Pilates floor work section. The other full-length workout is a Pilates-based core essentials program. It consists of sections devoted to legs, arms and back, legs and buttocks, and abdominals. Both of these full-length workouts can be broken up and watched in part, allowing viewers more flexibility in designing their own workout regimen. There is also a section on the disc of workout descriptions explaining what they are and how they work together and a description of the necessary equipment and where to get it.

The quality of Voight’s instruction leaves nothing aside. Viewers new to yoga and Pilates conditioning will never feel lost or unhappy, yet viewers experienced in yoga and Pilates will learn something new and find new ways to combine old favorites. Voight has a very energetic and motivational style that makes even exercise sound like fun and something anyone can do, regardless of fitness levels or eventual fitness goals.

To properly accomplish the routines on this disc, viewers will need a yoga sticky mat, a yoga block with three levels of fitness, Voight’s “green genies” or other squeezable weights, and a set of dumbbells, about 3-5 pounds each. These and other yoga/exercise tools are available at most fitness or sports centers, as well as online on Voight’s own site. She provides a link on the disc.

The audio and video quality are both good on this disc. Exercise discs seem to have a tendency to have muted and muddied sound, but not so with this title. Voight’s voice is always clear and strong, and her detailed cuing is not overcome by unnecessary music or sound problems. The video is similarly good, but given the plain nature of the set, that may or may not have been a particularly difficult or rewarding task.

What could seem like a mere advertisement for Voight’s exercise and yoga equipment is saved by the very high quality of her instruction and the solid basis of what she is saying. Those of us with back trouble will revel in the abs and back sections which are intended to strengthen these muscles and create more support for these easily fatigued and injured muscle groups. A stronger back equals less pain, and that’s a good enough think of itself.