When I heard Jillian Michaels was coming out with Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown I was pretty excited. While I'd been hoping for more of a sequel to the 30 Day Shred, I was curious to see what Jillian would do with yoga.
The first thing I noticed was that there weren't 10 minutes of ads for other DVDs. Hallelujah! I started with Level 1 (30 minutes), and after introducing her backup dancers Jillian began the warmup.
From the first move it's obvious that this isn't standard yoga, and that Jillian isn't a yoga instructor. In fact, anyone who's really into yoga may cringe when they first see this workout. She pushes through the moves quickly, turning what are normally slow moves into fast ones. Although she uses standard yoga terms, there's no touchy-feely atmosphere. Honestly, it took me by surprise and for part of the warmup I felt off balance - both physically and mentally.
But once I got into the groove and began to understand where she was going, I really liked it. In a way it's sort of misleading calling this "yoga" because it's so different from most yoga DVDs. She started with yoga moves but made them her own, in the process turning it into something a lot more interesting than most yoga I've done.
Jillian did a good job picking moves that yoga-newbies can do. There's nothing in Level 1 that I couldn't do some form of - except for the pushups, which are insanely difficult if you do them properly, even modified - and everything can be made as easy or as difficult as you need. She did a better job than many of the DVDs I've used when explaining the moves, and usually gave verbal cues when transitioning between moves. That's especially helpful when you're doing down dog and can't see the TV.
My big disappointment was in the lack of cardio (I haven't tried Level 2 yet, but it's only 20 minutes long). I suppose that's going to happen with any type of yoga, but still I was hoping for Jillian to incorporate at least a little bit. Overall the workout was nowhere near as intense as any of her previous dvds and, despite the DVD's claim that you could "lose up to 5 pounds a week," I think some supplemental cardio will be required. But for me it's a welcome addition to my workout library.
Overall verdict: I ended up enjoying this DVD - it's like yoga for people who don't do yoga. The routine in Level 1 is a good blend of strength and stretching, but essentially no cardio. The moves are well suited for beginners, but Jillian shows how they can be made more challenging. This will be an excellent addition to my cross training days while I'm running, however if you're familiar with yoga and already have yoga DVDs you enjoy (or if you're a yoga purist), you may not enjoy Jillian's style.
[Although the amazon link above is an affiliate link, meaning if you purchase something through it we get a little money, this was not a sponsored post. I bought the DVD with my wife's own hard earned money].
-Bill
Edited to add: The Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown dvd is on sale at our affiliate Amazon.com for 40% off!
