Reviews (44)

Aerobic and spiritual workout
I have tried about 5 different yoga workout tapes, and these are by far the very best. The biggest benefit of Kest's is that he gives you time to stay in the poses, and paces it like a master. Rodney Yee's tapes are so stupid by comparison; he races through the poses like a science nerd who has no patience for dopey beginners. Kest, on the other hand, is very patient and persistent. His comments are encouraging and reassuring. He is a real human. While I agree with most of the other reviewers who say that it is not for beginners, it is not necessary to be Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, either. I had worked with Susan Deason's tapes, which were great preparatory workouts for this, for about 3 months. After that I felt I needed something more powerful and fat-burning (hate that word). You can stop worrying about weight loss and all that bunk that the consumerist gurus obsess about. Kest's approach has a spiritual side that makes you stay involved in the workout from a personal growth point of view; this guy has a wonderful system. My body is going through miraculous changes already, after 3 weeks; my waist is thinner, my torso is lengthening, my breathing and sense of well-being have improved by about 100%. Bravo, Bryan Kest!

The Best yoga workout EVER!
I'm serious, folks - I've tried lots of different yoga tapes and Bryan Kest's series is by far the best of them all. I do think you'd need to have at least some working knowledge of yoga poses (ie: you've taken at least one or two yoga classes in the past or done a Rodney Yee tape or two) to begin with tape 1. But even if you don't, Bryan is a wonderful instructor who puts anyone at ease with his calm reassurances that you can do this at your own pace and take breaks when you need to. As he says repeatedly throughout the series - this is your workout, you do what you need to do.

Tape 2 is my favorite and I've already had to replace it once because it got warped from how much I used it. It's a full 50 minutes of make-you-sweat yoga with challenging poses and variations. At no point do you feel like the workout is too easy. Bryan keeps it flowing throughout from one pose to the next. There are a lot of sun salutations, though, so be forewarned.

I still have to try Tape 3. I love tape 2 so much though that I feel comfortable sticking with it. I highly recommend this series to anyone looking to be challenged and taken out of an easy comfort zone with yoga. Kest is truly a master and makes anyone feel like they can do this too.

My favorite power yoga!
This set was the first set of yoga tapes I purchased several years ago, and it is still a favorite, joined by the Power of Hatha Yoga Ultimate Series with Naader Shagagi. I've been doing yoga for some time now and am still even challenged by the first one, so I can interchange all three. The greatest part is that this doesn't feel like the "fad"-type power yoga -- Kest's soothing voice and reminder to only go as far as you can while remaining equanimous keeps the tone down but makes this a powerful, yet smooth-paced workout. Great for both beginners and those more advanced at yoga!

Erotic power yoga 90s style
The good point about this tape is the price,that you have 3 practices,and that this is REAL Power Yoga..This stuff hurts..I can almost guarantee if you do these tapes daily you will see results...yesterday the UPS man told me I had nice arms,and I am positive I am now leaner as opposed to that bulky weight lifting nautilus look I had.Ok,Level 1 is for Total Newbies,Level 2 is the HARDEST,and Level 3 although hard is NOT as hard as level 3...My butt is sore everytime I do the tapes....I myself as a former fashion student love the lighting and music,but here is the thing I find made it hard for me to concentrate in the beginning...Bryan Kest is a long haired stud muffin and we see 90s video type shots of his lovely face,him in a leather jacket,and him doing handstands half naked in black tights..Wonderful,but nothing to do with the instruction practice...Also,Mr.Kest is perpetually shirtless during the class,showing off a beautiful body (obviously from yoga) wearing strategically sexy yoga attire, and adjusting a cast of women with 6 pack stomachs and gym god men..I do not think I am being immature for noticing this (I am 39)..but it does give the tape am erotic vibe..Now I have gotten past it,because this is a must have for a collection,at a decent price...I would recommend this tape along with Roddney Yees Power Yoga (make sure you get the 75 minute tape) and also watching Steve Ross on Inhale on The Oxygen channel at 6 am,and in 6 months you WILL see a new body as long as youre also watching your diet and adding cardio .

THE BEST!
I used to go to the gym, but after trying Bryan Kest's yoga tapes, the gym just seemed so monotonous. This is one of the best workouts I have ever done. Sweat like crazy, and after only a few times of doing it, I feel more energetic than ever. My muscles are definetely toner too.
Immature people who comment about Bryan's physical appearance or the way he touches his students are so lame! Shouldn't you be focusing on practicing your poses rather than looking at what Bryan's wearing? ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent Beginner Series
Bryan Kest is a gifted teacher and inspiring man. This series is perfect for the beginning Yogi. Kest provides plenty of explanation at the start of both the Step-by-Step and 20-Minute Beginner series. You enter each workout with an understanding of the movements and in the right frame of mind. Once I had listened to the intro a few times, I just jumped straight into the workout on my DVD player.

I found the Beginner workout challenging and was thankful for Kest's voice guiding me throughout. As I was new to yoga when I bought the DVD, the series helped my body become familiar with basic Vinyasa flow movements. I found the flexibility and strength starting to improve in my arms and legs just after doing the workout a few times.

I highly recommend this tape for the beginner Yogi! It's gotten me hooked on yoga and I've already started doing some of Bryan Kest's other series! I've also noticed how yoga is affecting other parts of my life. I find myself feeling more calm and relaxed after each workout than I have felt in a long time!

If you have done any Yoga at all, don't bother.
Bryan is inspiring and he has a lot of good things to say. I just wish he would say it in the first session and then let me practice yoga in the rest of the sessions(four included on this DVD).

I've done Yoga on and off for years and recently got into power yoga. This is waaaaaaaaaaaay to slow and by the time you feel any heat, you are done. If you are a beginer it would be pefect for about 2-3 weeks and then you'll need to move on to something more. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Finally, Bryan Kest on DVD for some true Power Yoga
I am so happy to finally have a Bryan Kest routine on DVD, and a good one at that! He hasn't lost his touch for creating a routine where I can get my dose of authentic yoga alongside a physical workout. I really like his knowledge about both of these important things in my life: getting my head on straight, and working non-competitively on all the physical benefits of yoga like strength, toned muscles, stamina, etc. Thanks to Bryan for all his expert guidance!

Good Challenge for Beginners
This DVD is a good investment for a home collection. All of the poses are attainable, nothing too fancy, but the workout is great. It is an especially strong leg workout. I have been doing this DVD for a year now, and have not tired of it. It was my first DVD and has proved a good foundation to get into other types of yoga. I highly recommend it!

Totally disappointing
I have been practicing power yoga for two years and I found Brian Kert's dvd totally disappointing. Power yoga isn't a simple physical exercise- and this is the way Brian sees it, or at least this is what his video presents. It's not all about building muscles in every single part of our body; if this is what yoga is then why don't we all work out at our local gym instead. Yoga is all about physical and above all spiritual equininity. In order to get in touch with our inner part and feelings yoga should be practiced in a relaxing place with an instructor who can make his students relax and LET GO, not tense throughout the practice! Brian Kert isn't a professional yogee, he is instead a common trainer for body building and working out with the only difference that he uses some yoga poses instead!!!! So sorry Brian, but if you can't teach yoga stick to the things YOU are good at!

TRULY INTENSIVE, TRULY CHALLENGING!
Well I just did this Intensive Body Sculpting program for the first time and it was really tough! Tough in a good way but tough!

After almost 8 years of daily yoga practice, years of classes and with a collection over 70 yoga videos that I rotate day by day, it still amazes me how my body,mind and spirit, are continuously challenged in new ways.

Depending on the sequencing, rate of flow and length of time the asanas are held in a given practice it can feel like the first time one has practiced yoga..

This particular program is a power yoga flow that will challenge you especially in your lower body, particular the legs and hips. Don't worry though, you're whole body will be challenged, but those legs and hips should be REALLY burning. If not, I salute you and want to know what you're eating, supplements your taking and congratulate you on superman/superwoman genetics :).

Of course, to be truly doing yoga and not just exercise, there is much more than the physical practice involved, the mindset is crucially important. Bryan really goes into all this in his introduction. I personally like his introduction and feel it's helpful to listen through it before each practice to prepare you mentally for what is to come (that's just a personal viewpoint of course). All that being said, there is no doubt that if you do this program you'll be doing a VERY physical practice.

Anyway....., This program which is about 50 or so minutes (once the intro is over)is pure Kest. I have his older videos "Energize, Tone and Sweat" and this is definitely up there with those in terms of challenge. Those are EXCELLENT videos by the way and highly recommended.

The primary difference is that on this program you do a really long series on one side (primarily standing poses though not exclusively) before moving on to the next. I have to admit that I had to take breaks and go into child's pose on more than one occasion because I was getting so fatigued on each side before the sequence was over.

I will definitely try to do this program on a regular basis because it definitely brought to light many areas that could stand to be strengthened. Not only that but it is one heck of a practice to use to develop one's in the face of a physical challenge.

If you are looking for a full body workout which will push you to the max I highly recommend this. I don't think I would recommend this as a first video for a brand new beginner because I think that it's too intense, but if you buy Bryan Kests "Original Power Yoga Set" you should in time be able to work up to this one by using the other programs first.

Other good preparatory programs I would recommend are:

Rodney Yee's Power Yoga For Beginner Series (Flexibility, Stamina and Strength-3 tape set) which are challenging but not as long or as tough (though the Strength tape is actually very tough compared to the other two). These are also only about 25 or so minutes long so very easy to fit into one's schedule.

Baron Baptistes "Hot Yoga" three tape set are quite challenging along with his "Soul Of Strength Live", "Core Strength" and "Unlocking Athletic Power". "Power and Precision" is also an excellent program. The "Core" and "Athletic" programs are pretty short, around 25 or so minutes while the others are longer (45-60 minutes).

Sherri Baptiste Freeman n (Baron's sister) has a very different style of yoga that is still quite challenging with her program "Baptiste Power Of Yoga" which I highly recommend.

Rainbeau Mars "Sacred Yoga" set is a 4 tape set that really covers all bases, from a wonderful beginner tape thru to very challenging (but not as hard as the Kest Stuff). These are also reasonably short, around 30-35 minutes or so.

Total Yoga's Flow Series are another set that builds incrementally from it's "Earth" program (the easiest) to "Water" (more intermediate) to Fire (incredibly tough,).

Of course Bryan's earlier set that I mentioned is also fantastic, but even the first one is pretty tough (Energize) so you may want to check out one of the others to work up to it.

Namaste

Awesome Workout!
This routine is awesome! In under an hour, it worked my upper body, quads, and abs. It is a yoga routine and exercise video at its finest. You don't have to be an expert yogi to do the moves but the moves are challenging enough and the workout smooth enough for people at all levels to get something out of it.

Bryan Kest does talk for about 5 minutes in the beginning before he begins the routine but his words help you transition from whatever you were doing before into a mindset for yoga. Whether you're standing, like in the video, or in child's pose at the beginning of your yoga session, it is always important to calm and clear your mind before starting your practice. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Seems easy, but isn't!
While this video is a little more instructional than I like, and it seemed a little too easy to do, I woke up the next day and it hurt to walk! 2 days later I was almost back to normal. This is a powerful workout, and I highly recommend it for intermediate/advanced users. I heart Bryan Kest! ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Power Yoga at its Best
I've been doing yoga for several years now, both classes and tapes. I've tried several tapes/dvds and I believe Bryan Kest's are truly the best. I've purchased five so far. The practice is very challenging, my strength and endurance have increased tremendously. The videos average from 40 minutes to just under an hour, long enough to get an excellent workout but not too long to fit it in a busy day. Some of his commentary gets a little old after a while but its a workout tape, not a movie & I can live with that. Turn down the volume & listen to Enya if it bothers you. Bottom line, I'd recommend any of his videos/dvds to any beginner/intermediate level practitioner, they're well worth the price.

not bad
I liked this program for the most part. My wife and I tried it and it was pretty good, but I gotta say, that once we were used to Mark Blanchard's Progressive Power Yoga, this was just average in comparison. I think Bryan has a decent style and invigorating practice...good for a sweat, but for the core workout and the mental space that I am used to going to, I did not find this to be the best ticket to the experience. He kept taking my attention away from the workout and that felt annoying. My wife did not have that experience, but she can even tune me out when she wants to...and she has been doing yoga much longer than I have.

Breathing Hard!
Definitely an aerobic workout but with a yogic touch. Bryan Kest's routine made me work my body hard but also helped remind me to keep breathing. I love the messages he presents in his DVDs. They remind me to stay calm even when I'm breathing hard or when life throws me a curve ball.

This is a great routine and a nice addition to anyone's yoga collection. When you're ready to sweat, throw this one into your DVD player.

I highly recommend this DVD.
This was a really great workout. I have got used to Bryan's rambeling, its what makes Bryan Kest him. I have also lost alot of weight and gotten tone in alot of places that I didn't thing could ever get tone. My armes belly everyplace. I also feel wonderful about myself and my environment. I thank Bryan for his DVD's and Audio's and look forward to hearing new things from him.

Disappointed with Bryan Kest
Let me start with the negatives: this DVD stinks.

Bryan is one of the worst teachers/instructors I've ever come across. Every other word was "um" or "and uh". He seemed as if he had no clue as to what the class was going to do next.

Kest also rarely used the correct terms for the various asanas. He also failed to discuss with viewers the correct forms for various poses. He just said things like, "Do this and really bend" or "If you can't do the move, just stop and take it easy." In comparison to the Gaim produced Rodney Lee DVD I have, Kest seemed very amateurish.

The DVD content is another point of contention for me. For 23 bucks I expected at least a 2-3 hour DVD. I was wrong. There is only one class at a length of 40 minutes.

I will say the one class on the DVD is very difficult and will probably yield weight loss results if one doesn't get bored first.

I'd recommend viewers pass on this DVD and look into purchasing another one, maybe a Rodney Yee lead yoga practice. ... Read more