PRENATAL YOGA

This is my first pregnancy and I spent the first four months super ill and tired. I was a little bit into home DVD yoga before (still a novice for sure) and when I was finally ready to move a bit (around week 23) but still didn't have a ton of energy this was the PERFECT DVD to help get back into a fitness routine. This routine gives you plenty of energy and only takes 45 minutes, the DVD also has the ability to break out the workout into smaller portions if you only have a moment, or only want to meditate. The poses and flows are perfect for beginners, but would also work great for those who have been in to yoga for a while and just need to move a bit while pregnant.I highly recommend this.My only criticism, if you can even call it that, is the music in the background - it can be a bit much at times, so I've started just turning the volume down. Totally NOT a deal breaker. The routine says it requiresd a blanket and yoga blocks, but I just skip the one move that requires the blocks - you won't miss anything.

I rented this video to see how I liked it before committing to buy it and I liked it very much. I'm at about 22 weeks, in my second trimester. I've not been doing any kind of exercise and was pleased to find I had no trouble doing the full hour of yoga, and had only a little bit of soreness from a couple of the poses. I would classify myself as a seasoned beginner at yoga; most of the poses were very familiar to me so I had no trouble following along.As Desi moves through the poses she doesn't talk. Instead, she opted to record the entire video without talking and then go back and record the audio as a voice over. So as I was working through the DVD she simply focused on her breathing and wore a beatific smile which I found contributed to my own serenity instead of distracting me from my own movements.I plan to rent a couple more videos and will possibly purchase more than one, and this is definitely one that I would purchase.

I purchased this is 2014 when I was pregnant with my first. I'm now pregnant with my third, still using this DVD. I love the gentle stretch that I get in my back. I also love to have the strengthening it provides thighs. Recommend it when I know I have a friend open to yoga. Very easily used for all yoga levels. One thing I've learned through yoga practice is that twists can be very dangerous when pregnant. There is one seated back stretch that is considered a twist. I would say don't overdo this if you're a beginner or not feeling it, but it feels amazing on back muscles.

In a word: Disappointing. I did the 7-day rental on this to try it out, and I'm really glad I didn't purchase it. Overall, I felt like it was only half a yoga practice, although I can't explain why it feels that way. But a few specific things I didn't like: It didn't seem like a true pre-natal yoga video. She mentions "your baby" at the beginning and end, and that's it. Everything else in between seems like a regular, albeit basic, yoga practice. There are almost no instructions for modifying the poses based on how far along you are, except for a brief reference to using a chair for support. And I agree with another reviewer who said the way Desi was using the chair seemed dangerous. There were also several poses, such as "tree" and "table," which seemed questionable to me for women who are farther along (and/or have a large baby bump to work with). I have trouble with "tree" pose when I'm not pregnant! After 45 mins or so, she ends the practice, the video cuts away briefly, and she comes back to do some additional poses with a chair. I think the first 5 minutes are her showing you how to use the chair to modify some of the earlier poses, and then there's another 5 mins of new stretches. But at that point 1) who wants to have to watch the end of the video in order to do the main workout and 2) I was done with the workout. I didn't want to have to fast forward to find the section with the stretches I missed. I'm going to keep looking for a video that seems more complete and more in line with the changing needs of a pregnancy.

Her workout was very choppy & hard to follow. Her positions did not flow from one to another & she did not explain how to complete the movement accurately or what part of the body it was helping. I had previously bought prenatal yoga with Shiva Rea & LOVE that DVD! She explains how each moves helps gear your body toward labor & delivery & also how it strengthens your body. Buy it instead of this one!!

I love yoga, but I couldn't even finish this workout. The music was distracting, the voiceover never stopped and I wasn't a big fan of the chosen poses. I will need to keep searching for a prenatal yoga DVD that I like.

I don't personally own this DVD on Prenatal Yoga with Desi Bartlett, but I have borrowed again and again from the library.I've borrowed others too, but haven't liked them at all or nearly as much. Mostly because I felt like the instructors were to chatty or the flow between movements felt forced, and not fluid.This video is challenging, balanced, and just the right length to give you a good work out.I'm in my first trimester right now, so some of it seems easy to me, but I am sure that in the later months this will provide the right amount of physical challenge to keep me strong and flexible.If there is a prenatal yoga DVD I would invest in, then this would surely be it!