Yoga Fusion Strength & Sculpt

[Guest guest]

I have had this VHS tape sitting on my shelf for years and finally did it for the first time today. Kim Haegle leads a group of 3 backgrounders, including one doing beginner modifications through a workout that is mostly yoga but includes pilates, dumbbell work and dance (mostly in the way they move their arms and legs, there are no dance moves). It was okay but not great. Kim is pleasant and her instructions are mostly clear but their isn't much of a flow. You use a ball for some of the core workout but she never says if it is just a small playground ball or if it is weighted. I tried using a 2 lb. weighted ball because it looked like it was almost the same size but it got too heavy at times. My 4 or 6 lb balls would have been closer to the right size but too heavy. I didn't have a small enough playground ball to use. One backgrounder does not use a ball at all so I eventually just followed her and it was fine. I think they were probably not using weighted balls. The dumbbell work is very short, seated upper body with a yoga flair to it and was okay, my shoulders felt it. Most of the sequences, focusing on various areas of the body I think, were very short so there isn't a chance to get bored but there isn't a chance to get really comforable with anything either and it is hard to figure out what you're focusing on if you are focusing on anything in particular and what will come next. It seems to be more of a strength workout that uses yoga as its vehicle for doing that but the yoga, for me, suffers because of it. The body weight strength moves (plank, warrior 1 & 2, down dog, sun salutations 1 and 2, including chaturanga to up dog to down dog, etc.) are always good no matter what kind of workout they're in though. I guess I just prefer my yoga to have more of a flow to it and maybe my strength to be more focused on strength and not yogaish if that makes sense. The work was challenging but not super hard though I was not feeling much core strength today so I modified some of the pilates type moves that I usually do fine with. There's music but it is very hard to hear so not very noticeable. I think better music might have helped me enjoy it more. I'm getting rid of this one and Yoga Fusion Power, which I did once a few years ago but didn't love then and I'm sure I won't now that I've done this one. It wasn't bad at all, it just wasn't something I need on my shelves (and I'm into a big decluttering mode these days so it is easier not to hold onto it right now). If I'm doing strength then I want it to be overall more challenging and if I'm doing yoga I prefer it to flow more so this fusion just didn't fuse for me.