Our yogathon is winding down, but there are a few important things yet to cover, such as ... can Let's Yoga compete with a yoga DVD? Exercise DVDs are a huge market -- could a game possibly one-up that industry? We went through a step-by-step comparison of the features of Konami's trainer and a beginner yoga DVD available at a big box retailer.
Yoga for Beginners with Patricia Walden comes with a thick booklet detailing all the included poses, as well as guidelines for creating your own workout. In order to use the DVD with them, you'll have to do a lot of fast-forwarding and rewinding; for all intents and purposes, the DVD only includes one lesson. You've already seen what Let's Yoga can do, if you've been following our yogathon, but we've got a chart comparing some of the features of the two after the break.
Yoga for Beginners with Patricia Walden comes with a thick booklet detailing all the included poses, as well as guidelines for creating your own workout. In order to use the DVD with them, you'll have to do a lot of fast-forwarding and rewinding; for all intents and purposes, the DVD only includes one lesson. You've already seen what Let's Yoga can do, if you've been following our yogathon, but we've got a chart comparing some of the features of the two after the break.
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| Let's Yoga (DS) |
Yoga for Beginners (DVD) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99 | $14.98 | |||||
| Length | Variable | 1 hour, 40 minutes |
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| Poses |
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| Tips for easy poses |
Yes |
Yes |
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| Pictures of poses |
Yes | Yes | |||||
| Rotatable views of poses |
Yes | No | |||||
| Props needed |
No | Yes | |||||
| Number of poses |
75+ | 16 |
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| Instructions |
|||||||
| Audio instructions |
Yes |
Yes |
|||||
| Instructions clear and easy to understand |
Yes |
Yes |
|||||
| Written guidelines |
No | Yes | |||||
| Instructions on proper alignment |
Yes |
Yes |
|||||
| Simple safety guidelines |
Yes |
Yes |
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| Lessons |
|||||||
| Multple lessons |
Yes |
No |
|||||
| Beginner friendly |
Yes |
Yes |
|||||
| Length of first lesson |
8 minutes |
More than an hour |
|||||
| Discomfort after first lesson |
No |
Yes |
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| Usability |
|||||||
| Easily accessible video/animated clips |
Yes | No | |||||
| Rewind/Fast forward during lessons |
No | Yes | |||||
| Portable |
Yes |
W/ portable DVD player |
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| DIY workout function |
Yes | Written tips only |
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| Extras |
|||||||
| Multiple models/teachers |
Yes |
No | |||||
| Totally irritating teacher |
No | OH GOD YES |
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The DS has a lot more to offer besides just traditional games, and we love to test the efficacy of training titles! Keep up with our yogathon as it happens, or for more features like this, check out our week with My French Coach.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-12-2008 @ 12:20PM
jgoreham said...
Regarding your props/no props criteria, I personally believe that props are largely unnecessary in yoga and I find it distracting to try to use them in my practice (though I can appreciate that if you've got short hamstrings, then maybe a strap could be helpful- but there's no need to spend what a lot of yoga retailers are charging for that kind of stuff!). I think it's a scam to weasel money out of people. All you really need for Yoga is your body, and maybe a mat considering the environment you're practicing in (there's cement under my carpet, but I don't necessarily use my mat when I go home where the floor isn't as offensive to my sensibilities).
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 12:30PM
Alisha Karabinus said...
I like my mat, but I didn't like that the video expected me to use blocks or a chair. I don't really have room to drag a chair into my workout space and there wasn't anything on the box warning me that props would be necessary, either. I think it would be really disappointing to someone who just picked it up without any prior knowledge of yoga.
5-12-2008 @ 12:37PM
jgoreham said...
Oooh I agree about chairs! I hate it when Rodney Yee wants me to pull a chair up. Flippin' heck, I'm sure people have been doing Yoga for centuries without using foam blocks or furniture!
I like my mat too, I'm hoping to get something eco-friendlier when I invest in my next one, though. Maybe I could rug braid myself one?
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 1:41PM
Alisha Karabinus said...
I would just like something the cats don't think is a toy!
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 3:09PM
radjago said...
That girl's abs have to be photoshopped. They're so grotesque!
Reply
5-13-2008 @ 12:23AM
moominsean said...
i'm finished lesson two of "let's yoga". i must be getting old, cuz simple stuff like sitting on my knees (and even the basic sitting position sometimes) hurts like hell. i think it was egg or the one right before, where you sit crosslegged and bend forward and touch your elbows to the floor and then cover your eyes... i couldn't get closer than like 3 inches from the floor. and that hurt. i'm going to keep trying though.
one thing about it is it's kind of hard to follow along sometimes, doing the positions when you can't always see the ds. i found myslef breaking form multiple times just to see the screen to be sure i was doing it right.
Reply
5-13-2008 @ 12:11PM
Alisha Karabinus said...
I found it really useful to go through a lesson once, and then check out the poses in the pose list before doing it again.
I think everyone has trouble with different stuff... my knees really hurt with the knee-bending stuff, but sitting on the floor or bending forward in a sitting stretch (or balance) is way easy. I have much more trouble with the non-balancing standing poses. I just know I'm going to fall over one of these days!