Jillian Michaels Yoga Inferno

Yoga Inferno is an exercise routine from Jillian Michaels that incorporates hand weights and short bursts of cardio along with some yoga moves. Jillian is a well-known fitness expert who motivates millions of people with her books, DVDs, and television appearances. Her teaching style is more focused on whipping you into shape rather than practicing true yoga.

Get Ready for Intensity!

In a word, this workout is intense. This DVD is best for advanced yogis looking for an intense routine, or fitness buffs who want a fast-paced, yoga-inspired workout. While cardio exercise and yoga are not a natural fit, Jillian creates innovative moves to combine the two. As Amazon reviewer Georgie says, “it’s more of a modified aerobics workout pretending to be a Vinyasa session.” Yoga Inferno currently has a 4.5 star collective rating on Amazon. Many people enjoy it precisely because it is a challenging workout, saying things like:

“Both of the workouts in Yoga Inferno elevate heart rate and leave you feeling like you really got a great workout.” 

“It’s by far the toughest yoga-based workout I own.” 

Others say that Jillian’s style is too aggressive for yoga. She pushes people to work hard with motivational banter, which continues all the way through Shavasana–the traditional ending pose for quiet relaxation. But she does have a high-energy presence that some simply adore. If you’re new to Jillian’s work, you might check her out on Youtube first to see if her personality will be a good fit for you.

A Challenging Routine

For others, the program is too difficult, even for those with exercise experience. As Erika explains:

“I am not new to fitness nor am I new to yoga, but I could not follow along or keep up…Going into it, I didn’t expect traditional yoga, but I believe she needs to slow down a bit to allow people to get into the poses.”

Both workouts incorporate fast-paced Sun Salutations, so it would help to be familiar with this sequence in order to keep up. While some moves do provide a little stretching, don’t expect to feel limber after this video. Instead, you will probably feel sore!

DVD Contents:

• Workout 1 ( 33 Mins): This workout includes 30-second bursts of cardio exercise, and also uses body weight and isometric holds to strengthen muscles.
• Workout 2 (34 Mins): This sequence incorporates hand weights. Jillian recommends starting out with no weights, especially if you are a beginner, then graduating to 3 lbs. and even up to 5 lbs.

Conclusion: If you like Jillian’s style and it’s an intense workout that you want, choose this video. It is quite a challenge, even for advanced yogis. But if you want to limber up, breathe, and relax, then look elsewhere.

Best Price: $10 on Amazon.com; $9 on www.barnesandnoble.com

Sarah Baldwin

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Sarah is a writer based out of Southern Indiana who has been practicing yoga for over 10 years. With a focus on natural wellness, she adores writing about all things healthy and whole. Her herbalism blog, Moonflower Musings, can be found at www.moonflowersarah.blogspot.com.