If you know and love fitness like I do, then the words Canyon Ranch may make you melt. Canyon Ranch is a dream getaway for every Fit Bottomed Girl who wants an experience full of healthy eating, fitness, overall wellness and, of course, spa treatments—I’m sore here, here and here…ahh much better. Unfortunately, not all of us can afford this luxurious getaway, so the team at the Ranch put together a workout DVD, Canyon Ranch: Strong and Sculpted, to allow all of us busy bodies to get a taste of the Canyon state of mind and way of life in the comfort of our own homes.

Canyon Ranch: Strong and Sculpted has three 20-minute workouts and a bunch of exciting bonus features that are great for beginners. The three workouts take place at the beautiful Tuscon Canyon Ranch and include the segments Yoga, Strength Training and Core.

Yoga

If you are looking for a centering and spiritual yoga session, this isn’t the one for you (this one might be though!). The yoga workout on this disc isn’t focused on relaxation and meditation, instead it keeps you moving from one pose to the next. The teacher wasn’t very energetic, but will lead you from plank to mountain to lunge to Warrior I and to swan dive…over and over again.

Strength Training

The focus of this segment at Canyon Ranch is on muscular strength and endurance. The workout, which is led by the same woman who taught yoga, is well-rounded and hits every body part. There are not many modifications, except the option of doing all of the exercises without holding weights. Because of this—and because you do tons of squats and lunges to keep your heart pumping throughout the DVD—I would caution those with any previous or present knee injuries to take it slow and listen to your body in this section. In addition to leg work, the Strength Training section also includes side lunges with a lateral raise, bicep curls with curtsy lunges, a plank with a row, push-ups and glute bridges—my legs burned!

Core

Core—the center of your body, and what keeps you strong. A good core keeps your lower back protected and is always engaged in every activity of our daily life, so I love working it! With combinations of burpees, planks, Russian twists and lots of arm-figure-eights, this teacher has the personality and excitement to keep you motivated and working hard.

Once you’re done breaking a sweat, the also DVD includes cool bonus features such as keys to success, how to cook with superfoods and how to keep healthy joints. I am looking forward to trying the Canyon Ranch’s recipe for salmon topped with mango-blueberry salsa—YUM!

Now if only the DVD came with a day at the spa! I don’t think this DVD is a good example of everything Canyon Ranch has to offer, so I guess I’ll be booking my trip to the ranch sooner than later…

FBG Rating (Out of 5):
Instruction: ★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★
Music: ★★
Fun Factor: ★★
Meets Expectations: ★★
Overall: ★★1/2

Fit Bottomed Line: Best for beginners without knee issues, Canyon Ranch Strong & Sculpted isn’t as good as actually going to Canyon Ranch, but it will give you a pretty good yoga, strength training and core workout in a short amount of time. 

Have you ever been to Canyon Ranch? If so, color me jealous. But also intrigued—tell me what it was like! —Raquel

Why are all of the FBGs discussing green and natural fitness stuff this week? Because it’s Fit Bottomed Earth Week, silly!

There are so many things to be thankful for in life, and sometimes with all the hustle of our everyday activities, we forget to stay in the moment. It’s in this moment and place where we cultivate our true selves and find inner alignment. It’s also where we feel most at home—and natural (see the tie-in to Fit Bottomed Earth Week?!)—within ourselves. Jo Tastula’s High Vibrations Yoga DVD helped center me at a time when all I wanted to do was let my mind race.

Her compilation of five meditations and five short practices range from eight to 15 minutes in length and take place in a beautiful rocky landscape. The music and Jo’s voice calm the mind and allow each person to listen to his or her body, thus letting their mind chatter disappear.

I found that the short practices are the perfect amount of time to start or end your day. They are not difficult and aren’t meant for you to break a sweat. This set of meditations and practices do what most things in life can’t—help you refocus and live in the moment. We only have one life to live, so let’s be mindful of ourselves and the world around us.

The 5 Segments of the High Vibrations Yoga DVD

Here is a list of the five meditations and its corresponding short practices…

Abundance: This practice is about cultivating your energy. There are two main poses, including crescent and temple pose, but the main focus is on breathing. The mantra you follow? “I am in the flow of life and connected to the energy of all things.”

Releasing: The Releasing practice is about releasing the negative, or things in life you can’t get past, and bringing in the new. Personally, this one was my favorite, and by the end of the practice all the tension and stress I had was gone. My exhales had become more meaningful, and I started to listen to my body. Mantra: “I release the past and open myself fully into the serenity of this moment.”

Strength: The Strength practice begins with one hand on the belly and one hand on the heart. As you focus on your breath flowing through your body, your mind enters a relaxed state. From this point you begin your practice, including chair pose, plank, three push-ups and warrior I. Mantra: “I’m directly connected to the source of all energy in the universe.”

Balance: The Balance practice is about finding a deeper consciousness within. Each pose allows the whole body to open up and re-energize. Poses include chair pose, plank, downward dog and cobra. This section’s mantra: “My natural state is one of deep harmony within myself and in the world.”

Peace: The Peace practice helps you find peace and serenity within yourself and the many changes of life. Poses include child’s pose, cat and cow, and downward facing dog. Mantra: “My natural state is one of deep peace.”

Seriously, Namaste.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):
Instruction: ★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★
Music: ★★★
Fun Factor: ★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★

Overall: ★★★

Fit Bottomed Line: If you’re looking to get more in touch with your natural self for Earth Day or are looking to de-stress, this yoga and meditation DVD is it. You won’t get a great physical workout, but your brain will get a calm-inducing breather!

Do you use yoga or meditation in addition to your usual workouts to de-stress? Does it help you connect to nature? Tell us about it! —Raquel

I remember last year when Fit Bottomed Mamas interviewed Ellen Barrett. One line that I loved from the Q&A was her advice on workouts: “Workouts can be nurturing or they can be abuse. Choose nurturing.” Simple but sage advice that really speaks to the Fit Bottomed Girls’ philosophy of choosing activities and exercises that you love—not just ones that burn a lot of calories. Part of being healthy is being happy, and it’s simply hard to do that when you’re forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to to. (I talk about this SO much during FBG Life because it’s so important!) So, naturally, when her new workout Ellen Barrett Live DVDs came out, I knew we had to try one.

Ellen’s personality is so encouraging without being overly hippity-dippity or perky. She’s real, and looks like a real woman, too. From the title of the DVD series, I expected Power Fusion to be almost like a concert or at least have a performance feel to it, but instead it’s almost like you’re in one of Ellen’s live classes. All done in one continous take with Ellen and a few of her real students, Power Fusion is both high energy and calming. (Yes, you read that right.)

Mixing moves from yoga, barre, dance and Pilates, Ellen leads you through choreography to get your heart rate up. She shows a move like a plié, then adds on a twist, a touch to the “earth” (not the “ground,” which I thought was a subtle yet effective way of making the workout seem more natural) and other little additions to add difficulty. In one section she flows from triangle pose to a runner’s lunge with pulses to doing figure-eights with your arms. In another, she has you on all fours for core work where you bring your knee up towards your arms while you “thread” your leg all the way up and through.

With a gentle 8-minute warm-up, 26 minutes of cardio, and 12 minutes of floor toning and stretching, this is a solid 46-minute workout that will leave you sweaty (the moves look easy but aren’t), stretched out and feeling strong. While modifications are shown, there are a lot of pliés in this workout DVD. So if your knees aren’t the best or you simply despise pliés, this one probably isn’t for you. Everyone else though? One to enjoy and feel good about!

FBG Rating (Out of 5):
Instruction: ★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★
Music: ★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★

Overall: ★★★1/2

Fit Bottomed Line: It’s hard for a workout to be both challenging and feel-good, but Power Fusion does it. Perfect for intermediate exercisers looking to de-stress and work out.

Want to try this Ellen Barrett Life: Power Fusion yourself? Leave a comment telling us why, and we’ll select one lucky U.S. reader to win in about a week! —Jenn

We’ve dipped our toes into the meditation waters a few times around these parts, so I was excited when Breathe: The Perfect Harmony of Breathing landed in my mailbox. Who doesn’t need to take a moment (or 20) to herself every now and then to just breathe? Turns out, I had to test out the DVD after putting my daughter down for a nap, thus breathing deeply for the DVD while holding my breath that she didn’t wake up too soon.

More of a guided meditation than a workout, Breathe combines elements of yoga with meditation, with the focus placed on breathing (obviously) and moving and stretching with the breath. It’s not billed as a prenatal DVD, so while it wasn’t intense or sweat-inducing—think more cat-cow than warrior poses—I did have to modify some of the positions to accommodate my pregnant belly. There were times when I had to lie on my side instead of lying on my back, and I did child’s pose instead of lying on my stomach, but the gal with normal mobility should be able to follow right along with no worries.

Head on over to Fit Bottomed Mamas for the complete review and to comment to win the DVD!

—Erin

Since I’ve been training for a half marathon, I’ve found myself craving workouts that allow me to stretch my running muscles. There’s been a lot of yoga happening in this household, is what I’m saying, and I’ve really slacked off on the strength training.

Core Fusion Power Sculpt just debuted the week of Dec. 6, and, lucky for me, it offers the best of both worlds. It incorporates the fluid, yoga-inspired moves you expect from Core Fusion founders Elisabeth Halfpapp and Fred DeVito, but adds in a bit of strength work with light hand weights. And it’s customizable—there are five 10-minute sessions with a bonus stretch at the end. You select the sections you want to do, or choose to do them all and they will flow seamlessly from one workout to the next.

Halfpapp and DeVito are expert cue-ers—is that a word?—they take turns leading sections, and give clear, easy-to-follow instructions. There are three other exercisers with one showing modifications, although she’s not always shown at times when it would be most helpful. I mean, I don’t think any number of downward dogs and warrior poses are going to give me flexibility like Halfpapp, and I’m definitely never going to be able to keep a smile on my face the way she does. That’s just not right.

As is generally the case with Core Fusion workouts, there were quite a few times when I was quite literally begging the TV to stop, and it was right about that time that they switched to a new move or, in some blessed cases, to child’s pose. However, a couple of the sections felt fairly similar, with lots of downward dogs and Warriors, and I would have loved a little more variation, especially when they were automatically played back to back.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★★1/2
Music: ★★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★1/2

Overall: ★★★★1/2

Fit Bottomed Line: If you want some extra strength work with your yoga and Pilates, Core Fusion Power Sculpt is the DVD for you!

How do you like your yoga-inspired workouts? Straight up or with a strength-training twist? Tell us in the comments below, and we’ll select one U.S. reader to randomly win this DVD! Winner will be notified via email and in the comments. —Kristen

Pretty much all workouts boost my mood and level of energy level, but yoga is especially good at leaving me in a different state of mind. I’m familiar with Shiva Rea, so when her new DVD, More Daily Energy Vinyasa Flow Yoga was released, I was totally game, especially with the time change—I was definitely ready for some extra energy, you know?

This DVD packs in a lot of yoga. It offers a programmable matrix of seven 20-minute yoga workouts, along with a warm-up and a session of Savasana (you know, Corpse Pose), for a total of almost 160 minutes. The seven sessions are split into two groups—lunar, which is designed to be done when you need a calming workout on a hectic day, and solar, created to give you more energy.

And these aren’t easy, breezy workouts, either. Each one had me sweating and really feeling it, and many had advanced strength, flexibility and balance options for poses that the more seasoned yoginis will enjoy. (I stuck with the basics, thankyouverymuch.)

The one gripe—I didn’t feel like the instruction always matched up exactly with what Shiva was doing on the screen, which caused a bit of confusion and could be problematic for a newbie.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★★
Music: ★★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★

Fit Bottomed Line: As always, Shiva incorporates a strong mind/body component, so it’s not for those who are turned off by the occasional “Om.” But, if you’re looking for a tough yoga DVD that allows you to truly customize your practice, look no further.

Want to try this Shiva Rea yoga DVD yourself? Leave a comment, and we’ll select one lucky U.S. reader to win a copy. Winner will be notified via email and in the comments in about a week! —Kristen

It’s hard to find a yoga that’s both hippity-dippity and a good workout. One that stretches you out, strengthens you, doesn’t make you feel silly with the airy-fairy stuff and yet relaxes you and allows you to connect to your breath, too. Yep, it’s a tall yoga order. And one that Kristin McGee’s Power Yoga DVD can fill.

Yesterday we loved sharing our chat with Kristin McGee, including her best advice on getting fit and healthy. And we were none too surprised to find that she brings that same sane and balanced approach to her workout-DVD instruction. Giving great cues and showing modifications, it’s obvious that McGee has been teaching yoga for years. She’s relaxing, encouraging, and she gives a workout that’s both calming and quite challenging at times.

The DVD is a total of 50 minutes long. You can either do the full Power Yoga workout in one big chunk (as I did and was left feeling awesome), or you can break it into two 25-minute parts, one that is mostly standing and the other that is almost all floor work. While it would have been nice for the DVD to have different short workouts from the main one, it’s still super helpful to have length options. Seriously, what did we do before DVD menus?!

From sun salutations to this cool form of plank where you put your toes between your opposite ankle (so hard to explain, but it’s both challenging and feels really freakin’ good) to balance work and pigeon pose, it’s the perfect intermediate power yoga workout DVD that includes just enough yoga standbys to make you feel like you know what you’re doing and just enough new stuff to make the workout feel fresh and new. Sure, the DVD set is pretty lackluster, the music is forgettable, and there are some gratuitous booty shots (if I had a booty like that, I’d probably do the same though), but it’s still a great yoga-workout-DVD collection standby. In a nutshell, Kristin pretty much nailed it.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★★
Music: ★★
Fun Factor: ★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★

Overall: ★★★1/2

Fit Bottomed Line: If you take  your intermediate yoga with a little fitness, a little mind-body and a lot of good instruction, this is your DVD!

Want to win Kristin McGee’s Power Yoga DVD and work out with Kristin McGee, too? Leave a comment below with why you’d like to win, and we’ll select one random U.S. reader to win in about a week. The winner will be posted in the comments and emailed directly. Good luck, yogis! —Jenn

Even though we focus on being fit over being skinny here at Fit Bottomed Girls, I’ve learned not to judge a workout by its DVD cover. Plus, Jenn reviewed Bethenny Frankel’s first DVD, as did I, and we both found it to be pretty decent. So, despite the fact that I have yet to watch an episode of “The Real Housewives” of anywhere, I fired up Frankel’s newest DVD, Bethenny’s Skinnygirl Workout, with high hopes.

Frankel introduced a new format—three 15 to 20 minute long yoga workouts that can be done individually or one after another for a longer session—and a new instructor, Mike McArdle. Once again, the set was fantastic with clean lines, great lighting and artwork on the walls that I totally wanted to steal.

Often, multi-section yoga DVDs feel repetitive, with sun salutation after sun salutation, but I was happy to find that was not the case here at all. Each section hit multiple muscle groups, so if you only have 15 or 20 minutes to exercise, you can work a lot of muscles by doing just one section.

Frankel offers quite a few surprisingly helpful insights, giving reminders to breathe right when it’s easy to forget and asking about modifications for several poses. She’s a trooper—these workouts, especially the second one, are no joke, and she pushes right on through them with very little complaint. Fine, I’ll admit it. That skinny Real Housewife kicked my yoga-challenged butt, even though she mentioned several times that yoga is all about doing what you can, and that she enjoys it so much more when she pushes just a little instead of trying to be too bendy. Yeah, easy for someone who touches her toes with ease to say, I guess.

All jesting aside, I honestly enjoyed this workout. It was a great mix of strength and flexibility, with a bit of balance thrown in for funsies. Although, I must say my favorite part is when Frankel’s dog, Cookie, makes a surprise appearance in the background. I love a good canine cameo!

There’s just one thing, and I’d love to know if I’m just being nit-picky or if this bugs you guys, too—the instructor cued left and right based on his left and right. This is a huge pet peeve for me. It’s just not that hard to switch the cues, is it? There were several occasions on which I was listening and following along just fine, but got a little confused upon looking up and finding myself on a different foot.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★★
Music: ★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★1/2

Fit Bottom line:  Bethenny’s Skinnygirl Workout DVD is a step up in difficulty from Frankel’s first video, and I think she’s not only gotten better at yoga, but also at being in a yoga video. It’s a video I’d definitely do again!

So, tell me: Do you have any workout-DVD pet peeves? And if so, do they bother you enough to keep you from getting a good workout? —Kristen

I know, I know. You shouldn’t judge a book (or a DVD) by its cover. But I can’t help it—I feel like a workout DVD gives me a little clue as to what to expect with the photo it chooses for the front cover, and when the promo art for Rockin Models showed five remarkably thin (and gorgeous) women in jeggings, well, I had two thoughts. First, “Are they serious?” And second, “Oh, I’ve gotta try this.”

(Yes, I believe I’m walking that line between totally judgmental and very open-minded. Whatever, it seems to work.)

So, anyway, I began the workout ready to sweat a little and laugh a lot. Because, you know. Jeggings. Led by celebrity trainer Grace Lazenby, it’s a little over an hour long and is a mix of yoga, ballet and burlesque, and features music by Matt Goss, Greg Laswell and Cary Brothers (none of whom I had heard of, but they weren’t bad—a little bit of rock, a little indie vibe, and an interesting choice for the type of workout this provided).

The workout begins with a fast-paced flow yoga interval with pretty standard stuff—a lot of down dogs, a lot of warriors, you know the drill. It got my muscles warm, but didn’t talk much about form, which always concerns me with yoga because it’s so easy to do incorrectly when not done in a live class. But, if you know your downward dogs, you’ll be fine.

From there, it moves into a burlesque section that was a bit repetitive—but really tough. Like, legs-shaking tough. But it doesn’t last too long because you go back to yoga, but slower this time, and then back to “detailing” burlesque/ballet, followed by some solid if not groundbreaking work on the abs, glutes and legs with a lot of moves that felt very Pilates-y.

Now, I really have no beef with the workout itself—it was hard but manageable, there were modifications shown for many of the moves and Lazenby cues well. But I’ve got one major issue with it: The women doing the workout use two hats, a stick and ball, and the DVD cover or back makes no mention of any of this. Now, I guess one doesn’t really need the hat as a dance prop, but it would be nice to be given the heads up. The stick (for balance during the up-and-down burlesque moves) and ball (to be held between the legs during those moves) are necessary. I would’ve loved some warning—heck, even 10 seconds at the beginning of a section requiring a prop would’ve at least given me time to pause the darn thing and grab what I needed.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★
Music: ★★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★

Overall: ★★★1/2

Best for: Rockin Models is for gals who love the idea of getting a little sexy and having some fun during their workout. If you take yourself too seriously, you might not enjoy it the way you really should!

Do you prefer your workouts with a side of sex appeal, or would you rather bring your sexy back after the post-workout shower? —Kristen

If I’ve learned anything during my time reviewing yoga DVDs and going to all kinds of classes by all kinds of instructors, it’s that yoga is deeply personal. And what one person likes more than another person is highly subjective. Some like the hippity-dippity (I tend to put myself in that corner most days). Others prefer a more traditional-fitness approach. Others want stretching. And then there’s the meditation piece, and, oh yeah, the different types of yoga styles themselves. Dizzy with yoga options yet? It’s for all of these reasons that I’m a fan of this DVD for those who aren’t sure what yoga camp they fall into just yet.

In Yogalosophy, Mandy Ingber (whom we talked to yesterday!) hits a unique chord of doing all of the above, without being intimidating, overly spiritual or too darn intense. Perfect for yoga beginners or intermediates who want a nice mix of relaxation and toning in a yoga session, this DVD features two different yoga workouts. The first is an express 35-minute workout that takes basic body-weight exercises—lunges, leg lifts, push-ups, tricep dips—and combines them with yoga breathing and movements for Mandy’s signature Yogalosophy fitness approach. The second workout is a 55-minute Fully Loaded Challenge that combines more traditional yoga poses (sun salutations, warrior poses, standing balance work) with the express workout and stretching.

The cuing in the workouts is unique. At times, Mandy talks directly to the camera while she’s doing the poses. At other times, it’s a fairly stream-of-consciousnesses voice over. While she does give good breathing and alignment cues, at times Mandy says some pretty random stuff, including her own personal mantra that focuses on having “a nice ass.” I really didn’t mind—and there is an option to do the workouts without cuing—but you should be aware. Also know that you’ll get plenty of butt shots of Mandy in short shorts. She’s got the rear to pull it off (her mantra certainly works!), but it’s gratuitous in parts.

With a few fun extras like an interview with her client Jennifer Aniston, Mandy’s reason for creating Yogalosophy and a look at her own personal yoga mat that doubles as a vision board, you do get a sense of who Mandy is. And I like her. She’s herself, and when it comes to working out, she realizes that it’s about the physical and the mental.

FBG Rating (Out of 5):

Instruction: ★★★
Long-Term Likeability: ★★★
Music: ★★★★★
Fun Factor: ★★★
Meets Expectations: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★1/2

Fit Bottom line: If you’re needing a beginner or intermediate yoga workout that’s a mix of fitness and mind-body meditation, Yogalosophy could be it!

Want to try this yoga DVD for yourself? Leave a comment with why you want to win, and we’ll select one random U.S. reader to win in about a week. The winner will be contacted via email and in the comments. Namaste! —Jenn