The concept: Holiday season have you a little tense? Besides getting a massage (which I did last week, yum) nothing works wonders like some yoga. Yoga Journal has a new fitness DVD created with Dr. Baxter Bell, to help combat stress symptoms like headaches, insomnia and depression. There are two workouts included: Yoga for Stress Prevention and Yoga for Stress Relief. Both are 35 minutes each and leave you relaxed and more energized and feeling strong.
The workout: The workouts are good for both beginners and intermediate with a variety of poses and moves that can be modified depending on your level. Breathing is a focus as is meditation. Practice 1: Yoga for Stress Prevention includes poses to create strength and increase flexibility, both apparently being things that prevent stress from taking over. The second practice, Yoga for Stress Relief focuses on areas of the body where stress holds and tries to ease the mind and nervous system.
The instructor: It’s led by Dr. Baxter Bell who is pretty bland and boring, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The workout lets you focus on yourself instead of how annoying and/or perky the instructor is.
Extras: DVD Menu
Disc #1 -- Yoga Journal's Yoga for Stress With Dr. Baxter Bell
Introduction
Yoga Practices
Stress Prevention Practice (35 Minutes)
Stress Relieving Practice (35 Minutes)
Pranayama Breathing Practice (8 Minutes)
Guided Relaxation (6 Minutes)
Guided Meditation (8 Minutes)
Play All
How to Use This Disc
Special Features
About Yoga Journal
Meet Baxter Bell
Alternate Audio Tracks
Stress Prevention Practice (Alternate Sound Track
Stress Relieving Practice (Alternate Sound Track
Preview More Yoga Videos
Session 1 Foundation Poses for Strength & Stamina
Session 2 Bending & Twisting Poses for Flexibility
Session 3 Balancing Poses for Focus & Energy
Yoga for Your Pregnancy: Your Guide to Prenatal Fitness & A Healthy Birth
Credits
Web and ROM Resources
Final Verdict: It does what it says—relaxes you, and is a classic Yoga workout that really helps on those bad days when you don’t get a break and you have supervision at lunch outside and two kids get in to a fistfight and stomp mud on your vintage suede coat. Sigh. Deep breaths…good. Try it if you have days like that. It really will help.

The concept: It’s rare that I can keep a workout going for an hour since I get bored very easily. The Get Ripped! Series isn’t gimmicky or fancy, but somehow they keep me going. Their new DVD is about decreasing body fat, increasing lean muscle and improving energy levels.
The workout: Based on traditional strength training exercises, the workout goes through and works each body part in turn. You can use hand weights, a body bar or nothing at all (just your own body weight if you’re a beginner.) There are solid and easy to understand modifications for all levels. Again, it’s not fancy or exciting or flashy, but it’s solid and you feel the burn like crazy—in a good way.
The instructor: Jari Love can be a little annoying. Her body is to die for and she could totally beat me up but she’s a little alienating when she talks to you. I can’t put my finger on it. Still, she doesn’t talk all that much and you can tell she knows what she’s talking about so you forgive her.
Final Verdict: This is a hard-core workout that will definitely get you ripped. It’s for people who have time (since it’s an hour) and that are looking for strength training. Ideally, you’d want to combine this with cardio on your days off. I like it a lot, and perhaps it’s that simple no-nonsense approach that’s really working here. I would love to see her come out with a shorter workout though.

The concept: Ever dream you could be on Dancing with the Stars? This one’s for you. Doing the same strength-training or aerobics gets old fast and becomes a big reason I stop working out for extended periods of time. Thankfully, there is something like Samba Party Workout to throw into the mix and change it up. There is a live drum band keeping you going to a challenging but fun dance workout based in Brazil’s popular dances, the Samba.
The workout: You will work up a sweat as you progress through the dance routine. It can be confusing at times and if you’re not particularly coordinated you may struggle a little. The good news is that the steps are repeated often enough to let you catch on. It’s a pretty challenging workout and great cardio.
The instructor: Vanessa Isaac is super-chipper and smiley but the entire atmosphere of the DVD is so celebratory and carnival-ish that you forgive her. She’s a great dancer and good at explaining the moves.
Final Verdict: A great way to get yourself excited about working out again if you can’t bring yourself to jog on the treadmill again. It’s a solid cardio workout and the time flies! What more could you ask for?