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The Yogini Workout - Following the Path of Yoga with a Mindful Sweat
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The Yogini Workout - Following the Path of Yoga with a Mindful Sweat
Popular fitness video star Ellen Barrett tells FitCommerce.com about her latest video: Yogini Workout.
About Ellen Barrett
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 My latest DVD just released and I'm receiving loads of email asking, "What the heck does 'Yogini' mean?" Yeah, Yogini Workout is a quirky title and a few marketing people tried to dissuade me from using it, but I stuck to my guns. It was already used as the name for a class at my studio where it had a cult-like following. The title summed up exactly what the workout was about. (Plus, it was cute!) "Yogini" literally translates as a woman who follows the path of yoga - and yoga in its purist sense - is the union of the mind and body. With this workout I profess, "Come on ladies, let's tune in, center and mindfully sweat."
Having the opportunity to be 100% in charge creatively was oh-so dreamy. I've done a lot of videos where a producer came to me and said, "Look, I need 20 minutes of walking and throw in some push-ups." Those DVDs we're someone else's vision. But Yogini Workout is all me - mind/body exercise with seamless transitions and just enough burn to get results. It's one of three workouts in The Studio by Ellen Barrett DVD series - a series that celebrates mind/body fusion fitness.
Universal Mind/Body Principles
Yogini Workout starts out with flowing rhythmic yoga and tranquil dance moves that quietly catapults the heart rate into the fat burning zone. The workout then turns into a mix of Pilates, yoga and calisthenics on or near the floor…like a 45 minute poem. Whether you love yoga or hate it, you'll love Yogini Workout because it uses universal mind/body principles that make it possible for all levels - exercise novice, triathlete or anyone in-between - to workout.
It's no secret that in this day and age we need cardiovascular exercise. Just think, when Pilates was developed, people walked to work and had never heard of a "Drive-Thru." Qigong was practiced in the 17th century, when most people plowed their own fields. And yoga was created when India was experiencing an enormous famine. Thus, pure Pilates is great if you also take a power walk. Qigong is nice if you've got a tennis match later on. Hatha Yoga is perfect if you also enroll in dance class, but time is a factor. Who can dedicate two hours/day for a workout? Maybe on the weekends, but day in and day it, it's impossible for most of the population. I say, we need it all, we need it all at once and we need it under an hour.
When I set out to design any workout, I think about the needs of today's woman. Whether she works at home, outside the home or a lot of both, she's busy (needs workout efficiency). Her day is filled with sedentary activities (needs movement to sweat, sculpt and stretch). Life is coming at her from all sides (needs de-stressing breathing and mindfulness). Yogini Workout fulfills those needs.
Signature Components of Yogini Workout :
- Performed barefoot
- It's rhythmic at approximately 100 BPM
- Encourages fullest range of motion
- Emphasis on core
- Emphasis on alignment
- Lots of verbal cueing - more than ordinary fitness classes
- Breathing emphasis with every exercise
Five years ago, Yogini Workout wouldn't have been so widely received. Back then, we seemed determined to compartmentalize exercise, mental invigoration and stress reduction. They all had to be in separate "boxes." Today, it's a whole new world. What an exciting time for the fitness industry! More and more studies are showing that the mind and body are one and, as a result, we are seeing workouts that bridge the mind - body gap. With today's high tech culture, our attention is so easily pulled outward - to the billboard, the cell phone, the TV screen. When a workout draws that attention inward - to your core engagement, your emotions, your sense of self - it's pretty fabulous.
About Ellen Barrett
Go to About Ellen Barrett.
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