I am a certified hatha yoga instructor, and enjoyed this tape and would recommend it. I would caution, however, that it is not appropriate for beginners - but that is why it is titled "for intermediates". To participate with the tape you should already have attended yoga classes, and be fairly familiar with basic postures and the sun salutation. Narrator Yee does do a fairly detailed job, however, providing alignment cues during each posture. These cues, and anatomical directions/details, are well placed within the flow of the narration. I tend to be someone who prefers a class to have a fair amount of silence, and I get annoyed with yoga teachers who prattle on constantly about anatomical details. Yee manages to find a good balance between giving direction and also being silent and his voice is calming without being new-agey. Some other reviewers raised complaints about the inversions taught in the tape. As a certified instructor, I found nothing wrong with the inversion section of the tape, and there is also nothing wrong with using a wall during handstand or other balancing poses. It can be dangerous to not use a wall for head or handstand if you are a beginner lacking enough upper body or abdominal strength to support, and raise without falling over, the weight of the lower body. The tape begins with a flow series based around the sun salutations. The second section is on inversions, followed by back bends and a very short ending with twists. The ending relaxation sequence (savasana) was way too short, but it is easy enough to just turn off the tape and continue into a lengthy savasana. I would recommend doing your own warm-ups before beginning the tape, because the sun salutations begin quite fast and jump right into the options of upward facing dog and fierce pose. It isn't all that strenuous of a practice, and has a very "middle of the road" feel. You will definitely work up some heat and sweat during the beginning standing postures, but you spend equal time on the inversions and backbends. Be advised that the second half of the tape requires the use of a block, strap and blanket as assistive props. Overall, this tape provided a well balanced practice suitable for intermediate and advanced students.

I've been doing Yoga for 9 years every day and I have about 100 Yoga programs between VHS/DVD/CD and many are Rodney's.

I've had this Rodney Yee Intermediate Program on VHS for years (I don't have it on DVD) and rarely do it. For some reason I decided to pull it off the shelf this morning and give it a go since it had been so long. I can see after doing it why it's not one I tend to reach for. It's not bad, it's just not one that works well for me, I don't have that great inner Yoga "glow" in terms of how I feel compared to the way I feel from the programs I really love.

This program starts w/ just a short Sun Salute section which I feel could have been a bit longer. Then there is a very good selection of standing/balancing poses.

The next series are inversions, Handstands, and forearm balances which I passed on this morning. While I can barely do those to begin with, I especially don't like the placement in the program of those types of asana and feel they'd be better placed towards the end. It really interrupted the flow and I'd prefer to go straight into the backbends after all the standing poses. Once again, that's just a personal preference.

The backbend section was very good by the way and there are some hip openers as well.

Overall, this program leaves me feeling very "eh" compared to his other programs (particularly his Power Yoga Stamina, and his Flexibility program) which really create an amazing feeling due to the sequencing and flow of those practices. His "Energy" program is another one I like better than this Intermediate program as well.

In spite of my personal reservations about this program, I still gave it 4 stars, because even though it wasn't a great program for me, it is still (aside from the placement of the inversion section) a decent enough program and I don't think a review should just be based on personal preference, but rather on a more objective perspective.

Still, In my opinion, The following programs are all that I feel are better overall than this "Intermediate" Program:

Rodney's Power yoga Programs ("Stamina", "Flexibility" and "Strength")

Baron Baptiste's excellent Power Yoga ("Journey Into Power" levels 1 and 2, "Soul Of Strength", "Power and Precision", "Unlocking Athletic Power", "Core Power", "Hot Yoga, The Initial Challenge", "Hot Yoga" The Next Challenge" are ALL excellent)

Bryan Kest's Power Yoga Programs

Kathy Smith's New Yoga ("Intermediate" as well as her "Advanced" Programs)

Total Yoga "Water", "Original" (Fire is also great also but a bit more advanced)

Shiva Rea "Yoga Shakti"

Janis Safell "Beverly Hills Yoga"

Rainbeau Mars "Pure Power" and "Pure Sweat"

Not a bad routine, at all. However, the segment where he instructs handstands & headstands is just awful. AWFUL!

First, who has a solid, bare wall in their house where a full grown human being can freely kick up against it, without any danger of knocking into furniture on the way down (we all wobble when we're learning, don't we)? Or, denting drywall with your heel on the way up, for that matter...

Second, from what I've read in various yoga books since aquiring this tape -- it is not recommended that students learn these poses against a wall! The thinking is, with the wall keeping your balance for you, you're not working all your stabilizing muscles; plus, with the wall essentially holding you up, a beginner is able to stay in these inversions longer than they really should, risking injury. Better to work your way up from the ground at your own pace, heeding the pressure in your neck & shoulders as indications that you need to come down, rest, and then try again -- gradually learning to hold the poses longer.

Experience has shown me this is true. When I first got this tape, I didn't know any better and diligently practiced these inversions w/ Rodney. After weeks of regularly doing the tape, I encountered a website with step-by-step instructions on how to do headstand (and a big warning on the page saying NOT to use a wall for support). I figured with all my experience from the tape, I shouldn't have a problem trying the pose a different way.

Yeah, right. I had none of the balance & coordination needed to do headstand away from the wall. All that work w/ this tape had been for nothing -- except, I guess, I was getting comfortable with being upside down, so that's something, at least. But not enough, for all my effort.

So I abandoned this tape & started working on headstand the way the website (and some yoga books I bought) advised. Within a week, I was able to achieve the pose. So much for Rodney Yee's method.

Otherwise, the tape is a nice workout. More like advanced beginner, I think, than intermediate, but then that's just mincing words, I suppose. If you're comfortable with backbends & shoulderstand, you're probably not gonna learn a lot from this tape. However, you might find this a handy tape to have around if you just want a decent workout that holds poses a little longer than Living Art's beginners stuff and provides some nice inversion work, to boot.

Just please, for your own safety, skip over the handstand/headstand section! Or, at least, research some alternative ways to master these poses and perhaps practice this way when you're ready to wean yourself away from the wall.

Have fun!

I have been practicing yoga for a year and a half now, and tried some videos and cd's. When I take my yoga classes, it's usually 75-90 minutes, and I wished this video was at least 75 minutes long. The Sun Salutation segment was way too short, and there weren't enough sitting posistions for stretch. But the flow was just beautiful, and you will definately get the work-out from this tape. Over-all, I do recommend this tape. However, if you are not used to practicing yoga by just listening to the instructor, you may want to see the tape first before practicing. The pace is pretty fast. :-)

I have been practicing Yoga for three years usually taking one class a week and keeping up my practice daily at home with books or videos. Rodney Yee is a great instructor, and this tape has helped me progress especially in inversions. The rating given of 4 instead of 5 stars reflects a bit of disappointment with the sequencing of the segments. I would have preferred if the inversions were presented at the end, because I find it impossible to do inversions in front of the TV. Otherwise, I highly recommend this tape for those with some yoga experience.