Since I have no ego, i'm not ashamed to say that there are some things in this world that I just don't know. Thankfully, for me and others (ashamed or not ashamed) there are the "For Dummies" series. Premiering in November 1991, the very first "Dummies" book hit the shelves in spite of nervous bookstores who didn't want to carry the book for fear of insulting their customers. Fast forward to 2005, and there are more than 125 million "Dummies" books in print, teaching you everything from gardening to computers, Catholicism to sex. Chances are that if you don't understand it, there will be a "For Dummies" book to help you. Thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment, the "For Dummies" people are now bringing their unique form of instruction to DVD.

"Yoga Weight-Loss Workout For Dummies" is 37 minutes long and hosted by Chris Freytag, a ShopNBC fitness expert, a Life Time Fitness Instructor who's certified by ACE and YogaFit. All of these qualifications are apparent thanks to the way she quickly takes the viewer through the workout. Notice I used the word "quickly" there. See, by virtue of the title alone, I would expect this disc to take its time and explain things to me so I would better understand them. That doesn't happen here. In fact, my initial plan for this review was to follow the workout plan with my girlfriend for one month and then to report back if, in fact, it was successful in helping weight-loss. I still have plans to do that*, but upon first viewing, I was quite intimidated by what I saw. 

This disc is divided into six different chapters, though two are merely the introduction and the end credits, so they're not too important. 

We begin with Standing Yoga. For ten minutes, Chris takes us through some stretches and bending that quickly becomes, in my opinon, more advanced than a beginners (or "dummies") should be forced to experience this early into the session. Chapter three, which is Heat Building Series #1, has Chris introducing more advanced Vinyasas (series of poses strung together in a flowing, movement-oriented sequence). By the time we hit the 22 minute mark in the disc, we hit the fifth chapter, Yoga Mat Work, as Chris has the viewer start getting down and dirty on their yoga mats. For 15 minutes, Chris does some work on the viewer's abs and hips and even introduces the "Dead Bug pose". She finishes out the session by stretching her arms and saying something in a foreign language that means "May the light inside of me guide the light inside of you".