The workouts begin immediately when selected from the main menu without the long introductions that burden many exercise DVDs. During each workout Voight leads the viewer through the more difficult poses, and her assistant demonstrates less difficult alternatives for viewers who lack the strength or flexibility to match Voight. Voight provides clear and adequate instruction without tending toward new age or peppy encouragements. The workouts utilize a yoga mat, a towel or strap, and a yoga block, though with a bit of ingenuity a useful substitute can be found around the house for the yoga block.

Yoga for Strength provides a 30-minute series of poses intended to develop strength, stamina, coordination, and balance. The poses flow so easily from one to another that time seems to speed up and the 30 minutes feels like 15. The accompanying music tends slightly toward the calming, but without being blissed out. This routine appears best suited to early-intermediate practitioners, and will be too simple for viewers looking for an extremely challenging routine.

Yoga for Stretch provides a 25-minute (DVD claims 20) series of floor postures intended to increase flexibility. This routine will appeal to viewers from beginner through advanced levels because the stretches can be modified to suit the flexibility of the viewer. The accompanying music is heavily tilted toward the calming new age spectrum and is repetitive, but not overly annoying. Yoga for Stretch is suitable for use immediately following Yoga for Strength or as a pre- or post-workout stretch routine for other exercise.

The titling of this DVD is a bit confusing. It is called Karen Voight: Yoga Power - A Flexible Approach to Strength by Amazon.com, but the DVD cover claims it is Karen Voight: Yoga Power - Streamline. To add more confusion, a DVD and VHS with identical content to this was previously released with different cover art under the simpler title Karen Voight: Yoga Power at a lower MSRP. That DVD is still in stock at Amazon.com, but is probably now out of print. In any event, all DVDs labeled Karen Voight: Yoga Power offer the same content, so seek out the lowest priced version available.

The DVD

The Video:
This release preserves the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio of the DV source. There is some video noise, but the image quality is well within the range of what is typical of exercise DVDs.

The Audio:
The audio is presented in an acceptable 2.0 stereo. There appears to be some loss of range or fidelity in the audio creating a slightly flat sound to Voight's instruction, but again it's within the parameters of what's generally expected from exercise DVDs.

The Extras:
Beyond adverts for other Karen Voight DVDs and products, the only extra is a brief introduction to what will be covered in the two routines. This extra can be selected from the main menu.

Final Thoughts:
Karen Voight: Yoga Power - A Flexible Approach to Strength provides two high quality yoga routines for early-intermediate practitioners looking to improve strength or flexibility. Be aware, the content on this DVD is identical to that on Karen Voight: Yoga Power released previously with a different cover and a lower MSRP. For viewers looking for a moderately challenging yoga routine that do not already own Karen Voight: Yoga Power - A Flexible Approach to Strength under its previous title, it is highly recommended.