Kimberly Fowler's YOGA + WEIGHTS

Description

Product Description The Godmother of Yoga Hybrids Kimberly Fowler released her third yoga-with-a-twist DVD and this one has a little muscle. YOGA + WEIGHTS combines moves from Fowler s signature YOGA for ATHLETES® class with 3-pound handheld weights so students get more than strong, they Get RIPPED! Yoga elongates your body, and paired with weights, the result is long, lean muscles, says Fowler, founder and CEO of YAS Fitness Centers. YOGA + WEIGHTS takes the strength training of yoga to the next level. The 30-minute YOGA + WEIGHTS takes students through a series of weight-bearing poses including Chair and Warrior poses paired with a shoulder press and Side-Angle Pose matched with a lateral row all with Fowler s signature Sanskrit-free, easy-to-follow instructions. Many doctors recommend weight training as the best way to prevent bone loss. As women near 40, we start to lose muscle mass, which can cause bone loss, says Fowler. YOGA + WEIGHTS let s you build muscle mass without bulking up, and the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn. A former elite triathlete, Fowler is known for designing yoga classes with athletes in mind. Many of my students were taking yoga classes and then rushing off to the gym to lift weights, Fowler says, so I created an all-inclusive class. About the Actor Kimberly Fowler isn't your typical yogi: Irreverent is how CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta described her approach to yoga, declaring her fun and unpretentious classes the new face of yoga. Innovative may be a better description. Since the opening her first YAS Fitness Center in Venice, Calif., in 2001, Fowler has regularly shaken up the yoga and fitness worlds with fresh, no-nonsense workouts for everyone from elite athletes to, well, everyone... Before the original YAS, no one had combined yoga with indoor cycling before, let alone dedicated a studio to the combo. Mixing cardio with yoga was frowned upon by some yoga purists. Meanwhile, imitators around the globe were jumping on the bandwagon. The copycats didn't surprise Fowler. A former pro triathlete, she knew well the value of yoga to her training, as demonstrated by her next creation, Yoga for Athletes®. Yoga for Athletes® jump-started the yoga-as-cross-training craze that has swept the planet. The Yoga for Athletes® DVD is so popular that students post photos on Facebook of themselves holding it at locales around the world. They also win titles with its help: The Santa Monica Rugby Club won the 2006 national championship a first and proclaimed the workout the athlete s secret weapon. British track star Tasha Danvers won the 2008 Beijing Olympics 400m Hurdles bronze with its help, overcoming personal and professional hurdles along the way. Fowler, too, knows a thing or two about hurdles: As a 20-something triathlete, she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Like Lance Armstrong a decade later, Fowler battled back from her death sentence to return to competition as an elite athlete. She credits yoga as central to her recovery and comeback. Going stronger than ever three decades later, she s spoken repeatedly on behalf of Livestrong, Armstrong s cancer foundation. She's also spoken much on behalf of Nike, as the sportswear company s longtime Yoga Athlete/Spokesperson. Given her yoga-related accomplishments, it s tempting to think of Fowler as the ultimate power yogi if such talk didn't make her cringe. I m not your guru, you are, is a common Fowlerism. Open and accessible, Fowler means no disrespect for yoga traditions or spiritual aspects. She s just not the preachy type. And while happily forgoing Sanskrit and chanting hasn't always endeared her to the yoga establishment, that s never been her goal. Fowler wants to make yoga accessible to the masses, not just the chosen few. And she s getting there...If you've cracked a magazine or newspaper in the last decade; you've likely read about Fowler or her YAS Fitness Centers. Locations now operate across California and are opening across the country. I want to get people off the couch and onto the mat, Fowler says, of her ongoing agenda and her first book The No OM Zone: No Chanting, No Granola, No Sanskrit. Published by Rodale Books, it's a no-nonsense guide to yoga that continues Fowler's mission to take the mystery and intimidation out of yoga while introducing newcomers to a fun and fulfilling practice.