I first heard about Xflowsion because of Sarah Chalke from "Scrubs" -- it's one of her favorite workouts. After that, I felt like I was seeing it everywhere, so when I had an opportunity to review it, I was really excited. After all, I really like martial arts and dance, and even though I'm terrible at it, I enjoy yoga (and yes, one can be bad at yoga -- trust me).

Xflowsion isn't just a single workout. It includes four workouts, actually, along with two audio discs and a "real meals" nutrition guide. Live in Hollywood is the big, main workout, clocking in at 83 minutes (although, the menu does let you customize the length of the workout, if you like). It features live music (if you have surround sound, the video has awesome audio capabilities) and about 60 participants. Body Blast is just 26 minutes and is a challenging full body workout with great music -- not live, but really upbeat. Amazing Abs focuses on, well, your abs, and is 23 minutes. Calm Down Dog is a "restorative and gentle yoga-centric workout" meant to reduce stress and relax your mind.

Normally, the whole system (a $315 value) costs $39.95, but right now, Xflowsion is offering an "economy and body recovery plan." So, for a limited time, they're selling The Xflowsion DVD series (which includes everything mentioned above plus a free copy of "The Lean" DVD) for $19.95 plus $7.95 S&H. That is a lot of at-home fitness for the price, folks.


Level of Difficulty
Moderate, with some advanced moves.

Next Day Soreness
Slight soreness in my back and hamstrings, and I can tell you exactly why -- Sun Saluations. There are a lot. If you practice yoga, I don't imagine you'd experience much soreness afterward, but if you stretch as little as I do, expect a bit of discomfort.

Who's It For?
The best candidate is someone who's looking for a challenging workout but has a really open mind and wants to get the mental, emotional and spiritual benefits of meditative yoga. It's not for someone who prefers to go really hard, really fast, and knock it all out -- the workouts are definitely a journey, not just a destination.

Likes
The music is fun, and let me tell you, you're never going to see another video with so many beautiful, fit, sweaty people in such tiny clothes, so the eye candy is pretty spectacular. Body Blast was definitely my favorite workout -- it moved swiftly and didn't have much repetition. For Live in Hollywood, there's a manual that shows you all of the moves beforehand so you know exactly what to expect.

Dislikes
There is an awful lot of talking throughout the videos. Eric Paskel, who leads them all, is certainly charismatic, and he has a great message to share. However, to me, it got to be a little much and became distracting. I can see how his dialogue and personality could be the main draw for a lot of people, just not for me. Also, in Live in Hollywood, I had two issues -- for one thing, I really could've done with about half the number of Sun Salutations and holding Downward Dog. And, for another, there were a couple of times when it felt like the workout was winding down and almost over, but then -- surprise! -- we jumped right into a new series of workouts.

Bottom Line
Let me give you a bottom line for each of the workouts:

• Live in Hollywood. It contains a lot of "doing your own thing" to the music, which I don't consider a dance workout, really. It felt a little like doing a workout at a Dave Matthews Band concert -- lots of swaying and "feeling" the music, mixed in with yoga and martial arts. I would definitely modify the workout next time and not do all 80+ minutes at once.
• Body Blast. Short and fast-paced, this is a workout I'll definitely do again. There were some yoga poses included that I definitely can't do yet, but I know I will!
• Amazing Abs. This wasn't the most difficult ab workout I've ever done, but I did learn some new moves. There was no soreness or anything afterward, but I definitely worked up a bit of a sweat. Of course, I am in Florida. But still, I worked hard.
• Calm Down Dog. In theory, I love this -- it's very calming, but the music is still great. However, in practice, I wasn't really able to do it. I don't know if it's because I work from home so, as I'm supposed to focus inwardly, I'm thinking about my laptop that's in the next room or if it had something to do with the two large dogs who kept licking me whenever I hit a new pose. It's a good yoga workout, for sure, if you can hang in there!