Review: Kimberly Fowler's "The No Om Zone"

Kimberly Fowler's "No Om Zone" book and DVD boast "no chanting, no granola, no Sanskrit." For those who are serious and traditional about their yoga, this might be a deal breaker, but that's not the crowd Fowler is targeting. Her goal is to make yoga accessible to people who might otherwise be turned off by certain aspects of the practice. As someone who positively hated her first yoga class and vowed never to go back, this is something I can truly appreciate.

As Fowler, an accomplished triathlete-turned founder of YAS Fitness Center, states both in the book and on the DVD, many athletes have difficulty with yoga for several reasons. For one, athletic types are competitive; yoga is not. It's hard to comprehend that it's totally fine that the bony 87-year-old man in the corner can bend into a pretzel and hold himself on one arm when you can't even come close. And while in the right setting (both physically and mentally), chanting can be really beneficial; it can also be scary and intimidating for someone who really doesn't understand what's going on.

The book consists of 14 chapters, 13 of which focus on how to use yoga to help specific parts of the body from the head to the hips to the feet and ankles. Each chapter includes detailed instruction on several poses, with a 10-minute suggested routine using those poses at the end. This makes it really easy to tailor a short routine that can be done anywhere to your needs. (I've already taken advantage of some of the neck, shoulder and upper back asanas to combat the slouch I get while sitting at the keyboard.)

The DVD offers three workouts -- upper body, core and lower body. The entire DVD is a little over 53 minutes, but much of that is introduction, which you have the option to skip.

Level of Difficulty
Beginner. A few of the moves are slightly more advanced, but Fowler makes a point to mention early on that it's not a competition and you should do only what feels good. "No pain, no gain doesn't apply to yoga" is something she repeats often.

Next-Day Soreness
Very little, but it would be more for someone brand new to yoga.

Who's It For?
Yoga beginners who are looking for a way to learn the poses without feeling intimidated or embarrassed.

Likes
I really, really liked the book. It would not only be helpful for beginners but also for those who have some yoga experience. It's easy to flip through and find what you need, and I thought it was really interesting to learn a little bit about how the different poses affect our muscles. The video was also easy to navigate and offered a solid, if slightly short, workout. Fowler flows through the moves quickly but with good instruction. I found the directions easy to follow, but they might be a bit fast for a first timer. That being said, there's always the pause and rewind option.

Dislikes
I wish each of the workouts were just a bit longer. The DVD says they're 15 minutes, but I think that includes the segment intro (there's also a long introduction to the DVD at the very beginning). And since there is a helpful "play all workouts" option, I would have loved to skip the corpse pose ending during the first two segments and instead hold that pose longer at the end. Although Fowler provides good basic instruction for each pose, I would have liked for her to explain a few more particulars -- how to hold your body in the proper plane, for example. I think that would really benefit first timers considering attending a class, since those are the things I see corrected most often in a group setting.

Bottom Line
I like this concept, and I like both the book and the DVD. I believe I'll get more use out of the book than the video, but they work well together. "The No Om Zone" is definitely one of the better options out there for yoga newbies, especially those who are generally quite athletic.


Another good option for beginners is YogaWorks Beginner AM/PM.