BB Well Workout 4: YogaBurn

YogaBurn was a title I coined in 2010 when I developed a cardio-flexibility-strength program as part of a boxed DVD set, called "Kettlebody by Brook." It was a 3-part library that included cardio kettlebell, Yogaburn, and body sculpt. (If you weren't on the fitness grid back then, it was awarded "Best Kettlebell System of 2010," stocked on shelves at Best Buy, and distributed internationally). For those of you who still dig hard copy DVDs, grab a vintage copy out of my garage, please! "Those of you" I speak of, I call my spirit animals... I'm still trying to figure out a Roku-- which, until corrected, I phonetically called a "rock-uh."

The root of YogaBurn is yoga + strength + cardio. It was executed with precision in the 2010 DVD (with the exception of forgetting to perform a combination on the other side. The amazing post-production team, Stock Yard Films, flipped the footage from the original side and made it seem as if I led the combo on both leads. Brilliant work on their end. I used that team to shoot several of my workout DVDs. They knocked it out of the park every time. In 2009, they shot and edited CardioPump Fusion when I was sick with the swine flu. After I finished shooting the video, I flew from LA to Dallas then went straight to the E.R... but you'd never know it by the editing magic they pulled off in post-production. Another big shout out on that one goes to Petra Kolber, my mentor, who showed up on set with tissues and cough drops, with the pep talk of "sickness is temporary; this video is forever. Go get it, girl.")

This freebie YogaBurn 2022 shoot is a one-take, 8-minute roll with my mobile phone, 4-year old daughter cropped out of the shot, and no lighting-- to say the least, hair and makeup people nowhere to be found. But I'm a more seasoned professional than I was a decade ago. Enjoy this low-frills hustle with heart- if pandemic workout videos have taught us anything, it's that it's not about production quality; it's about heart.

Here, I present to you a steady flow of sun salutations. They begin as a warm-up series to prepare your spine and pelvis for action (although, there is an option for triceps push-ups repeats, which some naysayers will say has no place in a warm-up... to whom I'd say, it's a buffet- pass on anything that doesn't work for you).

It progresses to a limbering series. The limbering series gives an option for Wild Thing, which looks like this.

If that's not the cat's meow for you, just stick to a 3-legged dog.

After the limbering series comes a strengthening vinyasa that is just a 1-time flow that adds four oblique twists from plank.

The real humdinger is the final vinyasa that packs 8 "yoga burpees." Expect eight repetitions of jumping in to prayer pose to standing tall, flexing back to prayer pose, then jumping back into a triceps push-up. It's a tough finish, but... it's the finish. Enjoy the sweet struggle and give your best to reach the 8:00 finish line.

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