Yoga isn't just for people looking only for flexibility and the spiritual aspects of yoga. It is also for those of us who are constantly trying to find ways to incorporate different practices into our cross-training for strength, stamina and performance in sports and in the gym. With that in mind, we wanted to find some good yoga DVDs that were more focused on challenging yoga positions than "aligning your chakras" or "feeling a connection with the universe". Not that there is anything wrong with developing a mind, body, spirit connection with the earth and the world around you - but sometimes this can scare people away from the practice of Yoga if that isn't what they are looking for.

The First DVD we watched was Rodney Yee's Strength Building Yoga DVD, since it seemed the most obvious choice. Indeed, we give it the Editors Choice award here because it is simply the best yoga DVD for strength training that we could find. It is challenging, long enough to help you build stamina, yet accessible for those who haven't been doing yoga for very long. Most of all, however, it is very much geared toward those who seek to use yoga as a way to build muscle and increase strength.

Next up is Rodney's Total Body Workout yoga DVD, and we were fairly impressed here as well. The production value was great and the poses were challenging, yet not so much so that a beginner couldn't do them. In terms of building strength, it isn't the best, but it is an hour of uninterrupted yoga practice that will have even the most fit athlete breathing heavy and sweating by the end. However, there was a little more "yoga talk" in this video than his Strength Building yoga DVD.

Let's get away from Rodney Yee for a moment and talk about the American Power Yoga DVD. American Power Yoga presents a Westernized interpretation of yoga by combining different strengthening, conditioning, and calming techniques used around the world. In general, this is one of the best DVDs we could find for those who aren't into the whole spirituality aspect of yoga and just want a new form of exercise to add to their fitness toolkit. But as one online customer review put it: "A Westernized version of yoga is like vegetarians for meat... There is no "patriotic American" yoga." Even athletes using yoga as a cross-training or strength building exercise can benefit from developing a connection between their mind and body, as this helps one develop faster reflexes, greater accuracy and increased mental stamina. But this was a good yoga DVD, and I suppose it all depends on what you are looking for in your yoga practice.

The last Yoga DVD to be viewed, reviewed and compared is Rodney Yee's Power Yoga DVD for Strength and Flexibility. Rodney has adapted Ashtanga yoga, "a rigorous sequence of flowing, fast-moving poses" into two 20-minute workouts to build strength. This was an overall good yoga DVD, but wasn't as challenging to muscle groups as the first Strength Building Yoga DVD we watched, and wasn't as challenging to stamina as the Total Body Workout video by Rodney.

Buying any of these yoga DVDs will help you develop and tone your muscles, as they are all great choices. The trick to incorporating a challenging yoga practice, however, is to work it into your schedule in such as way that your body has time to heal from other activities. Otherwise, adding too much might do more harm than good. If you have to do yoga on a day after working out another part of your body, we recommend doing it after Leg-Day at the gym. Your legs will still be sore, but they can handle the yoga for strength building DVDs much better than sore shoulders, chests, arms or backs.