Besides all the visible changes, exercise gives you something nobody can take away. You develop such a sense of who and why you are that you become much harder to shake. I can’t imagine living without it.

But I don’t expect everyone to feel the same as I do about anything. I know people who exercise, who really try for several months, and still find it nothing more than a pain. They get no benefit from it that outweighs the discomfort. I have wondered what it is about their makeup that is so different from mine and yours. I respect their right to find confidence, power, and self-esteem in different places than I do, but I’m amazed (and grateful) at how different our genetic makeups must be.

Pilates and yoga are both movement forms that make every single other movement better. Both also require instruction to really get it, maybe even personal instruction in the beginning. At least with Pilates, you need someone watching your body till you can learn to watch yourself. It’s pretty complicated and there is a lot to think about all at once.

My source for fitness videos is Collage. If you look at all their videos,
here

http://www.collagevideo.com/searchresults.aspx?page=1&search=yoga&type=all

scan down the list for the beginner ones. Look at the ratings from other customers. I think Rodney Yee is great for explaining how the pose should feel. Karen Voight is technically excellent and designs very thorough workouts. Patricia Moreno’s Yoga Dance Fusion is a beauty, but not purely yoga. The Gaiam company does great things with Yoga and Pilates. For pure Pilates, I love Moira Stott.

It’s unlikely that anyone could suggest one single video that would be perfect for you. There are probably several and it might be good to try a few to get different poses and instructions. I think you’d learn more and it would be less repetitive.

You can play a clip of any video there. You can return anything.

Good luck.

Thank you.