Five Days!!! ^This is what I feel like. ;) 

Here's the one I used-I am not advocating you using this DVD or any DVD for that matter, but if you need more specific instruction/helpful hints, I do suggest trying several to see if they are helpful for you. 

So, I skipped a day with the blog, but I have not skipped any days with the yoga. The day before yesterday I basically did the same routine I've been blogging about, with more focus/time spent on individual poses that work areas for me that I need extra attention paid to. Last night I decided to try out the Yoga for Stress Relief DVD that has been sitting in my cabinet for over a year, untouched. At first, I was very skeptical. I'm always a little wary of 'workout' dvds or even Yoga ones, for that matter. I've tried a few in the past, but the pace was wrong for me or they went through the poses too fast that I couldn't' figure out what they were doing. I basically just don't like getting instruction from people on a screen. I tried it out, anyhow. 

Then you can move to this seated twist

 At first, I felt like this^. The instructor on the DVD used the Sanskrit words for the breath and poses and I, not knowing Sanskrit (c'mon, who does?) was a bit put-off. The video itself, though, is easy to follow at a more practical pace.
There were a lot of seated poses like the one below and a lot of spinal twists. If I do this video again, I think I'll do my Sun Salutations first so that I'm a bit more warmed-up than just twisting straight out of the gate.

Start here with the seated twists. 

If your shoulders are really flexible, you can do this. 

The evolution of the Seated Twist, above. (Step III) 

Pigeon pose I, II 

Easy Pose? Not really, if you have tight hips like mine. This is also called Double Pigeon Pose, so if you do Pigeon pose with both legs first, you'll have a (hopefully) easier time getting into this pose. This can be very relaxing if you breathe in to it. Pigeon Pose III

 The DVD also teaches the basics of Yoga Breathing techniques. She uses the Ujjayi breathing described here:

• Take an inhalation that is slightly deeper than normal. With your mouth closed, exhale through your nose while constricting your throat muscles. If you are doing this correctly, you should sound like Darth Vader from Star Wars. (copied from www.chopra.com and hence the cartoon, above. ;) 

She also uses the alternate nostril breathing illustrated here: 

More info on this type of breathing can be found here: http://holisticonline.com/yoga/hol_yoga_breathing-ex-nadisodh.htm

While it may make you feel a little awkward doing it, the breathing techniques are great for relaxation and stress relief. You can try them out and see how they feel, for you. I end up feeling weird while I am doing them, but physically it does make a huge difference. I always relate it to the pre-natal breathing techniques they give you for childbirth/labor. They do help, so experiment. As my practice is "No Om" I did not participate in the Om breathing that the instructor does in the video. You can, however, if you feel compelled to do so. 

I hope I'm providing some sort of useful information for folks out there that would like to get in to to a Yoga practice but might not know where to start. Start where you are. Even if your daily practice only consists of one pose, you are still better of than not doing it at all. 5 days down. I'm excited to see where I'll be several weeks from now. I can already feel the change in my body, every night when I get back on the mat!