Wii Fit Yoga: Games, News, Reviews | Wii Yoga | Wii Sports | Wii Fit

Yoga for the Wii (Dreamcatcher -  Jowoods) was released on December 7th and since I have yet to personally experience “Yoga for the Wii” myself, I thought it would be interesting to see what customers are saying. I will try to only highlight constructive criticism as “this game sucks” does not help anyone better understand how Yoga the game is played.

First from Amazon.com:

1 out of 5 stars
So much potential….. wasted

December 8, 2009

We purchased this game hoping for the ability to have a yoga disc that provided us with a new yoga session each day. What we got was not worthy of a single workout, let alone a daily routine.

I popped in the disc and it had me create a profile, ok, that’s easy enough. I was presented with 3 game modes, story, training, or routine. I figured I would start with story mode and see how the game plays. We select our instructor, then we get a video from Anja Rubik saying why she loves yoga, then the game loads again. Finally we get into the yoga temple. For the first 5 minutes you follow your instructor around the building stopping to look at every statue and painting along the way, we finally get to a room that has a painting with a pose inside of it. I finally get to the room and it teaches me that pose. Basically, the story mode is going from room to room learning each pose one at a time with a couple minutes of break in between. Argh.

I went back to the main menu after a while and selected routine, it turns out we can select between 9 different routines with different target areas, heart, headache, etc. I choose one of them and the voice says ‘follow my movements’ and bends over. I bend over, at this point I can’t see the screen, and sit there for a minute. I decide to start looking up every 5 seconds and eventually he moves and starts doing another pose, at about the third pose the voice says ‘remember to hold your pose’ or something along those lines. It just spits out a random sound byte every once in a while. I guess if you did this a bunch of times and had it memorized it would be good, but if you have to keep turning your head to see what you are supposed to be doing at any time you kind of lose all concentration on what you are supposed to be doing. There’s no audio signals whatsoever during the routine…(read more)

1 out of 5 stars
Unbelievably Awful

December 9, 2009

I waited patiently for months for this software to be released. It finally arrived and now I just want to cry. Even if you faithfully tried to use the software, you wouldn’t be able to do the proper breathing because you’d be laughing so hard (or sobbing in my case). What a disaster.

I bought the original Wii Balance Board specifically to get the yoga software, and while many people correctly complained that the yoga routines where clunky, it actually worked well enough for me. I loved having the feedback from the balance board as I did a pose and discovered that I wasn’t balancing as well as I might as I watch the red dot move around, and that is a kind of feedback even a personal yoga instructor cannot give. I believe the Wii has fantastic potential for yoga and I was thrilled as I’d see my scores slowly improve along with my balance…

Update:
I gave up and returned this to Amazon. Even a partial refund is better than feeling so cheated and manipulated. (Which obviously is not the yoga serenity I was seeking. LOL) As others recommended, I have now purchased the Wii Fit Plus software upgrade for half the price of this ridiculous program. It is a big improvement over the original and solves most of the problems of the original by adding the ability to create custom routines that can be completed much more rapidly without touching the remote, allowing more time to do additional poses. They’ve even added a meditation game which is amusing. This will hold me until somebody somewhere develops a more robust yoga program…(read more)

1 out of 5 stars
not worth it

December 9, 2009

hi im an instructor with over 15 years experience, there are lots of dvd that are way better than this wii one! i still do dvds on my own so its not like im all teachy preachy i do the work too! for one thing this super models voice will drive you batty! she can do yoga by default,she so anorexic i have eaten burgers bigger than her! anyhow it is unrealistic and really not worth the effort as others here have reviewed!

So the early reviews are coming in “NOT GOOD”. I will update this later with any positive reviews I can find. Please post any of your personal experiences with “Yoga for Wii” in the comments section.

If you’re looking to pickup a Wii system and Wii Fit Plus Balance Board bundle, now would be a great time to do it. Starting today, until November 22nd, Amazon.com is offering a $50 Gift Card with the purchase of both the Wii system ($199 MSRP) and Wii Fit Plus Balance Board Bundle ($89.99). The $50 Amazon Gift Card will be added to your order for free during checkout. You’ll easily be able to apply that to another Wii game or give it as a gift and make somebody smile.

Order from Amazon.com here to get a free $50 gift card, while the offer is available.

The world’s first 100% Yoga gaming experience is to be released by the Austrian publisher JoWooD for Wii™ in November. It includes 30 different Yoga poses to support your mental and physical well-being and soul.

From November on, “Yoga” for Nintendo’s console, Wii ™, allows players to take a Yoga class with a real Guru – right in your own living room! No matter if you’re a beginner or a Yoga expert: Create and modify your individual training program, then practice your poses in seven highly detailed levels based on authentic places and buildings in Asia. An interactive Yoga Guru provides vital feedback, while top model Anja Rubik guides you through the game’s core features and tells you her own personal Yoga secrets. Using the Balance Board™, players receive feedback on how well they’re doing in the breathing and balance exercises.

A total of 30 Yoga poses bring you mental and physical well-being and health for soul, spirit and body. Top model Anja Rubik, currently ranked third in the international Model Ranking, offers a short preview of what is in store for “Yoga” players:

Mountain Pose – Tadasana
The standing posture Tadasana is one of Yoga’s most important and basic poses – it is the beginning and end point for most standing poses, and is well-suited for beginners. The Mountain Pose helps one achieve an upright posture: The balls of the feet and the heel are placed firmly on the ground, the arches raised slightly, and the toes spread. The back should be straight with the arms held straight down to the sides. Thoughts are calm and the body is calm and stable – like a mountain. The mountain pose can easily be integrated into everyday life and helps you train good, correct posture – the huge benefits of which, both on physical and mental well-being, can be felt immediately.

Corpse Pose – Shavasana
Shavasana, the Corpse Pose, is a basic Yoga posture: You lie back, completely relaxed, and feel the contact with the ground with all body parts that touch the Earth. The head and neck should be straight. In order to relax, concentrate your mind on each body part, one after the other, and pay close attention to everything this body part is feeling. Any tension present is thus released automatically. Shavasana is frequently used as a relaxation exercise at the start of a Yoga session, or as a meditative finish to a challenging practice session.

Lotus Position – Padmasana
The Lotus is probably one of Yoga’s most well-known positions. The triangle formed by the rump, knees and arms forms a stable foundation. The Lotus position is a perfect pose for meditation since it allows one to remain utterly motionless and concentrated for a long time. The heels of the feet, each resting on the opposed thigh, activate important energy spots in the abdominal area, the hands rest comfortably on the knees, the head and neck are straight and help upright, but relaxed. Slow and measured breathing helps to relax muscles and lower blood pressure. There is increased blood flow to the abdominal area, which helps activate nerves near the Os Sacrum and tailbone. This also has positive effects on the digestive tract.

Lord of the Dance – Natarajasana
Natarajasana (also known as Natarajasan, Nataraj oder Nataraja Asana) is one of Yoga’s simpler balance exercises. To perform this pose, stand upright and set your eyes on a fixed point. The pelvic and abdominal muscles are tensed. Now move your weight to your left leg, then grasp your right leg with your right hand and gently guide it upward, while the left arm extends horizontally. The upper body leans forward or back and up. Advanced practitioners can bring their foot up to the head. This Yoga pose is beneficial to balance, strengthens the rump muscles and vitalizes the entire body.
Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo.

About JoWooD Entertainment AG
JoWooD Entertainment Software AG (ATXPrime: JWD) is listed in the Prime Market segment of the Vienna stock exchange. JoWooD is a leading publisher of computer and videogames, releasing international acclaimed, high-quality titles for all existing and future gaming systems. JoWooD games are distributed worldwide by an efficient net of distribution partners. Visit http://corporate.jowood.com for more information.

About DreamCatcher Inc.
DreamCatcher Inc. is a leading worldwide publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software. DreamCatcher Interactive is owned by JoWooD Productions, an Austrian based video game publisher traded on the Vienna stock exchange.
Established in 1996, the company markets its products under two popular labels: DreamCatcher Games, featuring the critically-acclaimed, bestselling game Painkiller; and The Adventure Company, the number one brand for PC adventure game sales worldwide including award winning titles such as Syberia and Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None.
DreamCatcher products include titles for Windows® as well as leading hardware platforms – the Xbox 360™, PlayStation® 3, Nintendo DS™ and Wii™.

The first 100 percent Yoga experience for the Nintendo Wii™ is released by JoWooD Productions and Dreamcatcher and will hit the stores in November. With Anja Rubik, ranked as number 3 of international female models, JoWooD releases the first official trailer which features Anja Rubik and some in-game sequences.

Vogue Paris, Vogue Nippon, Vogue Germany, Spur Magazin Toki, Time Magazine Style&Designs– it doesn’t matter which magazines you have read during the last couple of weeks, Anja Rubik was present in all of them. The 24 year old Top model from Poland became THE rising star in the international model business. Besides the vast coverage in several notable magazines, Anja is also featured in numerous campaigns like e.g. Gucci, Etro, Balmain, Barney’s New York, GAP, Giuseppe Zanotti, and Jones New York.

The international coverage pays off! www.models.com, an international model website of worldwide renown, currently ranks Anja on the third place of the world’s most wanted, female top models.

Apart from her skyrocketed career, Anja is a true Yoga enthusiast, and represents this ancient Indian philosophy in a very authentic way. Anja Rubik’s commitment to Yoga for Wii™ helps her getting trough the days and weeks of her tightly set schedule:“Yoga enables me to stay fit and maintain my body shape; my joints stay relaxed and agile. Another very important part of Yoga is the right breathing, which helps me personally to stay calm in some stressful situations. Even my lower back problems, caused by high heeled shoes, are gone!”

Currently, Anja attends Yoga lessons in New York regularly, but with“Yoga for Wii” at hand; she can practice her Yoga at any city around the world!“This Yoga game is awesome! It is challenging, but in a comfortable way as it never pushes me to the limit, as seen in other fitness games. Afterwards I feel relaxed and fit!”

Anja is not just a grace to the cover of this new lifestyle game, but will also guide the players’ trough the game and help her/him with useful tips and tricks.

As opposed to other games,“Yoga for Wii” provides players with a 100% Yoga experience. The approach: Become one with your body, mind and soul– with the Balance Board™ in your own living room.“Yoga for Wii is a high-quality game and was designed for all those who are interested in learning more about this ancient Indian philosophy and who want to get their body in shape whilst maintaining a balanced mind,” says Markus Reutner, Marketing Manager at JoWooD.

About JoWooD Productions Software AG

JoWooD Productions Software AG (ATXPrime: JWD) is listed in the Prime Market segment of the Vienna stock exchange. JoWooD is a leading publisher of computer and videogames, releasing international acclaimed, high-quality titles for all existing and future gaming systems. JoWooD games are distributed worldwide by an efficient net of distribution partners.

The Wii Fit has demonstrated its applications to gamers and yoga enthusiasts alike.  It is a source of unfolding entertainment and increasing challenge as our family unlocks more games and yoga poses, we never tire of the repertoire of choice!

And now, its usefulness is being recognized in the health care arena as a physical therapy tool with wide applications in treatment and health maintenance.  I read a fantastic article in the ‘Wicked Local Billerica’, November 26, 2008, about an injured firefighter using the Wii Fit as a therapuetic tool in recovering from a serious knee injury sustained on the job.  Owen Thompson, is among good company with others recouping from a variety of disorders and injuries, using the feedback from the balance board to gauge that he is working his body evenly and developing a sense of his equilibrium.  Thomsons doctor, Brinklow, has been impressed with the improvements her clients have gleaned using the Wii Fit:

“Just prior to beginning her work with Thompson, Brinklow and the clinic had caught word of a new alternative exercise treatment for patients that was proven to improve their strength and entertain them at the same time, the Nintendo Wii gaming system. While the Wii is already a popular tool for geriatric patients inside assisted living facilities and senior centers across the country, the videogame is now all the rage as a therapeutic tool for stroke, pediatric and orthopedic patients.

After reading extensive studies on clinics and centers across the country like Ohio State University Medical Center and Children’s Hosptital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., which use the system on pediatric cystic fibrosis patients, Brinklow and the staff at the clinic decided to bring it on board.

Since bringing it in to the clinic in October the Wii has become a staple tool with many of the clinic’s neurology patients and orthopedic patients like Thompson.
“We’ve done all different types of balance activities and stuff,” said Brinklow. “Originally they used it with a lot of geriatric patients with getting them to move. We’ve been using it more with orthopedic patients as rehabilitation for ankles, knees and shoulders.”

We are not recommending that one should use the Wii Fit as rehabilitation tool without the guidance of a physical therapist; the system is not a replacement for physical therapist any more than a substitute for a yoga teacher.  As a biofeedback tool, it is indeed a fascinating experience to work with the Wii Fit and the Balance Board, and I have derived great benefit and pleasure from the Wii Fit.   I think there are amazing potentials for such a tool and it is great to have the enthusiastic support of health care professionals behind this amazing technology.