i like the baron baptiste videos and practice his style of yoga ( as well as teach it) at the yoga studio that i belong to. I really enjoy it. His videos are excellent and well balanced. He also has a book, Journey into Power, that makes a good accompaniment.
Another good one is Beryl Bender Birch's Power Yoga and Beyond Power Yoga (books). Beryl has a new video coming out soon. She practices and teaches astanga (which she calls power yoga too), and the first video is, i believe, a modified primary series.
The AM/PM videos are very popular. I like rodney yee and he has a book as well. The book is excellently done, but it's not one of my favorites. Yoga Journal also has a series of videos. They are predominantly taught by Rodney Yee and Judith Lasiter. Rodney is an ecclectic yogi who does a lot of power yoga-type stuff. he may or may not practice vinyasa (depends upon the video). Vinyasa is a series of postures matched with breath. So, Astanga and baptiste power yoga are vinyasa yoga. Rodney's videos may or may not be a flow, even though they may be power yoga. Labels get confusing in the yoga world too. Judith Lasiter is an Iyengar instructor. They have great form and teach in great detail. it's wonderful for learning postures, but many people find it borning because you stay in a pose for so long, or there are only so many poses that you do per video, not a lot of variety.
Bryan Kest has vinyasa yoga videos that are quite challenging but also balanced. The Swensons have books (i believe they helped write Power Yoga for Dummies, though i hate those titles. most people aren't dummies, so why by a book that associates oneself as one? it seems like self-loathing and not the practice of ahimsa, or nonviolence, towards oneself.) They also have videos, but they are more strict to astanga primary series. Although i love primary series, without a teacher to direct you, it is very difficult to get into it. There may also be Anusara yoga videos, but i haven't seen any first hand. Anusara is a good form of yoga, with good emphasis on biomechanics.
All of that being said, i think the best thing to do is to go to a studio. I understand tight budgets, but don't let that scare you off. Most classes run about $10 per class in our area, and that's drop in (no preregistry). Many studios, ours in particular, offers opportunities for trade. You can come and open the door of the studio taking in the money and making sure the new people are introduced to the studio in exchange for classes. Or, mop/scrub the floors every few days; or any other number of things that one can do or that the teacher can come up with. I work in exchange for all of my classes. I'm there so frequently now that i can take class twice a day every day. I haven't done that in a long while, but i do get to the studio four or five times a week. It's an opportunity worth looking in to.
Hope this helps!
