Lisa Matkin
I've been practicing yoga with videos for some time now, and I thought that this would be a relaxing workout which would help with my frequent headaches. However, I discovered that the video is more focused towards bodily aches and pains--namely neck pain, back pain, arthritis, or injuries. For someone suffering from one of those conditions and who has only a limited range of motion, this tape might be useful. It is a led my a husband and wife team, Charles and Lisa, and broken into three 10 minutes sections. The first, in which Lisa demostrates and Charles provides voiceover, is a series of seated poses on a chair with a strong emphasis on breathing. Charles leads the second section with Lisa's voiceover; this section includes gentle standing postures using the chair for assistance. In the final section, Lisa again leads, this time demonstrating a series of floor poses for relaxation. Anyone who has some prior experience with yoga is likely to find this video to be much too easy, but for those who are absolute beginners and/or those who have chronic pain, this workout could be beneficial.
Instructor comments:
Both Charles and Lisa provide good cuing and good demostration of the poses.
Beth C
September 8, 2003
FYI: I consider myself to be a beginner.
In my opinion, the parts of this video done seated in a chair with Lisa are gentle and appropriate for those with aches and pains. However, at the part with Charles standing , I found that my back hurt doing the lunge and downward dog modifications over a chair. And near the end of the workout with Lisa, there is a bridge pose, which in my opinion is too challenging for someone with aches and pains.
So, overall I found that this video was a good non-intimidating intro to yoga, but not for someone with aches and pains.
And I ultimately traded this away once I felt less intimidated to try other yoga videos.
Instructor comments:
Both instructors use voiceovers and they demonstrate the poses well and have very pleasant expressions on their faces.
mousepad/clarissa
03-06-04
This workout is done outdoors by a pool with a scenic backdrop. Lisa and Charles alternate doing the three sections and the person not doing the moves does the voiceover describing the moves. Overall, it is a very gentle workout.
I was drawn to it because I have gotten into stretching in the past year. One of my most problematic areas is my neck and shoulders, where I carry a lot of tension. I read that this workout addressed those areas. And, boy, DID it. My neck and shoulders felt wonderful and relaxed after the first section. The other two sections didn’t give me as much benefit as they did not address specific problems, but they were relaxing.
I decided, however, not to keep this workout because of the high level of “mind-body connection” talk. It was just too New Agey, or something, for me. Keep in mind that I am not a yoga person; I just do a couple of yoga workouts that give me stretches that relax me and I have a couple of beginner-level yoga workouts that I use periodically.
I think anyone already into yoga would find this workout very easy. Someone who wants a gentle, stretch type workout t address specific problem areas in their body may enjoy this workout. It is a hard one to classify.
One comment about the DVD: In the descriptions, this workout was described as having three sections, and it does. However, on the DVD menu, it lists all the moves individually, not the sections. So, for example, you would need to know that the first five moves comprise the first section in order to move directly to the second section. It means, however, that you can skip over any individual move you don’t want to do because each move is a separate chapter point.
Instructor comments:
They are very calm and deliberate in their moves and descriptions.
Laura S.
April 17, 2005
