Raquel Welch
This elegant and timeless 90 minute
Hatha yoga video may be the crown
jewel of my 20 year fitness video
collection. Produced in 1984, it
is everything this VF diehard still
wants in a video: great production
values, a fabulous set, a confident
and competent instructor, and a
challenging workout. Lead by the
equally timeless Raquel Welch, its
45 minutes of tough standing poses
followed by 45 minutes of difficult
mat poses. There are 2 sets of
each of the 26 poses, giving you
lots of opportunity to "get it
right" before moving on to the next
position. Miss Welch verbally cues
each posture in great detail
("weight on the right leg, left leg
extended to the side, right arm
under the left", etc.) as she and
her team of background exercisers
demonstrate each pose and hold them
for long, slow counts; forcing one
to concentrate, breathe hard, and
get the most out of each move.
During the holding portions, Miss
Welch's distinctive voice is
overdubed giving much meeded
encouragement as well as gentle
teasing and humorous comments about
her own learning experiences with
the postures. In between poses, or
recovery phase, Miss Welch is
relaxed and jovial with her
students, even sharing in their
groaning at the difficulty of
certain moves and their
effectiveness. Its a relaxed
atmosphere among friends and you're
part of the gang. All poses, by
the way, are referred to by their
common english names ("eagle",
"dancer's pose", "rabbit", etc.)
making them recognizable to regular
Hatha yoga devotees.
And here's the best part: its all
fabulous to look at, too. Flimed
in a gleaming, marble-floored foyer
in a moorish-styled tropical beach
palace its the ultimate
"spa-getaway-in-a-box". The
background music is subtle
early-FIRM instrumental -- barely
detectable. Even better are the
natural sounds that were picked up
in this stereo recorded production:
tropical birds sing and fountain
waters cascade delicately in the
background. I found this very
refreshing and invigorating to
listen to -- such a nice change
from all the terrible canned music
in most workout videos.
Overall rating: "A". Don't let
the 1984 production date turn you
off. The only thing that looks
dated in this video may be the
short, green legwarmers and white
ankle length tights on two of the
background exercisers. But they're
barely on camera. If there was a
"wish list" for v
Instructor comments:
Miss Welch is obviously a devoted
yoga pupil and a gifted instructor.
In her 40's when this was filmed,
she has amazing flexibility yet
humbly reminds us in voice-overs
that she wasn't always that way. I
found her easy to follow and
inspiring. Her voice is especially
soothing and
Ann
anniesmailbx@redshift.com
9/26/04