This review is based on a preview I did of this tape last night. Also - here's my disclaimer - I may be a little biased because I've liked all Leigh Crews' tapes to date.

Now a little about me - I consider myself an athletic (sometimes dancy) type and I have shied away from traditional yoga tapes. I've gotten them, I've let them sit on the shelf and then I've traded them. Mostly because I don't know the name of the poses and I don't know the difference between the kinds of yogas, etc. I do like it when the instructors throw yoga into the tapes as the stretch or the cooldown. But otherwise, I just don't sit down and do yoga.

And one of the cool things about Straight Up Yoga is that it's not a sit-down-and-do-yoga kind of tape. The tape is a sequence of poses that originate from the standing position. It is broken up into several parts. Sun Salutations, Flexibility, Strength and Balance, Rejuvenation and Meditation with a Guidelines section at the end.

Sun Salutations is a sequence of poses very much like what you find in Leigh's Y2K Yoga. You go from standing to downward dog to upward dog and back to standing and you vary this sequence in different ways for several minutes. Flexibility is next. I believe she uses variations of the warrior pose here and then some hip-opening poses. Strength and Balance is my favorite part mostly because it seems to be the most athletic. It includes poses you see interspersed in Final Cuts and 4WS - hip-pinges and balance moves. Rejuvenation and Meditation is a nice section that creates a buffer zone between the workout and your return to the "real world".

All in all, this tape is very nicely done. The music is not too loud and not too soft and it's always just the right music for what's happening on screen. Leigh goes through the poses and she instructs via voice-over. The exercises flow into each other nicely. The production values are good. The set is pretty and appropriate for the workout. It also kind of matches the graphics that appear between sections. Leigh is dressed in a tie-dye tank top and spandex workout pants. Basically it all fits together in a well-produced package. I'm impressed with it and I think it'll actually give me the impetus to start concentrating on improving my flexibility and maybe make yoga more approachable for me.

Instructor Comments:
I like Leigh. She's personable, sweet and informative. Also she's professional and her southern accent is endearing.

Nat