This is a relatively short, 35 minute yoga video. Some of the poses included are downward facing dog (many times), cat stretch with and without modified pushups, child's pose, warrior II, high and low lunges, staph pose, cobra, relaxation pose, seated and reclining twists, and several others. Sara Ivanhoe leads the class. One exerciser shows the poses for the very flexible, and one exerciser shows the modified versions. The instructor and the class members show good form. The setting is typical Crunch studio (minus the whooping, of course). The music is new-agey. All of the exercisers are fit, young, and show various levels of flexibility. As a yoga intermediate, I enjoy this as a relatively short, relatively thorough yoga workout. It isn't nearly as challenging as Bryan Kest's Power Yoga series; I would consider it a step below Ali McGraw's Yoga Mind and Body. It isn't as relaxing as Ali's tape, though. I would recommend this tape to yoga intermediates--there is nowhere near enough instruction for beginners, and advanced will not find it challenging enough. My main complaint about this tape (besides the brief instruction, which is not a problem if you are familiar with the poses) is that the relaxation is too short. You lie in relaxation pose for only about a minute or so, and then Sara instructs you to roll to your side and sit up. All in all, I like this tape but it is not for everyone.

Instructor Comments:
Sara is very down-to-earth in a hip way, not unlike most of the Crunch instructors. She does a good job of making yoga seem unintimidating. Her cuing to me seems to run a bit hot and cold; sometimes she is very thorough and other times she assumes that you know how to do the poses by name.

Kristin Aziz