Sonic Yoga Flow of the Month

Jonathan Fields
Year Released: 2003

Categories: Yoga


September:

This is the latest Sonic Yoga offering. It's similar to Baron Baptiste's style of practice, without all the silly stuff that Baron is prone to saying. It's long, 90 minutes, but you get a lot bang for your buck and you could cut it short if you want to. I think if you like Eoin Finn's style you will like this one.

It's the hanumanasana (splits) one and it's 90 minutes long. You can cut it to 55 minutes if you want to skip the splits part at the end. For that matter you can cut it down to whatever length you want, I guess. The DVD is not set up that way though. It has an introduction segment where Jonathan talks about splits and an outtakes segment. Other than that the practice is one big chapter. I wish the earlier ones were on DVD, because then I'd be tempted to get them. Since they're only available on VHS, I'm hesitating. Had they been on DVD it'd be a slam dunk.

I think it is different enough from Baron's that it would be worth it for people who already have Baron's live series to get it. Anyone who's read my past posts probably knows I have a low Baron tolerance. The set is similar to Baron's live series. It is like a live class format with Jonathan walking around instructing a big class. I like the yogis in the class. There were a couple of women in particular whose body types I could really relate to, fit but not super thin. People modify when they need to and some use props, there's even one woman who started skipping chaturangas and going straight to up dog towards the end like I tend to do at the end of a long power yoga practice. You see people taking breaks to drink water and wipe the sweat off their faces. I like that, because I'm doing the same thing. There's a lot of work during the last half hour where your back knee is on the ground, so be prepared with some padding if you have sensitive knees.

It's a very complete, challenging power yoga practice. This is definitely not a video for beginners or someone who doesn't know their way around a lot of yoga poses. Even though he does cue some moves for people who are new, the modifications are not clearly shown and a new beginner would probably find it frustrating, if not exhausting. It's fast paced and includes lots of challenging poses. There are also lots of variations on poses that I haven't seen a lot. It is nice for a change of pace for people who have a regular power yoga practice.

Instructor Comments:
The instructor, Jonathan Fields, does kind of have a surfer dude type accent, but his instruction is really good. Better than Baron Baptiste's, I think, because he spends the time cueing the poses rather than saying silly things. He seems very genuine,like he doesn't take himself too seriously. He has a similar teaching style and look to Baron Baptiste (right down to the do-rag). But his talk tends more to instruction than philisophy. I prefer the instruction.

Loretta S

09/27/2003