Power Yoga for Happiness

Eoin Finn
Year Released: 2003

Categories: Yoga


I’m reviewing this workout after doing all of the routines at least once and most of them multiple times in the couple of years I’ve had this.

General workout breakdown: This power yoga video contains 5 routines, 4 of which (The Quickie, 30 min.; Daily Dose of Bliss, 40 min.; Magically Hips, 55 min.; and Strong, Free and Happy, 53 min.) are premixes of the full routine (Total Happiness, 80 min.). Although at one point Eoin says, “In Iyengar yoga we call this…”, he teaches a vinyasa-style yoga (i.e. poses are built into flowing sequences, there are chaturanga-up dog-down dogs between poses or flows, etc.) that’s a hair slower than most power yoga routines.
To give you an idea of the asanas included, here are the chapter points: centering (standing forward bend, mountain), sun salutation “eh,” sun salutation B, standing forward bends (including padangusthasana, where you grab your big toes, and padahastasana, where you put your hands under your feet), standing flow 1 (building off of sun salutation B into warrior 2, side angle, lunge with twist, triangle), hip flexor love (deep standing lunge, kneeling crescent lunge, hanumanasana = front-back split), standing flow 2 (beginning with one-legged down dog, warrior 1 into 3, “standing big toe pose” = balance with leg extended, dancer’s pose, crow), pigeon pose (with several upper body positions), standing pigeon, tree / standing half lotus, side plank, seated forward bend, janu sirsasana, seated pigeon / half lotus, “Dear Abby” (i.e. abs: head & heels held off of floor at several heights, crunch w/ legs vertical, legs to the side, alternating leg lifts to opposite hands, knees to chest, boat), simple back bends (chaturanga series into cobra, bow), twist & double pigeon, butterfly / wide leg forward bend, turtle, supine pigeon, half or full backbends (bridge or wheel), supine leg stretches, and savasana.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced beginner through intermediate+ yogi(ni)s. I would not recommend this to newbies to yogi (especially if you’re new to exercise); you’d be better off with something that has more basic form instruction and fewer advanced poses (perhaps Eoin’s Pure & Simple Yoga?). True yoga intermediates and those even more advanced may enjoy exploring some of the most advanced moves I’ve seen in a yoga video intended for the mass market, although Jane’s correct in pointing out that there are no inversions, as well as only a few backbends.

Class: 1 man and 5 women join Eoin. Two always show beginner modifications, one shows intermediate, and the rest perform the routine at a more advanced level. Eoin instructs via voiceover.

Music: pleasant instrumental music that suits the workout well and fades into the background when needed.

Set: outdoors in a wooded park.

Production: good quality picture and sound. I find that I need to turn the volume up in comparison to most of my videos, however. The camera angles are more helpful than not, showing all levels of an exercise in some way at some time. While most of the time the video focuses on the group in the park, there are shots of Eoin or one of the class members alone demonstrating the full pose for several of the asanas, but these come after Eoin gets you started in the pose.
The editing of the premixes is seamless, both in terms of the picture and sound. Eoin’s voice never changes drastically in tone or volume, and the music never feels like it has been suddenly cut. In fact, I didn’t realize the shorter routines were premixes until I had done three of them and realized there were just too many similarities for Eoin to have filmed variations of the same routine five different times!

Equipment: sticky mat (or equivalent). All participants are barefoot.

Space Requirements: enough room to perform a full sun salutation without bumping into things and lie on the floor with limbs extended.

DVD Notes: This actually has 2 DVDs: one with the 30, 40, and 55 min. routines, and the other with the 53 and 80 min. routines. The full routine on the long DVD is chaptered (see my general breakdown again; the simple backbends is out of order on the chapter list); the premixes are not chaptered.

Comments: I’m surprised there aren’t more reviews for PY4H, which seems to be one of the most used, enjoyed, and recommended yoga videos at VF. And with good reason! For me there’s just something yummy about the flows, the pace, even Eoin. I finally decided I might as well try this guy during a Hip Opening Challenge, and I’m so thankful I did. The disc with the three shorter routines may be my most used yoga video. The 30- and 40-min. routines are perfect for a time-crunched person like myself, and the Magically Hips routine is just divine. It has done wonders for my lower body flexibility, something that’s important and exciting to me not just because I’m especially inflexible there but also because I spend most of my day sitting. I don’t know what I’d do if all copies of this DVD spontaneously exploded; my hips and I would be very, very upset!
As has been mentioned, Eoin’s power yoga isn’t lightning fast or super rigorous, in comparison to something like Mark Blanchard’s Sedona Foundations, for example. I have to modify chaturangas due to an elbow issue; I find that I have just enough time to do so.
While this practice isn’t overly spiritual, Eoin does try to bring out the meditative and bliss-inducing qualities of the practice. He does include a number of the Sanskrit names, although he uses both Sanskrit and English interchangeably for common poses like down dog. Those who are especially modest may not be comfortable with some of Eoin’s phrases (“It should feel like ice cream getting licked off your hips”) and the view of thongs through and over the top of a few of the women’s pants.
Since this is a power yoga video, you spend a good deal of time on your wrists in chaturanga, up dog, and down dog. However, there are not a lot of additional asanas using the wrists if you follow some of the modifications, skip crow, etc.

Instructor Comments:
Eoin cues well, although he doesn’t mirror cue since he’s referring to the right and left of his class. I’ve personally found his instruction and some of his tips very helpful, but if you’re looking for copious amounts of alignment instruction he may not be your guy. Eoin’s voice is pleasant and well-suited to this type of yoga; he comes off as sincere and helpful. He does spend a good time of the video instructing, but it’s not as much as in the original Power Yoga, since there are actually pauses in PY4H. Eoin’s approach embraces your limitations and abilities. I have never felt bad or guilty when modifying the poses in this video; Eoin makes it clear that “It’s all good.”
It goes without saying that Eoin is goofy / silly / neo-hippyish / surfer dude-like / what have you. I once read reviews and lists of his comments and thought to myself, “There’s no way I could take this guy seriously. I’m going to giggle the whole time.” Well, I’m glad I matured a little and kept an open mind during this video, because Eoin’s Eoinness doesn’t really bother me after all. After hearing his comments a few times I’m able to tune out some that I think are particularly odd (“Move the corners of your mouth upwards. It’s called a smile.”), and a few others have grown on me (“Focus your Gandhi laser there.”).

KathAL79

11/05/2006