I have to admit that I approached Anusara yoga with skepticism. Yoga is big business these days and several schools have marketed themselves successfully as trend-setters.

While Anusara yoga has gained popularity and attention (see, for example, the recent summer edition of Vanity Fair), there’s substance to back the hype. After listening to the opinions of some experienced yogi VFers, I bought my first Anusara DVD (Lauren Mone’s Aligning the Upper Body) and took my first classes this summer. I’ve come to like the style very much.

For those who want a balance between the vinyaasa-flow styles of most classes nowadays and the iyengar styles’ attention to form, safety, and anatomy of movement, Anusara yoga seems like a good fit. It’s big on form and lighter on sun salutations than many styles. And it does seem to be grounded in sound kinetic principles. I’ve never hurt myself doing Anusara yoga. The tips on the placement of the lower back, shoulders, and pelvis during asanas seems helpful.

And now finally to the review.

“Anusara Essentials” by John Friend is a useful addition to most libraries. Those who dislike esoteric metaphors, beware. There’s a fair amount jargon about finding your inner essence, letting your body become “sparkly” and open, and so on. This fuzzy language is balanced, however, by precise instructions on form. The accompanying music is relaxing and at no point does the rhetoric spin too far from the pose at hand. I get Friend’s point. He’s trying to bring practitioners through the alignment of the pose into a kind of larger spiritual alignment. A bookish, sporadic yoga student, I tend to have less patience for awkward metaphors. The instructions on form were so intelligent and articulate that I wasn’t distracted as much by his flowery digressions. I found the practice relaxing but also insightful. I took away several tips on form that I can apply to my own practices.

“Anusara Essentials” is a 66 minute compilation of poses featured on “Anusara 101,” which is 2 hours long. I have both and recommend the Essentials version to those who want an audio introduction to Anusara. I recommend Mone’s DVD to those who are absolutely new to Anusara and don’t have access to a local class.

The poses included on the Essentials CD include:

Centering
Child’s pose
Downward facing Dog
Forward Bend
Shoulder Openers
Sun Salutations
Side Angle Standing Pose
Triangle Pose
Half Moon Pose
Intense Standing Hamstring Stretch
Pigeon Pose
East Side Stretch
Bridge Pose
Supine leg stretch
Sitting forward bend
Sitting wide angle pose
Sitting twist
Half spinal twist
Supine spinal twist
Savasana.

The savasana (final relaxation pose) is nine moments of divine relaxation. I enjoyed this practice and find it a handy addition to my instructional media. Recommended.

Instructor Comments:
See review.

junadelam