I’m reviewing this workout after doing each of the sessions once and watching the additional material.

General workout breakdown: See Beth’s excellent breakdown. I’ll add my thoughts on the individual sessions and a few more general thoughts.

Day 1: This practice runs through a variety of poses, often repeating them several times to explore something different or go deeper. John takes a cue from the autumnal equinox and encourages introspection; at the same time, he emphasizes the importance of community in both reflecting on the experiences of the past year and in practicing that day. John is mindful in this morning session that the majority of his audience has covered a lot of distance to get there and is not used to the high elevation, so he takes care to ground and reawaken bodies sluggish from travel and to allow hearts a chance to slow down between poses. My hamstrings and hip flexors liked all of the attention here. I felt that of the three practices this had the least amount of focus on principles and alignment, but after doing the others I see John’s spending time here laying the groundwork for exploring the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the poses in subsequent days.

Day 2: Like Day 1, John describes this morning session as a potpourri of poses. He builds on the previous day. Again, you’ll see several poses several times each. Here, however, he brings a general focus: that of playing in the band – in other words, bringing your whole body to every pose (Anusara teaches that every pose should be active all over, after all) and keeping in tune with your band, er, classmates. He focuses on very basic technique fundamentals, than encourages you to let loose and enjoy the pose, play in it, “let it sing.” John emphasizes how these basics pop up again and again, comparing this to the techniques and scales needed to be mastered when learning to play an instrument. While John mentions the artistic nature of yoga in all three days, this session underscores that artistry the most.
In contrast to Day 1 and also parts of Day 3, this day feels more like a workshop: there are pauses for demonstrations (some of which are more about the element of fun), so it’s not as much of a continuous flow as Day 1. There’s quite a bit of time spent on the wrists here, although John takes care to instruct proper hand placement as one of his basic techniques that he stresses all practicers should revisit, no matter how experienced. Beth mentioned some partnerwork, and with the exception of the handstand it’s more about using the person next to you while in your pose (e.g. in reclined leg stretches, with the one leg to the side, assuming the person next to you will hold your foot). The class is definitely more comfortable with John and the overall experience: the laughter and applause are louder and more contagious, grunts and other noises emerge (John asks for these in places), and the chattering (a low murmur) takes a while to die down during transitions.

Day 3: This is another morning session, and it continues to build on Day 1 and Day 2, with many of the same poses revisted, although the seated forward bending postures mostly disappear here (perhaps just in the version presented here?) while backbends are emphasized more. The session’s themes revolve around offering and love; in fact, John quotes one of his teacher’s descriptions of asana as “worshipful postures” as he asks you to dedicate sequences to your beloved (perhaps your SO, but maybe a parent - for John it’s his mom -, a friend, a teacher, etc.), someone who’s suffering, and an important teacher in your life. Here alignment is seen as a way to optimize the heart’s opening and offering. In some ways this is the most theoretical of the three practices, as John focuses on things like the four types of relationships or the five elements and how they apply to Anusara’s universal principles. Although this is the longest practice, it didn’t feel like it has significantly more time in asana, as John lectures a little more here, and there’s about the same amount of demonstrations, plus the kirtan is about twice as long. A few more challenging postures appear, but as always John talks you into attempting them, making everything seem doable (even if my body didn’t always agree, I still felt that I had a prayer of a chance of getting into poses I never before dreamed I could do). I did the most spectating during this practice, between those challenges and the increased emphasis on partnerwork. The mood is more reverent and devotional here, serious and almost solemn in comparison to the playful attitude of Day 2.

In general John’s pace is measured, never rushing. Poses are held for a good while, almost a minute, maybe a minute and a half, on average. The practices tend to focus on standing forward bends, specifically uttanasana and related poses; lunges; down dog; standing poses, particularly trikonasana, ardha chandrasana, and parsvottanasana; simple standing balance poses like standing big toe pose; hip openers, particularly pigeon; backbends, especially cobra, dhanurasana, setu bandha, and urdhva dhanurasana; some twists, either seated or lunging; simple arm balances, including bakasana; seated poses, in particular janu sirsasana but also some upavista konasana variations; and child’s pose for rest. John’s sun salutations aren’t the same few poses repeated several times in a row, as he might do something different each time through, whether moving into a different lunge, doing more or fewer chaturanga – down dog – cobra sets, etc., holding the standing forward bend longer, etc.

Level: Like Beth, I’d recommend this to people with some yoga experience under their belt, as John assumes some familiarity with basic yoga poses. I’d agree that prior Anusara experience is not necessary - in fact, John points out that some people have never done Anusara before - but those who have that background will probably get something different out of these sessions than those who are new to this style (not that that’s a bad thing at all).
I’ve been practicing yoga for 7 years or so now, although I’ve never gotten into fully intermediate postures like headstands and simple arm balances, but that’s not an issue here since the few left in are easy enough to modify (i.e. stick with a more basic pose) or skip. I’m still working on flexibility and strength in a few areas, but I found these practice accessible and doable challenges, listening of course to my own body.

Music: none in Day 1 and Day 2, instrumental accompaniment (a string instrument, guitar, flute, and/or percussion) from the band for much of Day 3, plus the Om and Anusara chant that begin and the kirtan session that closes each practice (all in Sanskrit, except the last kirtan, which also includes English lyrics).

Set: John, Tonya, and the band Shantala are on a stage with a blue backdrop (with instruments off to one side and some objects like a dancing Shiva in the other corner) in the midst of what looks like a very large log cabin-esque hall. The stage is brightly lit, but the rest of the room is dim.

Production: clear picture and sound. As Beth mentioned, the focus is on John and Tonya on stage, with few shots of the crowd during the practices themselves (which I miss – I like seeing the wide varieties of ways poses are manifested by people of differing ages, shapes, and abilities; that said, this is primarily taken from the filming done to project on the screens for the hundreds of people not able to be in front of the stage, so the focus on John and Tonya makes sense).
The classes seem to be trimmed down slightly, and while the editing of the picture is smooth the resulting transitions aren’t always. I appreciate that the editors cut out the few minutes people take to move up towards the stage or wander back towards their mats, but a few (more advanced? partnerwork? ) poses seem to have been edited out; for example, in Day 1 John refers to the handstand, which isn’t included. There are a few moments when suddenly you’re in a completely different pose; for example, in Day 2, after the setu bandha – wheel series, suddenly you’re standing and stretching your hands over your head with no warning.

Equipment: a sticky mat. John encourages using the minimal amount of props needed - for example, in Day 1 he has people widen their legs in triangle until they can touch the floor, and he asks one of his helpers to take away a block from a student using it for ardha chandrasana - but if you need a blanket, block(s), and/or strap, have them nearby.

Space Requirements: enough room to perform a full sun salutation, standing balance with leg extended, handstand from standing forward bend, and similar poses without bumping into stuff. Since these are workshop practices they assume you don’t have tons of space.

DVD Notes: I’ll just add that this comes in a regular-sized plastic DVD case, with discs 2 and 3 overlapping.

Comments: A very generous VFer let me borrow this. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to play with these. There’s a lot for me to chew over here in terms of content, and as a dabbler in Anusara I’m finding these recordings of the first grand gathering with the school’s founder informative, thought-provoking, and helpful. There’s something about John’s instruction that gently, kindly, and even lovingly encourages me to go deeper into poses and the practice of yoga itself, and I felt the sense of delight about which John talks so much, invigorating my practice, which can sometimes feel mechanical or rote or just uninspired. As you can perhaps tell from my description of the classes, Day 2 resonated the most with me because that sense of fun and play is something I tend to forget when practicing but enjoy very much when done in a supportive manner like John’s.
I’m still undecided as to whether or not I’d buy my own copy. I think if I found a great deal I might, but right now this isn’t a must have for me with my limited budget. One major drawback is that I find it very difficult to carve out 2+ hours for yoga on any sort of regular basis, even if just to watch. Another is the fact that this, as Beth mentioned, doesn’t have as much instruction of the Anusara principles with respect to alignment and form, which I miss as someone who hasn’t had the pleasure of taking live Anusara classes. I’m finding the Omega series, the four workshops John previously released on DVD, more helpful in that regard, plus I like how those classes have distinct personalities in terms of their sequences of poses. That said, this Grand Gathering provides more insight into Anusara philosophy and background, so if you’re more curious as to what John is thinking you may find this series of workshops more interesting.

Instructor Comments:
Now, the Anusara folks for whom this DVD is probably better intended will appreciate John not going over the same old alignment principles again and again, instead opening new windows onto the poses. For Anusara teachers and fans who both could and could not make it to this particular gathering the ability to experience and then refer to these sessions again and again will be a welcome addition to their library. For those just curious about Anusara, I’d recommend renting or borrowing first. John’s instruction is excellent and clear. He cues right and left for his class, so if you’re watching the model you won’t be getting mirror cuing. Although he never leaves the stage he’s still very aware of the class, often directing a teacher to help someone or even personally correcting a student he can see. John stresses that the basics and techniques and all of that are important, but for him ultimately it’s not all about a rigid focus on form, it’s about pleasure and joy. As Beth mentions, John liberally uses Sanskrit terms, not just for poses but also concepts. He definitely focuses on the spiritual aspects of the practice. This isn’t a religious service, however: as John sees it your yoga practice should be a way to brighten your spirit and to connect to something greater, including the community of those practicing around you. He dedicates Day 2’s practice to the GreatMusician, but who or what that is remains undefined. John moves comfortably and sometimes quickly between his emphasis on the non-physical aspects of yoga and sometimes metaphoric, even poetic / flowery, language and his discussion of alignment and very straightforward, even colloquial, dialogue. After all, this is the guy who feels picking up a laundry basket is an asana – not in a pretentious way, but rather because yoga infuses everything he does in a matter of fact kind of way (no doubt due in no small part to the fact he started practicing yoga at a young age).
So, yes, John comes off as a relatively normal guy who happens to be really into yoga; he does not present himself as a high and mighty inaccessible yoga guru (during the interview he expresses some dismay at the fact that Anusara yoga is automatically equated with him and looks forward to the day when his style, which he deliberately didn’t name for himself, takes on its own life) but rather as someone you’d run into at the grocery store chatting with a student or fellow teacher about a class the other day (in the interview he’s wearing jeans, a polo, and white tennis, and if you were to point him out to a friend or family member as “that yoga guy,” they’d probably look at you skeptically). He tells personal stories (like his mom banishing him to the basement to practice his instrument) to bring a human element to the concepts he wants to emphasize. His sense of humor is ever present, including joking about some of the usual reactions to poses (sometimes in a goofy voice) as well as not taking himself too seriously.

KathAL79