I had this DVD for months before I bothered to use it. I had previewed it and thought, Bleh – ugly set, slow moving, and insert cards that hold you up before each pose. I finally tried it on a night when all my usual yoga vids seemed lacking. And so I came to find that I LOVE THIS DVD. It’s all I want to do now, and it’s definitely my desert-island pick for yoga videos!

The DVD is set up with each pose or set of poses as a title; there are 65 titles in all, and they are the building blocks used to create the 40 or so practices you can choose from. The menus are divided into sections by level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and length. Some practices have straight-forward names like “General Practice, Standing” or “Hips, Legs, and Feet”, while others have less obvious names like “Compassionate Heart” – there’s a great breakdown of the titles and programs in the Combinations, Rotations and Modifications forum so that you can decode the names! When you pick your workout, the first pose/section plays, and then a black screen with the name of the next pose comes up, then it starts that section, and so on. This means there’s a bit of a pause between poses. When I previewed, this pause seemed absurdly long, but when I’m doing the practice, it isn’t a problem; sometimes I’ll use the extra few seconds to hold the previous pose a bit longer.

All the usual poses are included, along with others not typically seen in your standard yoga video. There are some flow series (e.g. Sun Salutations, Moon Salute, Hero Salute), some short groups of related poses (e.g. Twist Series, Lunge Series) and there are some stand-alone poses that are held for awhile (e.g. Triangle, Warriors, Cobbler’s Pose). The titles range in length from 45 seconds to 7 minutes. Modifications with blocks and straps are usually shown, and she shows variations of some poses to suit different levels of flexibility and strength. (People who wish more videos would actually show the modifications instead of just mentioning them will like this.)

The instruction on all the poses is outstanding, with descriptions of how to position yourself that really work for me – I feel like this DVD is teaching me more about yoga than all my Living Arts, Yoga Zone, and Baron videos have. (Which isn’t to say I don’t love my other yoga videos, but this DVD helps me get even more out of those other videos.) The instruction is voice-over, but she speaks quite naturally, so it feels more like a live class than a scripted Living Arts-style voice-over.

The set is quite plain – just a fabric-drapped wall behind the teacher and her mat. The lighting, sound, and production are fine, but it’s not a pretty production like Living Arts or the outdoor Yoga Zones.

I think in general this DVD feels more like a class in that it has a wide range of poses arranged in a variety of different orders and very natural-sounding instruction. If you like your yoga videos well-polished and set in beautiful places, you may not like this one. But you should try it anyway, because I am stunned by how much I like it! This DVD doesn’t preview well, but it gives you so many options that you’ll always be able to find one to suit your current mood or needs. It’s also a good place to see some new poses and mix things up a bit if you’ve been dabbling in yoga for awhile.

A final note about the DVD setup: The menu comes up right away, with no introduction or disclaimer. I like that. On the other hand, the disclaimer plays first thing in each program. This is annoying; however, the disclaimer is separated into two chapters, so if you just press next on your DVD player, you can skip almost all of it. Just a tip for people who hate repeated, required viewing of DVD intros and legal notices! Similarly, each pose is divided into 2 chapters, so you can push next to skip right to the end of a pose if there’s one that you don’t want to do.

KathyW