This is the first video of Rainbeau Mars' Sacred Yoga Practice: Vinyasa Flow series. Although it is labelled as a "Beginners" workout, I would not recommend it for those totally new to yoga, as 1) the instruction is not overly detailed, and 2) some of the poses present a bit of a challenge and require some strength.

Rainbeau begins the practice lying on the floor in relaxation pose--a nice change--and slowly leads you through some basic breathing and warm up stretches. She then moves to an all-fours position (table pose) for some nice back stretches: there are several different sequences involving cat pose plus a few downward dogs, some of which are held for a fairly lengthy period of time. From here, Rainbeau guides you into a standing forward bend with bent legs, gently encouraging you to open up further into this pose with several repetitions. She also spends a bit of time in a mountain pose variation before moving on to a single sun salutation. This series is done at very slow pace: Rainbeau goes through lunges on both sides and then lowers to the floor in push-up pose, which brings the practice to an end at 28 total minutes.

Overall, I enjoyed this practice, which I would describe as gently challenging rather than gentle per se. This is not the video I would choose for pure relaxation, but I definitely will reach for it again when I want a moderate-length, not-too-difficult practice.

Instructor Comments:
As her name implies, Rainbeau comes across as sort of a young, hippy chick. She is obviously very knowledgable about yoga--she sometimes uses the Sanskrit names for the postures and provides detailed anatomical information--and she is gently encouraging throughout the practice. Although she cues well, at times her voiceover cuing was slightly out-of-sync with her on-screen movements.

Beth C (aka toaster)