Yoga for Young Bodies
Hemalayaa BehlYear Released: 2006
Categories: Yoga
I'm reviewing this workout after previewing it once and doing it a couple of times
since acquiring it a number of months ago.
General workout breakdown: This yoga workout contains four programs.
*Chakra Shaker (approximately 35 minutes) is an energizing routine which begins
in vajrasana but moves to standing for most of the practice before coming back to
the floor for corpse. This segment includes a number of dynamic sequences and flows,
for example a series where you rise from your knees on an inhale and lower back
down on an exhale as well as sun salutations; there are also some moves and flows
not included in normal hatha or power yoga practices, such as a quick twist from
the waist. There seems to be a bit of a kundalini influence here from what I can
tell, with the focus on movement rather than alignment and exercises such as lion's
breath. This routine is more intense and more based on yoga asanas than the Morning
Quickie segment from Yoga for Urban Living.
*Chill Vibe (approximately 35 minutes) is a relaxing routine that never moves off
of the floor (although there are some downward facing dogs). It is more focused
on flexibility than Chakra Shaker, which is more focused on overall strength. There
are a number of moves for the spine, including several series of backbends and twists,
as well as the hips. Boat poses provide the abs work, and the inversions are in
this segment. This routine is slightly more active than the Evening Bath segment
from Yoga for Urban Living.
Hemalaya apparently listened to criticism of her too short savasanas on Yoga for
Urban Living. She spends several minutes in the corpse pose and comes out of the
pose very slowly. Fully 5-6 minutes of each routine is spent in corpse and coming
out of it.
*Stress Recess (approximately 10 minutes) is meant as a quick break from a hectic
schedule. It?s a shortened version of Chakra Shaker, with an emphasis on energizing
flows and movements. It ends with child?s pose and then breathing in vajrasana.
*Chi for 2 is more of a demonstration than an actual workout. Hemalaya performs
seven asanas with her male partner but not in a sequence.
Level: I'd recommend this to someone with previous yoga experience who is at the
very least at the beginning/intermediate crossover point through high intermediate.
I would not recommend this to beginners at all, since Hemalaya provides little form
instruction and includes a number of solidly intermediate poses (e.g. shoulderstand,
pigeon, crow). I would think anyone at or above a high intermediate level would
only find this useful for light and/or short on time days. I consider myself a
low intermediate in yoga; I have almost three years of experience but still need
to improve my strength and flexibility. I found this video appropriately challenging
for me, although I would have liked some better modifications for some of the more
strenuous poses.
Class: A young woman, Tamara, and a young man, Nikko (spelling?), accompany Hemalaya.
Tamara provides the "beginner" variations. As others have pointed out, she doesn't
always provide modifications per se; since she is clearly flexible, she'll go almost
all out but then just kind of hang out in the pose, making it look like she's slacking
off rather than modifying. Hemalaya (wearing pants rather than the short shorts
of Yoga for Urban Living) performs the poses at an intermediate level, and Nikko
shows more advanced variations. Hemalaya instructs via voiceover.
Music / Set / Other Production Notes: The sitar-based atmospheric music is appropriate
for the workout. It tends to stick with the same tone for the same types of movements
unlike in Yoga for Urban Living and changes between segments, although it's a bit
repetitive. It looks like the exercisers are outdoors on lawn, but that's Astroturf
with a greenscreen behind onto which an image of the sky is projected. The sound
and picture are very good.
Equipment: You?ll need a sticky mat (or equivalent). All participants are barefoot.
Comments: You'll need enough space to move around on your mat.
While the title and back cover aim for the 16- to 35-year-old segment of the population,
there doesn't seem to be anything in the routine proper that would prevent an "old
body" from doing the moves and getting the same benefits from them. All three participants
are young (the other woman has a belly ring and pigtails to emphasize this youth),
and Hemalaya does tailor her mention of stressors and focus on appearance ("It's
all about the abs, isn't it?") towards her generation, but other than that the whole
thing seems more of a marketing gimmick than the real focus of the workout.
DVD Notes: From the main menu you select Intro, Chakra Shaker, Chill Vibe, or Extras.
If you select either routine, you are then directed to another menu where you select
Play, Options, or Main Menu. For some reason, at least on the DVD I have, the selection
is always Main Menu, meaning I have to scroll back up to hit play. (On just about
every other DVD I have, the opposite is true: Main Menu is the last option while
Play is the first.) The Options are background 1 / background 2 and instruction
+ music / instruction only / music only. Don't get too excited about the ability
to choose your background: your choices are basically pink or blue sky for Chakra
Shaker and blue sky or blue clovers(?) for Chill Vibe). The extras include Stress
Recess, Chi for 2, Yoga for Urban Living trailer, and Credits.
Conclusion: This is a well done DVD that explores the options of DVD technology.
If only every workout DVD offered those exact three audio choices . . .
As for the workout itself, it's not bad, but I have a number of other yoga workouts
that I prefer. If you're a Hemalaya fan you'll love this. If you're not, this
might change your mind but then again might not. I do like that she shows several
arm variations, including some I haven't seen, for a number of moves, such as ways
for your hands to float up from mountain pose during sun salutations or during tree
pose. I thought I'd be really excited about having more short yoga workouts, but
this has rarely left my shelf. I definitely prefer the Chill Vibe segment to the
Chakra Shaker, but since getting Rainbeau Mars' Pure Tranquility I haven't even
thought about doing that segment. I might try Yoga for Young Bodies a couple of
more times, but this might end up back on the exchange in my attempts to make some
space for the workouts I use regularly.
Instructor Comments:
Hemalaya cues moves decently but only includes a few form pointers now and then.
She clearly expects you to have some familiarity with what you're doing. She's
positive but low key. I didn?t have any issues with her except to wish for more
cueing. Hemalaya does include chanting, but that's about it for the New Agey stuff,
although this does have a sort of slight overall vibe.