This is the fourth volume in Erich Schiffmann’s Backyard Series, and it is labeled as being for intermediates. Although the DVD itself does not have a chapter menu, on the back of the DVD case, Erich lists the chapters as follows: Opening #4—Half Salutes—Triangle—High Lunge—Dog—Bent Knee Side Stretch—Twisting Bent Knee—Low Lunge—Cobra Vinyasa—Pigeon Cycle—Double Pigeon—Locust—Cobra—Bow—Cobra from Cat—Cobra from Dog—Hero Pose—Reclining Hero—Camel Pose—Half Dog—Bridge Pose I, II, III—Wheel Pose—Knee to Chest Abdominals—Twisting Reclining Leg Stretches—Reclining Sage Twist—Relaxation Pose.

Surprisingly, I actually tried the DVD because I don’t really enjoy backbends; I was hoping that Erich’s master instruction would make these postures more accessible to me. I was certainly correct in assuming that Erich would make sure I was thoroughly warmed up before leading me into challenging backbends such as camel and wheel pose. His opening series starts with general stretches, including shoulder-opening work (which is also integrated throughout the practice). He continues the basic opening process by moving slowly and methodically through half salutes, a few standing postures, and various flows from dog pose. The initial backbends are extremely gentle and include cobra, bow, and locust. Erich then stretches the body further with full reclined Hero’s pose (which I couldn’t do) before moving on to the first more demanding backbend, camel. He had a unique way of getting into this pose which involved revolving one arm forward and then behind the body, but I actually found this to make the pose more difficult for me. After a half dog shoulder stretch, Erich continues the backbending with several variations of bridge pose. He offered yet another novel approach here, this time to help you keep your shoulders down: he has you roll your knees first to one side, then to the other, rolling each shoulder under in turn—this really worked! However, I found that once we got to wheel pose (which is repeated THREE times at increasingly difficult levels), my legs were so pre-exhausted by the practice up until this point—which has seemed deceptively gentle—and so I was not able to hold wheel nearly as long as Erich. Therefore, I was extremely grateful that Erich moved on to stretches next. He does a reclined leg series here plus some really unique reclined twists which felt absolutely wonderful! A short savasana follows, bringing in the entire practice at around 85 minutes.

By the end of this DVD, I felt nice and stretched, with my back and shoulders in particular feeling nice and open. Unfortunately, however, this practice did not serve to increase my love for backbends, and the things I liked about it are not incentive enough for me to purchase the DVD (I tried it on loan). I should clearly state that I do not blame Erich for this; I think certain inflexibilities in my body just make backbending postures extremely difficult and even uncomfortable for me, and so I’m just not motivated to spend a lot of time working on these poses, even with Erich. But I expect that unlike me, most intermediate and even advanced yogis will love this practice, especially if they have back issues and/or enjoy working on backbending. Therefore, despite the fact that this DVD did not click with me, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to others.

Instructor Comments:
Erich is wonderful in his slow, methodical instruction. He provides extremely detailed form pointers and is constantly encouraging you to relax, to be in the moment, and to enjoy your practice.

Beth C (aka toaster)