Yet another workout I tried and quickly traded. I found this to be a rather unusual yoga DVD, unlike most others I’ve tried. It wasn’t even similar to Mantra Girl, which is the only other Kundalini I’ve seen. There are some good abdominal sequences in this over-an-hour yoga practice. There are also lots of segments in which you do the breath of fire, or meditate. Some of the abdominal work was more Pilates-based, in my opinion, than yoga.

I like Jonathan Urla’s Yogilates 2 because it’s a relatively good blend of yoga and Pilates (more Pilates than yoga, IMO). Navel Power seemed to go back and forth between ab work and yoga. Lots of breath work and meditation interspersed with Pilates-ish exercises. I know nothing about Kundalini, so maybe this is Kundalini yoga. But it just didn’t work for me. I didn’t like alternating between the ab work and breathing/meditation. It’s a rather long workout (over an hour) and I just didn’t have the patience for it. I was wishing I could do either yoga or ab work, or that they meshed better (Baron Baptiste’s Core Power comes to mind).

Some people have had seen changes in their abdominals with this workout, but I think if you’re looking for an ab workout, or great yoga, this isn’t the best example of either (or fusion of both). The DVD is broken into chapters so you can skip around, but there isn’t a way to just do the ab sequences and skip all the breathing and other movements.

I tend to prefer yoga in which poses are held for a while, and ab work that moves more slowly. I think someone who likes Kundalini (breath of fire, meditation sequences interspersed with movement) might enjoy this, or someone who likes to focus on breath and motion.

Instructor Comments:
This workout is just Ana by herself onscreen following Ravi’s voiceover instruction. Ana Brett’s outfit has been described as looking like underwear, but I kept thinking it looked comfortable so I didn’t mind. Ravi’s voice is pleasant and his instructions are clear.

Pratima