Yoga for Beginners was a launching board for me. I used the tape every day for a week, and then sporadically after that. After a while I just practised on my own. However I kept wanting to return to the tape and listen to it carefully, because I remembered that Patricia Walden had provided plenty of details that I was sure I was forgetting, especially in Mountain pose.

Recently I have been using Yoga Mind and Body (MacGraw/Schiffman) a lot. I like it, but I still felt that I could be doing the poses better. Then I moved on to Linda Arkin's Yoga for Strength which was tough for me. I was so exhausted the next day that I thought, "This is the perfect time to go back to that Yoga for Beginners tape... I'm too tired to do much anyway."

I am so glad I did. The review of the poses in "beginner's detail" was exactly what I needed. Reviewing the concept of "grounding through the floor", especially in Mountain pose and Staff pose, changed most of my poses for the better. My seated twist is seriously improved, I can feel the difference. And the rest of the standing poses (triangle, warrior, etc etc) are much better because I am grounding through my legs into the floor, pressing into the floor. And just like she says on the tape, my back releases more.

So, I'll fast forward through whatever I don't want to review-- or maybe I'll just take that time to work on Mountain pose some more. Yeah, it's a simple pose, but the beauty is in the details, the balance-- and I still need to get my shoulder blades a little lower and closer to center, and I can always extend my spine just a little bit more...

Bottom line is, I'm planning on keeping my "Yoga for Beginners" tape no matter how many others I collect. And I've already got two more by Patricia Walden. Not that she's my hero (Jesus is) but her careful, thorough instructions sure improve my stretching.

Instructor Comments:
Patricia Walden is careful and thorough, and extremely detailed. I appreciate the level of detail with which she describes each pose. My poses improve each time I return to her "beginner's level" instructions.

Helen Wright