I’m reviewing this workout after doing it a number of times over the years.

There are many reviews of this here and on the forum, but since I revisited this one today and there hasn’t been a recent review of this, I thought I’d post some more thoughts on this one, especially since there has been a little more interest in this lately now that it seems to be heading toward OOP (out of print) status.

General workout breakdown: Just about everything anyone could want to know about this DVD has already been covered.
One tiny nitpick from me: The transitions between series aren’t always as smooth as the transitions between individual poses in a series. For some reason I’ve almost always struggled with the quick move to standing from the cat & cow / quarter dog series, so I have to take it a little more slowly.

Level: I’d recommend this to a decently active person familiar with at least very basic yoga poses. I also wouldn’t recommend this to yoga beginners, as Erich doesn’t provide detailed instruction, although what he does provide is excellent, and his approach is very non-intimidating, especially to those who fear being overwhelmed. He also provides only a few suggestions for ways to modify, so you have to be comfortable respecting your own limits (like not worrying about the fact that your hands aren’t flat on the floor) or modifying / substituting as you need. This one assumes some preexisting flexibility; I know I struggled a lot with it at first because my hamstrings were so limited in their range of motion. That said, this one doesn’t have a whole lot that’s particularly challenging; bow and half moon may be about the most “advanced” poses. It’s definitely not an advanced or really even an intermediate yoga routine.
When I first got this, I was probably a beginner / intermediate exerciser who only had at most a few years of basic yoga experience under her belt and who was still quite limited in yoga knowledge and flexibility. This was a challenge for me! Those four rounds of sun salutations seemed so long and tough. Now, as an intermediate / advanced exerciser who’s been practicing yoga for about eight years and who’s been able to see some improvement in strength, flexibility, and focus over the years I pull this out on days when I’m not looking for a challenge. The sun salutations (after the four rounds of half sun salutes) no longer seem like they take up half the practice, either.

Class: 3 women, including Ali, and 2 men, including Erich, demonstrate the poses, although not all of them are doing all of the poses all of the time. Ali probably gets more camera time than anyone else, while Erich gets less. I appreciate the diversity here: one of the women may have white hair, but that certainly has no bearing on her ability to do yoga (I want to be her when I grow up!).
No one shows any modifications, although some are able to move a little further into some poses compared to others.

Production: decently clear picture (this is a VHS transfer from the mid-90s) and sound. Erich’s voice is a little quiet in relation to the music; you’ll have to turn up the volume in order to hear his softer tones, which means you’ll be listening to Dead Can Dance whether you like it or not. The camera work is definitely artsy; capturing the yoga routine performed in real time is not a major goal here. As a result, you’ll rarely, if ever, see transitions between poses. Instead, you’ll get artful shots of people moving into or holding the poses, often multiple scenes of the same pose but with different views or people. And, as Beth pointed out, shots of the scenery sometimes take precedence over the yoga.

Equipment: a yoga sticky mat and bare feet. Pristine white sand dunes under crystal blue skies are optional. ;-)

Space Requirements: enough room to do a sun salutation and to lie down with your arms and legs extended (make sure you can reach your legs out to each side while lying down).

DVD Notes: My DVD lists 2003 as its copyright date (the original copyright date is 1994). The main menu has Play, Chapters (introduction, breathing, warmup stretches, sun salutations, tree pose, standing pose flow, back-bending poses, leg stretches, twists, seated-forward fold, half bridge, and final relaxation / end credits. Note that not all of the chapter points are bang on: for example, if you want to skip the intro to get to the breathing, you’ll first have to listen to Ali’s introduction of Erich), and Spoken Languages (English).
The DVD’s back cover promises a bonus new interview with Ali updating her thoughts on yoga and a healthy lifestyle, but I haven’t been able to find this. If it’s an Easter egg, it’s very well hidden!
My DVD came in a cardboard case with plastic to hold the disc in place. It’s proved decently sturdy over the years, although the cardboard is more prone to showing shelf wear than plastic.

Comments: Erich’s instruction and routine are timeless; they will never go out of style. That said, aspects of this have not worn quite as well over the years, most notably the outfits, like the tie dye shirts, and the hairstyles, like the white scrunchies. No one looks absurdly silly, but they do clearly look like a product of the time. The soundtrack tends toward dreadfully dramatic at times, even if I still rather like it, and the camerawork is out of place a decade and a half later, now that the exercise video industry is well established with a different way of filming people moving. (There must be something about White Sands that brings out the “I want an Oscar for cinematography” in film crews: Shiva Rea’s videos with Acacia set in the same locale suffer from similarly overly cinematic camerawork).

The dated and dramatic qualities play some part in why I don’t use on a regular basis, but I do reach for it from time to time and can’t bear to think of parting with it. I’ve actually been to White Sands, so any video set there has an extra point in the pro column on my checklist. Actually, YM&B’s rather fun to do for something different, when I want my yoga practice to be a little more of an event. Because I don’t do it all that often, it’s one that I feel like I treat myself to. It’s also one of my “yardstick” videos, meaning each time I do it I’m able to note some progress, whether it’s increased hamstring flexibility or a steadier tree pose or improved ability to carry ujjayi breathing throughout the entire practice.

This video has had a direct and major impact on my yoga practice in two ways (at least): First, it made ujjayi breathing click for me. Erich’s simple, straightforward two-step process made sense to me (not that there aren’t other great explanations out there, just that this was the first I had come across that worked its way into my little brain). Second, Erich’s simple cue of “Trees sway” during tree pose dramatically changed my approach to balance poses for the better. Before I was so fixated on being absolutely still that I was tensing up. Being told that it was OK to weeble wobble made me that much steadier, most likely because I relaxed and shifted my focus to the proper things. I know I’m not the only one who hears Erich’s voice in my mind just about every time I do tree.

Erich has never repeated anything on the scale of YM&B, but he has put out some (low budget) videos. (The quality of yoga and instruction has certainly never wavered, though!) He has his Backyard Series, which are exactly as described: homemade videos of him doing a routine in his backyard. If you love Erich in YM&B, especially if you think you might prefer a no frills production, definitely check those out. IMHO, YM&B falls in between Beginning Yoga (aka Backyard Beginners) and Backbends, with Lotus being a little more challenging yet (make sure your knees are healthy and happy) and Inversions definitely geared toward much more experienced yogis. He also has videos and CDs / MP3s taped during classes and workshops available.

I find Erich’s practices always very mindful and meditative. That may qualify them as “spiritual” or “mystical” or what have you. But this definitely isn’t one that goes off on discussions of humans’ place in the universe, relationship with the divine, or anything like that. Erich really doesn’t even use that many Sanskrit names here. Like so much else, the aspects of this practice that move beyond the purely physical realm are subtle yet compelling.

Instructor Comments:
I don’t have much else to add about the remarkable, incomparable, intelligent, wonderful Erich. He says a lot with a few straightforward words (OK, so I’m the opposite…) and in general has a less is more approach that works very well. Like many others I find his reminders and insights invaluable not only here but in my yoga practice in general. I actually like Erich’s voice and manner of speaking a lot; listening to him (yes, even in voiceover) is always a plus rather than a minus for me.

KathAL79