Morning Cup of Stretching

I was delighted to find this follow-up to the excellent “Morning Cup of Yoga” workout. Like its predecessor, this bargain features both a book and a 15-minute follow-along audio cd. I paid less than $20 for the whole thing.

The book is charmingly illustrated with soft cartoons in the same style as the prior volume. In addition to the workout, it has extra information on stretching, such as a primer on body mechanics, stretches for specific aches and pains and how to set up your workspace to avoid such aches and pains in the first place.

The workout covers all the basic body parts, with a slight bias to back and leg stretches for the people who sit at desks whom Pierpoint addresses at length in other parts of the book. Some of the 15 or so stretches such as the seated cat/camel and quadriceps stretch will be familiar to users of the Morning Cup of Yoga workout. However, this workout does not have the “flow” the yoga program did. Each stretch is held for much longer---30 seconds each. It was really helpful to have the CD cueing this along (and Lillyvette Montalvo does an excellent job using the breath for pacing too) but I fumbled with some of the moves the first time through because the cueing is not always stellar. Like Morning Cup of Yoga, the routine will flow much better if you take the time to read the book first. Sometimes the audio does err more on the side of ‘soothing’ than ‘precise.’

I love the emphasis in this series on short, simple routines that do not require a mat, a change of clothes or any equipment except for a chair (one exercise in this workout does require TWO chairs and a towel or resistance band). I found overall that this mini-routine was just as carefully put together as the Morning Cup of Yoga one, just as gentle, just as charming. It is an excellent complement too because the yoga one is more flowing whereas this one holds the stretches for longer. I will definitely be anticipating future titles in this series.

Instructor Comments:
Pierpoint is a physical therapist and has good information in the book. Lillyvette Montalvo narrates the follow-along CD.

Joanna