Ashtanga Yoga

This is a bi-lingual Canadian production. The instructions are done voiceover and you can choose between French and English. You also have choices in the length of practice: 90-minute Primary Series, 30-minute Short Form and 10-minute Short Practice. There are no DVD chapters within the three practices and no music. The set is spacious although austerely done in shades of orange. The camera work is good and one can tell this is a professionally-done production.

It's a shame I have such an aversion to orange sets, because the Primary Series is a very complete practice. I am also impressed with how they made the poses accessible to beginners (as shown by Nicole Bordeleau) and yet very challenging to experienced practitioners (as shown by Mark Darby).

Instructor Comments:
Nicole Bordeleau is unremarkable but Mary Darby has exceptional form and a very soothing voice.

SharonH

I only had this workout briefly but I wanted to post a few comments anyway. The workout is pure Ashtanga primary series. It is assumed that you already know how to do this (i.e. not for beginners). Mark demonstrates the deeper versions of the poses while Nicole does easier modifications. Mark is unbelievably flexable. He does a really amazing sequence in one of the bonus tracks. In the workout itself, this is quite distracting. It's hard to focus on what you're doing when someone is pulling his legs over his head :)

The other problem I had with this workout is the set. It's all done against this glaring red background which reminds me of the inside of a blood vessel or something. I tend to prefer gentle outdoor settings so this was quite a turn-off for me.

Instructor Comments:

Megan