Seven Daily Yoga Practices

I stumbled across this DVD at a used book sale. I was vaguely familiar with Esther Ekhart from YouTube, but enough so that the DVD seemed a worthwhile pickup.

Like the title suggests, the DVD features seven practices of varying lengths--these are less "daily" practices and more routines with different focuses that can be used separately or combined. For most, Eckhart teaches live assisted by a single student, but in a few routines she is alone (and the meditation is lead by another instructor). The routines and time breakdowns are listed below; I have included brief descriptions. There is no music for any of these routines.

Yin Yoga for Lower Back Health, 30 min.
The DVD states that this sequence is designed to balance kidneys and urinary bladder meridians. Ekhart times each pose for three minutes, and the postures include butterfly, saddle, sphinx or seal, half wide-legged forward bend, full seated forward bend, and final relaxation. I liked this routine, but my back also felt a bit over-stretched from going into full saddle pose.

Rise and Shine, 25 min.
This sequence is designed to increase circulation and includes mostly standing postures.

Sun Salutation Variation, 17 min.
Ekhart teaches this sequence alone. She performs four full rounds of sun salutations, adding in variations such as lunge, twisting lunge, full salutations, and half splits. She concludes with a brief stretch than includes standing crescent and standing forward bend.

Strengthening Practice, 16 min.
This short sequence works on strengthening core, legs, and arms, while also promotes groundedness by holding most poses for a full minute (or 5 breaths). Ekhart begins with a hold of down dog; she includes warrior 1, chair, plank, dolphin, and locust.

Calming Practice, 28 min.
This more gentle practice includes mostly floor postures and uses a block and a strap. Ekhart begins in reclined bound angle pose and then moves through a reclined leg stretch series using the strap. This is followed by a reclined spinal twist and cat/cow on hands and knees There are some standing postures, including down dog, tree, lunge, and half-split. However, the practice concludes on the floor with half wide-legged forward bend full forward bend, supported bridge, and L-pose.

Strengthen your Abs, 7 min.
In this brief sequence, Ekhart shows how core work can be incorporated into yoga postures, and she engages in a few core-specific moves on the floor.

Energizing Practice, 20 min.
This practice concentrates on standing postures, beginning with half-down dog and a shoulder stretch at the wall. Ekhart then moves through sun salutation A, adding a side stretch, and a high lunge with a twist to the opposite thigh. She continues the standing poses with down dog, warrior 2, and reverse warrior before moving to half handstand at the wall. Ekhart remains at the wall for a standing forward bend and standing split. Finishing moves include simple seated twist, half Lord of the fishes pose, bound angle, and seated meditation.

In addition to the above routines, this DVD includes a 12-minute guided meditation with Esther Teule and a 15-minute relaxation. There are also recommendations (on the DVD case) for how to combine the segments into "premixes" as follows:

1 Grounding practice (55min)
-Yin Yoga for lower back health
-Strength building
-Calming practice
-Meditation

2 Build stamina and strength (85min)
-Strengthen your abs
-Sun salutation variation
-Strength building
-Relaxation

3 Invigorating practice (60min)
-Strengthen your abs
-Sun salutation variation
-Energizing practice
-Relaxation

4 Relaxing practice (45min)
-Yin Yoga for lower back health
-Relaxation

Overall, I think this DVD is a nice option for a variety of yoga practices at an advanced beginner to intermediate level. I would recommend it for anyone searching for something a bit different.

Instructor Comments:
I generally liked Esther. She does speak with an accent for those who care about that. I would suggest checking her out on YouTube first to see if you like her style: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogatic

Beth C (aka toaster)