Playing with My Playlist 3: Your Mojo Is in Your Hips

You know how when you’re going through your stuff, you sometimes find things that make you go, “What made me think it was a good idea to own this in the first place?”

I do not own it, but that’s what happened when I found this clip on one of my playlists:

[Chaz Rough instructing for Yogamazing. Video via YouTube.]

Its title is “Yoga for the Libido,” but as it turns out, it happens to be a fairly nice series of hip openers. Could be useful for runners, desk-sitters, people who store emotional tension in their hips, etc.

And that’s plenty of comment for something I said was going to involve minimal comment.

DVD Review: Baron Baptiste Core Power Live!

(No, really. The DVD title does include the exclamation point.)

PS — This DVD will not be up for giveaway.

I realized with the last DVD I reviewed, one of the reasons I didn’t like it was because it felt like too much physical workout packed into too short a time frame. I’d like to contrast that with this DVD, a practice that gives a more-appropriate-for-me level of physical intensity inside a similar time frame.

__________________________________________________________________

Specs for Baron Baptiste Core Power Live!

Yoga Style: Power vinyasa, with a specific focus on developing core strength.

Suited To: People interested in developing abdominal and back strength. Yogis who are essentially familiar with sun salute positions and safe back bending technique — as well as whose bodies are safe with asanas like down dog, (modified) chaturanga, and upward table.

Props: Blanket suggested for padding under knees, if that’s your thing. I don’t believe there are other places where props are suggested, nor do I find myself wanting them when I use this DVD.

Run Time: Amazon tells me 30 minutes start to finish. However, there’s a verbal introduction and opening credits that take up a couple of minutes. (On the DVD menu, it is possible to skip that introduction after the first time through.) For the actual asana practice, I get closer to 25 minutes.

__________________________________________________________________

Woo Disclaimer: There is some woo going on in this here video. Baron Baptiste sort of reminds me of most every summer camp counselor I’ve ever had. He’s very warmly, sincerely enthusiastic, but it’s sometimes a little too enthusiastic for my skeptical self. That said, the woo does remain inside my levels of tolerance.

Part of that is because Baptiste takes some active steps toward making the practice accessible to more people. In the introduction, Baptiste offers instructions like “listen to your body” and — this one is my favorite — that you may need to go at “fifty percent of your maximum” while you’re getting used to the practice. It’s easy for me to read that as blanket permission to modify — not that I feel I need said permission, but it’s nice when instructors articulate it. He goes on to offer a number of modifications for poses — bent knees in down dog and forward folds, knees on the ground in chaturanga, holding the legs in half navasana — that back up this idea.

The basic sequencing, by the way, looks like this:

Sun Salutes — After a quick integration in uttanasana, there are 4 basic sun salutes. The first one moves slowly as it’s where most of the modifications are initially offered. While the other three move comparatively faster, none of them are what I’d call “fast” — which is good for me, as Baptiste mentions them as being “warm ups,” and I am a creaky old woman at the beginning of my practice.

Back Bending — Consisting of bow, camel, and bridge. It does feel a bit weird to me to go into these back bends so early in a practice. The focus, however, is more on stretching the front side of the body than it is on strengthening the back, particularly for the first two. In that spirit, I only go until I feel a stretch along my abdomen and hips, stopping before I’m going into what would be a deep (for me) back bend. Still, I’d have liked to see some explicit modifications here, like teaching bow pose with a strap [links to video] or letting the hands stay at the sacrum during camel.

Abdominal Work — Mostly consisting of a number of navasana variations, with some bicycle crunches and other reclining ab work thrown in for good measure. There are some explicit modifications here, such as supporting the head or the legs with the arms. Additionally, the reclined position of a number of the poses lend themselves toward being supported by the ground; that is, the most likely “trouble” a person is to have with these poses is that they won’t be able to lift as high off the ground, which doesn’t affect safety and — as far as I am concerned — is totally still “doing” the pose.

Floor Work — Some forward folds and some twists. Namely, diamond, paschimottanasana, a revolved paschimottanasana, and a lying spinal twist. Savasana is on the shorter side, though it’s structured here so that if you want, you can remain in it through the closing credits.

I remain perturbed by body representation in yoga videos, though this one does better than most. The “Live!” part of the title is to signify that it’s filmed in front of a live, fairly large studio class. As such, the people demonstrating the poses are students in the class rather than folks who’ve rehearsed this as a routine. While most everybody pictured seems to fit cultural norms for “fit” bodies — women without fat, men without fat and with visibly defined muscle — there is definitely more body shape and size variety in this DVD than in most others I’ve seen. And it helps because differently shaped and sized people… wait for it… do the poses differently, either consciously taking different variations or organically by virtue of bodies being unique. It’s nice to see it here, even in what is still a relatively narrow range of body types. How much more would we be able to see that variation if more different bodies were represented?

Playing with My Playlist 2

I’m not sure how much I love this one for me, so I’m considering deleting it from my personal playlist. That said, nothing about it is terrible for me, so I don’t want to get rid of it entirely.

Ah, indecision.

[Chaz instructing for Yogamazing via YouTube.]

For me, it’s a comfy blend of seated, kneeling, and standing work — sans energy-demanding vinyasas. It’s not quite a low energy or lazy day practice for me — on account of I’m no good with standing on a truly low energy day — but it’s getting there.

Summer DVD 7: Rodney Yee’s Power Yoga for Strength

This DVD is up for giveaway.

Not gonna lie: This DVD is up for giveaway because it’s not my favorite. It’s short and fast, but I wish it was longer and slower. I feel a little bad about going, “Hey, I find this DVD mediocre! Want it?” So I’m hoping there’s someone out there whose yoga taste differs from mine.

__________________________________________________________

Specs for Rodney Yee’s Power Yoga — Strength:

Apologies for the white spot blocking part of the “ga” in “yoga.” It’s the remnants of a price tag that I can’t quite remove.

Yoga Style: Power yoga.

Suited To: While the subtitle suggests it’s “for beginners,” I’d interpret that to mean people who are new to power yoga, not to people who are new to yoga overall — as the pace is pretty fast and only the more intricate poses are explained in detail. Also, as there are a number of arm balances and arm balance prep poses, it’s probably most comfortable for folks without shoulder or wrist issues.

Props: A strap is suggested as an option for a reclining hamstring stretch.

Run Time: There’s an introduction as well as some music-only/credits time at the end. From the beginning of the asana practice to the end of the final centering is about 24 minutes; the DVD run time is about 30 minutes overall.

__________________________________________________________

The DVD starts with an introduction by Rodney Yee on power yoga, the sequences in the practice to build strength, and the benefits of yoga in general. While he does mention that yoga has physical benefits, he stresses the chief benefit as increased connection between body, mind, and breath.

The asana practice starts out with some basic sun salutes, which he adds onto as the DVD progresses. After a couple of simple sun salutes, he adds the following asanas (one per sun salute, not cumulative) into the flow:

• side plank with bottom knee and calf on the ground
• side plank with feet stacked
• some cross-body pendulum repetitions, which end up being a nice prep for
• pendant pose with variations, so it’s not necessary to be able to get one’s feet off the ground
• warrior 1
• crow, again with options so lifting the feet isn’t necessary
• seated twist
• shoulder pressing pose

Those may be out of order, and I may have missed one or two poses in between.

The chief complaint I have with the more active part of this practice is that it goes too fast to be terribly useful to me. The asanas flow together very quickly, and if yoga is about linking breath and movement — Well, the way this DVD is structured, I feel like my movements are dictating my breath rather than the other way around. I’m not sure if this is a function of larger body = bigger movement through space = need more time to do it, or if the pacing is too fast for a lot of people.

Additionally, in a couple of the arm balances, I really wanted to set up some blocks, but there was no time to do it. For instance, in pendant, the presence of boobs limits how closely I can tuck my knees into my chest. And while I know not lifting my feet off the ground does not mean I have Failed at Yoga, when the reason for it is because I can’t set up properly for my body, I get grumbly. Similarly, this early in a practice, my body is not as open as it is later on. Blocks reduce the angle and strain on my wrists, and the lack of wrist injury frees me up for many happy poses in the future.

On the plus side, the faster pace does make for some good if short cardio. Moreover, it is really fun and unusual to see a DVD practice that includes suspended arm balances other than crow pose.

Anyway.

After the standing segment, there’s a brief cool down. I honestly don’t remember if there were seated postures, but there was definitely a reclined hamstring stretch with a strap explicitly offered as an option. Savasana felt quite short to me — a minute or two — before Yee instructs to come back up into a seated position to seal the practice.

Perhaps you see why I feel awkward about putting this up for giveaway. I don’t see anything that feels unsafe about the DVD, and in fact, approaching the arm balances in steps is a great way to make them more accessible to people building upper body and core strength. That said, while nothing in this DVD is explicitly body negative or policing, there is a lot in it that doesn’t seem to take my body into account.

All that said, my body =/= all bodies — and the DVD is free. Worst thing that happens is you try it out and end up agreeing with me.

If — after my stellar review of this DVD — you’d like to be in the giveaway drawing anyway, please leave a comment either here, on my Facebook page — or both for two entries — by Wednesday, July 25. I will announce a winner on Thursday the 26th.

DVD Review — Total Yoga: The Flow Series — Fire

This DVD will not be up for giveaway.

Given that I’ve reviewed the first 2 DVDs in this series, I figured it’s only fitting that I review Fire. However, this is one DVD I’m going to keep for myself — on account of sometimes, I need a reminder on what ass kicking feels like. Because while I made the mistake of openly declaring Earth and Water to be physically easy for me, I will not make the same mistake with Fire. Because I have now remembered what karma can do once you piss it off.

___________________________________________

Specs for Total Yoga: The Flow Series — Fire:

Yoga Style: Vinyasa. And it seems to bear a pretty close — though not perfect — resemblance to traditional Ashtanga series.

Suited To: Experienced yogis, particularly those accustomed to fashioning their own modifications — as well as those comfortable with deeper backbends and inversions.

Props: A blanket is suggested for shoulderstand. I used it for headstand as well.

Run Time: 63 minutes from breath instruction through the guided portion of the relaxation.

___________________________________________

Ideally, folks using this DVD would have practiced using the Water edition until they were comfortable with it. If that’s not possible, I’d suggest that folks using this DVD be comfortable with unmodified sun salutes, common standing poses, safe backbending practices, and inversions.

As its name suggests, Fire is a very fiery, energetic practice that assumes a certain amount of physical stamina as well as yoga knowledge from the people using it. The active portion is also about 15-20 minutes longer than are either of its previous counterparts.

Breathing — Same pranayama instruction as in Earth and Water.

Sun Salutes — In addition to those practiced in the Water DVD, Fire includes 3 rounds of the B-series sun salute — that is, the one that incorporates both chair pose and warrior one as part of the sun salute. In addition, all sun salutes are presented without modifications. If one is familiar with, say, bending knees during ardha uttanasana or dropping to one’s knees during chaturanga, those variations are quite easy to take. However, the explicit instructions in the DVD are for the “full” expressions of each pose only.

Standing Poses — This sequence is even longer than the Water series. Additionally, with Fire, all of the standing poses are taken as part of more sun salutes. I often take vinyasa classes that operate on this same practice; generally, they advise students that they should feel free to skip or modify vinyasas as they need. In the DVD, there was no explicit instruction to that effect, though again, actually doing it would be easy to incorporate. The standing poses include triangle, warrior two, extended side angle, half moon, warrior one, warrior three, and revolved triangle.

Core Work — Includes both lying boat (locust) and seated boat (navasana). Also includes some half sit ups as well as some lying leg raises.

Backbends — Camel, repeated twice. Then one series where bridge only is offered for the first option. For the second option, the instructions offer the choice of repeating bridge or moving to full wheel.

Floor Work — The forward bending segment is longer as well, including some standing forward folds, janu sirsasana, paschimottanasana, and a seated wide legged fold. (And bound angle? I remember bound angle in there somewhere.) There’s also a seated spinal twist as well as a seated hip opener with the option of moving into seated archer and/or putting one’s leg behind one’s head. (I already know that there is no fucking way my leg goes behind my head — at least not without placing strain on my ankle and my neck — so I did not attempt this.)

Inversions — The series starts with dolphin and offers the option of moving into headstand. For me, the hold length feels long for headstand (meaning sometimes I’ll come out early to play it safe with my neck) but is quite manageable for dolphin. Next, the series moves to shoulderstand, entered and exited through plow, practiced with a blanket. Finally, there’s fish: this DVD offers options for flying fish and/or fish with the legs in lotus.

Savasana — Like the other DVDs in this series, it’s long, partially guided, and fades off into music after the voice instruction.

Overall, I’d most want to recommend this for fairly experienced yogis. For one, some of the poses offered — wheel, the archer progression, headstand, some of the fish options — can be fairly involved. And while the instructions the DVD offers are by no means bad, they are also not pose tutorials — and I don’t think they’re meant to be. Similarly, all of those more involved poses come in the later portion of the practice, after some vigorous sun salute and standing work. So it requires some good gauging on whether it’s safe or serving to take every asana offered or whether some modification (either in the sun salutes or in the second part of the practice) is a better personal option.

Summer DVD 6 — Total Yoga: The Flow Series — Water

This DVD is up for giveaway.

The Flow Series — Water is Total Yoga’s continuation of a lot of the foundations it sets in Earth. While Water is a more physically vigorous practice, it follows the same basic format as does Earth.

__________________________________________________________

Specs for Total Yoga: The Flow Series — Water:

Yoga Style: Hatha.

Suited To: Folks who know some basic modifications for sun salutations and/or are able to do them unmodified. Those who are able to do a number of standing poses in succession. People without spinal contraindications for poses like camel, shoulderstand, and fish.

Props: A blanket is suggested for the shoulderstand sequence as is a wall. Though they don’t mention a strap or blanket for seated forward bends, I can see where some might want those.

Run Time: This is another one where the DVD case tells me 56 minutes but where I look up after guided savasana and a bit of quiet savasana and see 45 minutes on my DVD counter. So I’m going to say about 45 minutes from breathwork through the guided relaxation.

__________________________________________________________

Ideally, I think, one would move to this DVD after practicing with the Earth one a a bit. However, I also think that for people who are reasonably familiar with common poses and modifications, it would be safe and reasonable to start with this DVD first. (For the record, when I originally saw The Flow Series, I started with this DVD. I knew less about yoga then than I do now. I did not hurt myself and/or get dead.)

Like the Earth edition of this series, Water starts off with a recommendation to view the entire practice before following along. While there are fewer variations and options offered this time around, there are still some. Additionally, if I’d done Earth first and then watched Water, I’d be able to see where I would want to modify even if the cuing didn’t say so.

But, um. I did the thing where I just jumped into the asana practice again. Living dangerously, that’s why.

Breathing — If this is not the exact same breathing segment as is on Earth it is, at the very least, extremely similar.

Sun Salutes — I think this series is a bit shorter than the Earth segment, perhaps six total sun salutes instead of eight? While it offers bent-knee options in uttanasana, it does assume that folks can enter and exit the forward bend with a straight spine. Additionally, for the sun salutes that involve chaturanga, only the knees-up variation is mentioned. For people who know how they’d like to modify, it would probably be quite easy to do so — but it requires that folks know how they would modify any given pose.

Standing Poses — A considerably longer sequence that builds on that from the Earth DVD. It includes triangle, warrior 2, extended side angle, half moon, warrior 1, warrior 3, and straddle forward fold twist. There are few if any modifications offered here. While I found the verbal instruction easy to follow, I suspect that this series could be difficult for folks whose legs are not having all (or any) of that.

Also, with this DVD, I think the floor work is distinct enough to be broken up into different segments.

Core Work — Lying boat (locust) and standard boat (navasana). Navasana offers the option of bent knees or straight legs.

Backbends — Camel and bridge. It looked to me like camel only offered the variation with toes tucked (and/or not to reach back for the feet at all). Bridge offered only the hand clasp variation.

Floor Work — Forward folds, including janu sirsasana and seated forward fold. It also includes a seated spinal twist in each direction.

Inversions — This includes dolphin, which I expect is to develop upper body strength for things like headstand as well as a shoulderstand sequence. The shoulderstand sequence is done with a blanket and starts with half shoulderstand; the verbal instruction then invites viewers to move into full shoulderstand if they wish, which I think is a splendid way of doing things. The full shoulderstand, if taken, is held for maybe five breaths; then the sequence ends with fish pose.

Savasana — Very similar to Earth. Long, partially guided, fading into just music. I’ve not stayed until the end of this one either.

Overall, this feels like a very logical progression in intensity from the Earth installment of the series. It is slightly less friendly to new beginners, but I think that’s partly because they assume that new beginners will start with Earth. Similarly, I’m not sure if it’s fair to say Water is less friendly to different body sizes and conditions. It certainly offers fewer explicit accommodations; however, if one has used the first DVD in the series (or, for purposes of the giveaway, is familiar with their own set of standard modifications), those accommodations are quite easy to slip into the poses in this series.

If you’d like to be in the drawing for this DVD giveaway, please leave a comment either here, on my Facebook page — or both for two entries — by Tuesday, July 10. I will announce a winner on Wednesday the 11th.

Summer DVD 5 — Total Yoga: The Flow Series – Earth

This DVD is up for giveaway.

In terms of pace and physical intensity, the Earth practice feels quite similar to a lot of the sequences on this Rodney Yee DVD. It’s a single longer practice instead of multiple shorter practices, but at least for me, it ends up being on the gentler, more restorative end of things.

__________________________________________________________

Specs for Total Yoga: The Flow Series – Earth:

Yoga Style: Fairly traditional hatha.

Suited To: In terms of familiarity with yoga, I do think this DVD would be suitable for even new beginners (people starting an asana practice for the first time). In terms of of physicality, the instruction calls for some standing postures, some gentle backbending, and some postures that require some upper body strength (like downward facing dog).

Props: A wall — or reasonable approximation — for legs up the wall. They also suggest a blanket and/or strap as options in forward folds.

Run Time: Amazon and the DVD cover tell me 55 minutes. I think that must include either some of the opening visual instructions, all of the savasana and credits, and/or the “bonus segment” from the Water DVD (the next DVD in the series). I get about 42 minutes from the opening narrated instructions to the end of the narrated portion of savasana (though the savasana itself continues well beyond that).

__________________________________________________________

Before the practice starts, there’s an on-screen recommendation to view the entire DVD once before attempting to follow along. This is because it sometimes offers a few different modifications for the same pose, and one might find that the best modification for them is the one mentioned on the second repetition or the second side. Additionally, for some of the poses — locust, bridge, legs up the wall — it’s not always easy (or possible or safe) to be both in the pose and turning to look at the screen. It’s good advice, particularly for anyone who is very new to an asana practice.

That said, I ignored the instruction and started right away. I like to live dangerously.

The practice itself is designed to be practiced as a single segment and would probably work best that way. However, the DVD menu does offer chapter options with different segments highlighted. It would be possible to, say, only practice the sun salutes at the beginning or only do the floor work toward the end. I’m not sure if it would feel awkward or incomplete, but in terms of technical DVD access, it would be pretty easy to do.

The segments of the practice are as follows:

Breathing — A seated tutorial on ujjayi breath and three-part breath. I’m glad this is here since a lot of other yoga DVDs skip over pranayama; it’s nice for people who want to pay more attention to it to have that option.

Sun Salutes — A total of eight sun salutes, presented with modifications. There are options to roll the spine up or down from tadasana, to keep the knees bent during uttanasana, to move the hands and/or bend the knees during ardha uttanasana, and to rest in either tabletop or child’s pose if holding down dog for the entire time (about 5 breaths per sun salute) isn’t the best option. Additionally, no chaturangas (though there are some high planks, not held beyond an inhale, though): in one series, they’re skipped completely, in the other, the only given instruction is for knees-chest-chin instead.

Standing Poses — A fairly short sequence involving warrior 2, triangle, and straddle forward fold twist.

Floor Work — Some more active poses like lying boat/locust pose and bridge pose, where 3 different variations are offered. Also includes some more restorative poses like forward folding, lying spinal twists, and legs up the wall. Additionally, the video moves through different leg positions in legs up the wall (the traditional as well as straddle and cobbler’s), so that segment is really nice.

Savasana — Like I mentioned, the savasana on this one is fairly long — more like what I’d expect in a 90 minute class, not a 40 minute DVD. (Like opening breathing and centering, savasana tends to be abbreviated on DVD practices.) There’s a guided relaxation that lasts for a minute or two, then a music-only savasana continues for at least another five minutes. I never make it longer than that. My history involves practicing to yoga VHS tapes, where if you enjoy your savasana a little too long, it runs out of tape and an obtrusive BOOOOOOOP ensues. So I get nervous. To whoever ends up with this DVD from the giveaway, I would appreciated it if you could solve the mystery of what, exactly, is at the end of it.

In terms of body diversity and positivity, it does slightly better than average. The two instructors, Ganga White and Tracey Rich, are both thin and flexible. However, some of the modifications they offer — like explicitly saying your feet can be hip width apart in down dog or forward fold — are friendlier toward bigger bodies. And there is no weight loss or body-negative talk either in the DVD itself or on its packaging.

If you’d like to be in the drawing for this DVD giveaway, please leave a comment either here, on my Facebook page — or both for two entries — by Sunday, June 17. I will announce a winner on Monday the 18th. Additionally, due to the fact that I will be traveling, there may be a 1 week delay between announcing the winner and me being able to ship the DVD.

Summer DVD 4: AM Yoga for Your Week by Rodney Yee

This DVD will be part of the giveaway portion of this series.

When I first purchased AM Yoga for Your Week, I did so because I was — and, quite frankly, continue to be — sold on the idea that multiple shorter practices equaled a better value for my money than did purchasing a DVD with a single longer practice. And ultimately, if I try every practice on the DVD only to discover that most of them aren’t quite my style, I’ve still gotten my money’s worth.

______________________________________________

Apologies for the glare. It’s as good as I was able to get without tilting it so far as to be unrecognizable.

Specs for A.M. Yoga for Your Week:

Yoga Style: Hatha, with a noticeable Iyengar influence. With the exception of a short seated flow in one of the segments, most poses are held for a few to several breaths.

Suited To: Generally speaking, people looking for a variety of shorter practices to incorporate into their daily routines. Because of the different focuses (foci?) of each segment, it’s relatively versatile in terms of working for different physical needs and abilities.

Props: A strap is recommended for the twisting segment and is offered as an explicit option for the backbending and forward bending segments. A bolster (done onscreen with a rolled up blanket) is recommended for the backbending segment; I also ended up using it for the forward bending segment. A block is recommended for the hip opening sequence; if you generally substitute a book, it should be one that’s sturdy enough to use it both “flat” and “sideways.”

Run Time: 110 minutes total, broken up into 5 stand-alone practices, each ranging from 20-25 minutes.

______________________________________________

Because Yee is Iyengar-trained, it’s pretty natural that there’s a lot of very specific talk about alignment in the postures. Which way to rotate legs, how far to rotate feet, how to support the low back in backbends. The quality of instruction in this DVD is excellent, and I could see where it could be particularly useful for folks who are newer (maybe even brand new) to yoga. It might be overwhelming to try to follow every instruction at once or to get fixated on exact measurements, but all of the instruction is there and can be incorporated a bit at a time, as the poses become more familiar.

Each segment is a stand-alone practice that focuses on a specific category of poses. Because it’s advertised as AM yoga, though there’s no reason one couldn’t try it at other times of day, I made sure to try each segment in the morning, when I am at my creakiest.

Standing Poses — A fairly straightforward sequence of common standing asanas: warriors 1 and 2, side angle, triangle, pyramid, wide-legged forward fold, ending with a seated cooldown. While it’s not a complicated practice it is fairly strong. There were a couple of places where I was mentally like, “It is too early for this,” though there was nothing about the sequence that was unsafe for me to do physically.

Twists — Some reclined, seated, and kneeling twists with some forward folds as neutralizing counter poses. How gentle or vigorous this is for an individual depends a lot on how deeply they take the twists, so it’s a pretty customizable segment.

Backbends — This starts out with a gentle reclined backbend done over a bolster. It was supported, relaxing, and very opening for my chest and shoulders. It continues with various backbends — crescent moon, cobra, camel, bow — interspersed with down dog as a neutralizing counter pose. At the end, there’s maybe 4 or 5 minutes of twists and forward bends to release the spinal muscles.

Forward Bends — This is a gentle, relaxing sequence of various forward bends. A few of them are standing, most are seated, and there’s a bit of reclined poses at the end. At the end of this, I was relaxed enough for a nap, which makes me wonder if it might be more suited as an evening sequence for some.

Hip Openers — This starts out with a seated flow: staff pose to cobbler’s pose to wide angle pose to cobblers pose to half boat to staff pose. It’s repeated a few times, I expect to warm up and lubricate the hip joints, which it does reasonably well. At least, my hips felt reasonably cooperative with the rest of the opening they were asked to do, which included a longer-held cobbler’s pose, pigeon (entered through down dog), fire log pose, and half fish. Overall, a calm and grounding sequence.

One thing I should point out is that A.M. Yoga for Your Week is not set up like Daily Energy. That is, the practices on A.M. Yoga are not as easily mix-and-matchable. Each segment has its own substantial-length savasana (well, as substantial as one could reasonably expect in a 20 minute practice). Additionally, there’s no way to combine segments on the menu page. I mean, you could certainly go back to the menu between segments to select the second one; there’s just no way to program it ahead of time.

As far as it being “current body friendly,” it’s in the same neutral-to-somewhat-positive ground that many of my current DVDs are. It talks about the benefits of yoga in terms of strengthening, improving flexibility, centering, and feeling better. I can get behind all of those. As far as imagery, Rodney Yee is the only person pictured. He’s trim, visibly muscled, and quite flexible. Certainly, that’s not to take anything away from him, but it’s not always the best visual guide for folks who don’t fit that body type. I know I keep saying it review after review, but I keep saying it because it continues to be a systemic issue.

This is getting re-homed because it’s just not my style, not because I have any objective complaints about the DVD. In fact, when Rodney Yee comes out with “Midafternoon Vinyasas for Your Week,” I’ll be pre-ordering that one.

If you’re interested in being entered in the giveaway for this DVD, please comment here, on my Facebook page, or on both for two entries. Please do so by June 12th as I”ll be announcing a winner on June 13th.

Summer DVD 3: Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown

This DVD will not be part of the giveaway for reasons I hope will become obvious.

I’ll admit, I purchased this DVD because I was curious. At first, I was curious as to what result the Jillian Michaels + yoga equation would yield. If there’s one thing Michaels is known for, it’s physically intense workouts, and I am a fan of physically intense workouts.

Well, after trying both workouts, I continue to be curious. This time, I’m wondering if DVDs also make those cool crackling designs if you put them in the microwave:

[Clip uploaded by futsang via YouTube.]

_________________________________________

Yoga Meltdown Specs:

Yoga Style: The best way I can describe this is circuit training using yoga postures.

Suited To: Because of some instructional issues (which I’ll get to later in the review), I’d only recommend this to people who are pretty familiar with common yoga poses and — most importantly — who are aware of what safe alignment feels like for their own bodies.

Props: I don’t remember if a strap was suggested for the forward folds in the cooldown portion, but some might find it useful. There were also a couple of places (side angle, half moon, revolved triangle) where a number of people I know would like to have blocks.

Run Time: There are two workouts — Level 1 and Level 2 — each approximately 30 minutes long.

_________________________________________

Things I like about this DVD:

1. On each of the leveled workouts, there is one of Jillian’s “students” demonstrating “beginner” modifications and another student demonstrating “advanced” modifications. This means that — assuming one followed the same student for an entire workout — there are up to 4 different workout options.
2. On the Level 1 workout, there is a really nice half-camel to camel flow. While instructing, Jillian emphasized quad strength in the poses, but it mostly felt like a good shoulder opener to me.

Things I do not like about this DVD:

1. Instruction & Safety — This is really the dealbreaker one for me, why I am not comfortable giving this DVD to anyone else. There are several places where important instruction is notably absent — as in standing backbends and wheel pose. For what I see as important Do Not Injure Thyself reasons, there should be some backbending instruction on how to protect the low back; here, however, there is none. Similarly, some of the instruction for other asanas doesn’t sit well with me. There is, for instance, an instruction to “lock” the arms both in mountain pose and while doing pendulum repetitions, the latter of which seems like an excellent way to develop some shoulder, elbow, or wrist issues, perhaps where none had existed previously. This mirrors the instruction to “lock” the legs in revolved triangle (and perhaps other standing poses); again, I predict knee injuries. Going along with that, the main alignment instruction in up dog is to be looking up — which can be appropriate for some people, but can also lead to crunching in the neck and/or low back for others. The thing that makes me really not like this is that these are just the examples I remember without re-watching; I know there were more.
2. Breath & Pacing — At the very beginning, Michaels instructs people to link their breath with their movement. However, then she immediately goes into some upward salute vinyasas at a pace that would leave me hyperventilating if I actually followed it — so I ignored the instruction. Similarly, a lot of “circuits” on each workout involve “repping out” a two-pose vinyasa — like plank to side plank, for example — in succession, building up to a 15 second hold at the end. The side plank one works fine for me, but there are some — ones involving revolved triangle, warrior 3, and wheel (separate circuits, not all the same one) — where I didn’t have enough time to move through the rep as fast as she was calling out. I have a bigger body and a larger range of motion; I’m moving more mass through more space, and I need an extra second or so (each rep) to do it. Sometimes I accommodated by moving slower, sometimes by keeping my range of motion smaller. Which worked out, sort of, but it felt like I was spending a lot of my time in each workout ignoring the instructor.
3. Attitude — This part is trickier to explain. I feel like… Jillian Michaels is sending conflicting messages. Like, at the beginning, she introduces the term yoga “practice” in a tone where you can just about see the Sarcasm Air Quotes around the word practice. At the end, however, she smiles and says it’s all about yoga being a practice, a journey. One of those rings false to me, and I think I know which one it is. Or how she says at one place that it’s okay if you can’t get into the flashier variations of poses (e.g., half moon with the bottom hand lifted, one-legged wheel) but says in another place, lacing the last three fingers in Jupiter mudra is “cheating.” I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. And of course, there is the standard body-changing talk. It is largely toned down for a Jillian Michaels DVD, though; some talk about becoming leaner and looking like the people in the DVD. And my favorite line, paraphrased here for the irony, “Your body weight is the best tool you have.”

Things I would rather use instead:

1. 
   [Video by HolmTV via YouTube.]

   This one is actually somewhat more physically intense for me than are either of the Yoga Meltdown workouts. However, the instruction is much more solid for someone with a moderate amount of yoga experience.

2. 
   [Tara Dale instructing for HolmTV. Video via YouTube.]

   A slower, shorter, less vigorous practice with instruction appropriate for beginners.

Summer DVD Review 2: Shiva Rea’s Daily Energy — Vinyasa Flow Yoga

This is part of the review and giveaway series, but with a twist.

So this might be a bit convoluted, but the DVD I’m reviewing is Shiva Rea: Daily Energy — Vinyasa Flow Yoga. However, the DVD that’s up for giveaway is her (previously reviewed) Creative Core and Upper Body.

The reasoning, though, is pretty simple: The Daily Energy DVD is a rather long one with multiple practices on it. One of those practices is a close enough duplicate of Creative Core and Upper Body as to make it basically redundant for me. Since I really like the versatility of Daily Energy, I’m keeping that and giving away the shorter DVD.

_____________________________________________

Daily Energy Specs:

Yoga Style: Vinyasa, some fairly traditional, some decidedly less so.

Suited To: People already somewhat familiar with vinyasa yoga. Even the slower flows still move, and there’s not a whole lot of direct instruction inside any of the poses. Additionally, folks who have knee or wrist issues might want to approach some of the more vigorous segments (anything with “fire” in the name) carefully.

Props: None suggested, though there were definitely some places where I could have used a strap and others where I wanted a folded bum blanket. Additionally, since there are a number of twisting lunges throughout the segments, I can see where someone might want a block.

Run Time: Amazon tells me 168 minutes total, though that is easily broken up into much smaller chunks of time.
_____________________________________________

Let’s get this out of the way first: With Shiva Rea DVDs comes a certain amount of woo. You know, channeling your inner goddess, tapping into your sacred strength, moving in your own divine rhythms, that sort of thing. I say this now because I know that it is, for some people, a deal breaker. Me, I have built up a tolerance. I can handle woo as long as it comes with the opportunity for my own mindfulness and meditation along with a safe and appropriate asana sequence. Moreover, I am not above tossing out a sacred “fuck you” when an on-screen instructor wants me to hold chair pose for approximately one million minutes or to set myself up in plank for yet another round of prostration push-ups.

Okay, so I have actually developed targeted sarcasm as a woo defense mechanism. It works for me. Don’t judge.

Second: If you’re curious but concerned about the woo factor, it might still be worth it to enter in for the Upper Body and Creative Core DVD. Either due to the shorter length or the more physically intense practice, I hear a lot less woo in it. At any rate, the 35 minutes might make it a nice explorer practice.

Third: The actual review of the DVD I’m actually reviewing. Finally.

The basic premise of this DVD is that practicing a little bit every day is better than practicing for a lot of minutes only once a week or so. As such, there are seven 20-minute practices, along with a few extras, customizable by using the matrix menu. There are also some pre-set combinations — all in the 35-50 minute range — but I’ve found I prefer to combine them my own way. The segments look like this:

Solar Meditation & Lunar Meditation: (separate segments, 5 minutes each) — I’ve not tried either of these, to be honest. My perception of the woo factor gets in my way.

Earth: (20 minutes) — A medium-paced, grounding flow with fairly common variations on sun salutes. It gently gets into both my hip flexors and my outer hips. I like this one a lot and use it often, whether on its own or in combination with another segment or two.

Fire: (20 minutes) — A vigorous, active practice involving pushups and…. things?… that look like leap-frogging from malasana to plank. I definitely prefer to combine this one with a cool-down sequence afterward.

Heart + Air: (20 minutes) — A backbending vinyasa sequence, mostly focused on variations of bow pose. It contains some modifications for when bow is not a good option — though again, here is where I wanted the strap. My spine likes backbends as a general thing, and while I can safely do this as a stand-alone practice, I much prefer to use it as the second 20 minutes after I’ve warmed up a bit.

Water: (20 minutes) — A moderately paced, fluid vinyasa, this one incorporates a lot of “organic movement” and “finding your own rhythm.” Not really my thing for times when I’m using a DVD to sequence my practice, so I probably won’t use this one much.

Shanti: (20 minutes) — A slow, restorative sequence. I like it a lot as a companion to the Fire segment, but it would also be nice on its own for a lower energy sort of day.

Fire + Water: (20 minutes) — This is a playful, active sequence that incorporates core work, backbends, and arm balances. While the pace of this one isn’t as intense as the Fire segment, some of the individual postures are more physically challenging. This is one I’d recommend watching first before deciding whether or not to try it.

Chakra: (20 minutes) — A well-rounded flow that tries to incorporate elements of earth, water, fire, and air. (Woo.) Physically, it ends up being a nice progression of a basic sun salutation with different variations on the lunge segment: one getting into the hips, one using more fluid movement, one building heat in the thighs and core, one working toward a backbend. To me, this feels like a very balanced practice.

Core: (7 minutes) — A short add-on of reclining core work. An active segment, though because it’s reclining, users can adjust the specific intensity to their bodies and needs. I like to tack it on the beginning of some of the more restorative segments, especially when I don’t have time for a full 40 minute practice.

Forward Bends: (6 minutes) — A short add-on of seated forward folds. I like to use this as a quick cool down segment for more active practices and/or the backbending (where I don’t so much need a cool down as I do some counter poses).

Savasana: (6 minutes) — Never tried this. Same reason as the opening meditations.

Overall, I think this DVD’s strength lies in its versatility. I don’t like everything on this DVD, and of the things I do like, I don’t like everything for everyday. But for most days, I can find or create some sort of practice that meets my needs.

In terms of modifications, some are offered — but not always. In the Earth segment, Shiva Rea tells viewers that they’re welcome to skip any of the vinyasas during the practice. Since she also specifies that the Earth segment is the foundation for the rest of the segments, I took that to mean she was instructing that one could skip any vinyasas in the DVD. She routinely offers degrees of backbending options (for example, low cobra, high cobra, up dog) and specifies that knees down for chaturanga and/or prostration pushups is okay. However, for the forward folds, some of the twists, and some of the lunges, I created my own modifications. The ability to do that — as well as having enough experience and body awareness to know which poses you need to modify for yourself — is pretty crucial here.

Finally, as far as being fat-friendly, it’s where a lot of DVDs in my current collection are: It talks about the body in supportive rather than attacking terms. While there is sometimes talk of building strength, there is no corresponding talk of, say, “blasting fat.” There is zero diet or weight loss talk. And the idea that modifying poses is okay is built into the practice. On the other hand, the explicit modifications are often not the ones I need to make the pose accessible for my body’s shape rather than for my body’s strength. Similarly, the person demonstrating the asanas (Shiva Rea) is thin and flexible; I can’t look to the DVD itself to give me ideas on how to modify for a larger body.

This is disappointing; it is also par for the course. Also, it is disappointing that this is par for the course.

Grr. I actually don’t mean to end pessimistically about this DVD because, really? It’s a pretty good value for the money, and one could do much worse.
_____________________________________________

If you’re interested in the DVD up for giveaway — which is actually Shiva Rea’s Creative Core and Upper Body, please comment here or on my Facebook Page (or both for two entries) by Thursday, May 31st. I will announce a winner on Friday the 1st.

Summer DVD Review: Cardio Burn Yoga

This DVD will also be up for giveaway. If you’re interested, comment here or on my Facebook Page (or both for two entries) by Sunday, May 27. I will announce a winner on Monday the 28th.

Okay, logistics taken care of. Now on to the real business at hand.

Specs:

Title: Cardio Burn Yoga

Yoga Style: Gentle non-traditional vinyasa — flowing motion but no traditional sun salutations.

Suited To: People somewhat familiar (even passing familiarity will work for this, though) with some basic yoga postures since alignment discussion is limited and most of the video involves flowing from one asana to the next.

Props: None suggested. I didn’t find any places where I particularly wanted them, either. (Though some people certainly might.)

Run Time: On this DVD, there’s a 50-minute practice, a 30-minute practice, and a “bonus stretch” section. I’ll be mostly focusing on the 50-minute practice here since my impressions are basically the same for both. (I’ve not actually watched the bonus section.)

__________________________________________________

Safety Alert:

(I know this might look alarmist, but I want to make sure people see it.)

On this DVD, there is one area of instruction that I consider to be a safety issue. It is isolated and easily fixed, so I’m okay giving away the DVD anyway. However, it’s significant enough that it gets its own spiffy box.

In the express workout, there is a standing balance section. There is a time when Patricia Moreno, the instructor, suggests pressing the raised foot into the standing knee in order to stabilize the posture. Later during the sequence, while Moreno calls it a “modified” tree pose, it again appears that the foot is balanced against the standing knee. I’ve always been taught that this is a safety issue that can destabilize and injure the knee, so I recommend placing the foot just above or below the knee during that series.

When I first happened across this DVD (purchased as part of a mixed lot on Ebay), I was not enthralled with the “cardio burn” part of the title. Too many times, that’s been code for “yoga infused with weight loss talk,” which is not so much what I need.

When I first tried it out, I was a little perplexed. Though the pace of the class is definitely more flowing than static, neither the pace nor the postures was sufficiently vigorous that it raised my heart rate or left me feeling burny.

When I read the fine print on the back of the case and discovered that the DVD had previously been released under the title Yoga Dance Fusion, things started to make a lot more sense to me.

The basic instructional structure mirrors the way I’ve seen a lot of dance teachers teach parts of a routine, particularly when teaching to non-dancers (read: people like me). Essentially, it goes like this:

• Learn Asana A in isolation.
• Learn Asana B in isolation.
• Practice linking Asanas A and B in a flow. Repeat a few times.
• Learn Asana C in isolation.
• Practice linking Asanas A, B, and C in a flow. Repeat a few times.
• Learn Asana D in isolation.
• Practice linking Asanas A, B, C, and D in a flow. Repeat.
• You get the idea by now, right?

By the end of the practice, I’d definitely had a lot of time to get used to the first half of the flow sequence. I was pretty much an expert at that. Generally, I can picture this being useful for someone who’s partly familiar with some common yoga postures (child’s, cobra, down dog, lunge) but who may have little or no experience linking poses together in any kind of flow. During the practice, there are a lot of chances to figure out how to move from one position to the next.

As far as the physical intensity of the practice, neither of them felt particularly vigorous to me. Even though the shorter practice is actually paced faster than the longer one, both of them spent enough time in poses that I use for resting (cobra, child’s, down dog, knee-down lunge) that it doesn’t give me the sort of fiery practice I tend to want when I follow a DVD. (When I want a more restful practice, I tend to go DVD-free and make up my own.)

The longer practice starts with a grounded flow: moving from child’s pose through to cobra, then back up to a gentle camel. After a few rounds of that, it progresses to include down dog, lunge twist, warrior 3, warrior 2, reverse warrior, and side angle. Of course, it adds them one at a time and offers both the opportunity to practice in isolation and to repeatedly practice each inside a flow.

Also, probably something worth mentioning — Even though a lot of the advertising surrounding the DVD mentions “fat burning” and getting “rid of excess body fat,” there is no mention of it inside the practice itself, at least not the 50-minute one.

Overall, this seems like a reasonable and well-balanced DVD, just one that’s slower-paced and more repetitive than fits my personal taste.

DVD Review: Shiva Rea’s Creative Core + Upper Body

Confession: I am a bad yoga groupie. While I don’t dislike Shiva Rea, neither do I think she is the best thing since sliced bread. On the plus side, a lot of the practices I see her work through are both physically and spiritually awe-inspiring. That said, a lot of the practices I see her leading are both physically and spiritually awe-inspiring — rather than something that feels accessible to me, today.

And I feel like there is a little of that in her Creative Core and Upper Body DVD, but there’s still a lot to recommend it as reasonably approachable.
______________________________________________

The specs:

Yoga Style: Yoga-inspired movement with an emphasis on core and upper body strength.

Suited To: People who are relatively familiar with common yoga postures (since there isn’t much explanation of alignment); people without wrist or shoulder issues that are exacerbated by pushups; people looking to build core and upper body strength.

Props: None suggested, nor did I see any places during the practice where I would have wanted them.

Run Time: 35 minutes from introduction through savasana (not counting the 7-minutes of “bonus footage” from a different DVD, which I did not watch this time around).
______________________________________________

For starters, full disclosure: Shiva Rea is thin, white, and flexible. The DVD shows her alone, which is certainly fine on its own but is less than ideal if one is seeking out representations of diverse body types.

The bulk of this DVD is predicated on what Rea describes as an Agni Namaskar (fire salutation), which is a variation of sun salutation B with one very important extra element thrown in. That element is pushups, 108 of them to be exact. Or rather, 12 of them at a time times 9 times to equal a total of 108 during the course of the practice. On the plus side, not only does she offer modifications — knees down, finding a hand placement that suits you, moving at your own speed, going up to 12 but not stressing if you don’t make it exactly there every single time — but she does so as she’s introducing the first round of pushups. Too often, I watch video practices where the teacher offers modifications but only on the second side or second time through something — not so helpful if one needs those options the first time around.

That said, I totally kept my knees down because pushups are hard and I have been burned by that shit before.

Shiva Rea also offers considerable variations on other portions of the namaskar. In up dog/cobra, upward facing dog is always presented as an alternative to cobra rather than a requirement; I cobra-ed it this time because I’m still feeling out the practice. In addition, we played around with two versions of locust pose and at least two (maybe 3?) versions of bow. Similarly, during warrior I, there’s always the option — again, offered the first time around (and boy did I take her up on it!) — to keep the back knee on the ground. Beyond that, the warrior moves into devotional warrior on each side as well as a prayer twist on each side. Given the intensity of the pushup phase, I found that keeping my back knee on the ground was an effective way to turn the warriors almost into resting poses.

After the fire salutations — yes, there is an after the fire salutation — there is a Creative Core sequence that is entirely reclining work. For me, at least, that made it very easy to tailor the intensity to my reserves and my needs. There some pilates-based movements and some traditional core movements (as well as some yoga-based movements), where going “deeper” into the pose effectively means moving one’s legs or shoulders “more” — but where not moving them as far doesn’t mean one is doing “nothing.” (Think of it this way: Lifting lower rather than higher in a basic crunch doesn’t necessarily mean one isn’t doing a crunch or isn’t working their abs. It’s more about how far can you — or do you need to — move in order to feel something and build strength.) I am a big fan of reclining work for this reason: For the times when I have the strength to go further, I get to go further. For the times when I don’t, I am still supported by the floor.

As someone who’s seen a lot of core work, most of these movements were ones I’d seen before — but there were a couple that were new to me. And yes, my core did feel that I had not done those before. “WTF?” it told me.

In terms of active, fiery workout, this practice is fun, interesting, modifiable, and generally awesome. If I have one complaint about it, though, it is that it drops into savasana really effing fast. There is intense core work, then a brief reclining stretch, then — boom! — new DVD chapter and savasana. My body wanted some time in a spinal twist and maybe a reclined cobbler’s pose before finally winding down. Maybe next time, I’ll stop the DVD before savasana.

Then again, maybe next time, I’ll do some pushups with my knees off the floor.

Day 23 & Day 24

We are coming toward the end of the December Yoga Challenge, though there’s still about a week to go. Maybe the real challenge will be whether I can post another week of daily meaningful suggestions!

Day 22: Doggie Savasana

Protip: Savasana is the perfect position for tummy scritches.

What was that I was saying about meaningful suggestions again?

Still, if it made anyone smile, I maintain that it was worth it.

Day 23: Yoga for Athletes

The downside of this video is that it’s an hour long, probably not ideal if one is trying to fit some yoga into an otherwise busy day. The upside is that it certainly didn’t feel like an hour while I was doing it.

[Yoga Class for Athletes with Michelle Rubin. Video from Do Yoga With Me via YouTube.]

The instructor introduces the class as being aimed toward athletes who might not have a regular yoga practice but who are looking to get some benefit from yoga. I don’t disagree, but I also don’t see any reason this class should be limited to athletes. What I mean is that for me, it was a fairly gentle restorative practice that seems like it would be accessible to a wide variety of people, whether or not they’re new to yoga and whether or not they consider themselves athletes.

The program starts out with a seated series focusing on the neck, shoulders, and wrists. Then it moves to stretching the feet and ankles as well as incorporating some seated core work (hi, boat!). Afterward, there are a couple of reclining sequences, involving more core work and some hip stretching. Because so much of the asanas are seated or reclining, this is a pretty do-able routine for folks who might have issues standing or placing a lot of pressure on their wrists. (There is one seated pose that involves leaning some weight back into the wrists, but playing with the angle can modify how much weight actually goes there.) Additionally, the instructor is there with two additional people, one sometimes demonstrating a more intense version of a pose, the other sometimes demonstrating an option requiring less strength or flexibility.

Finally, though this is not the way it’s presented, I think the class could be broken into two segments for people who are pressed for time — provided one incorporated some final relaxation each time.

DVD Review: Bryan Kest Power Yoga

In the interest of full disclosure, this DVD is one I’ve practiced with for years.

When I first read Amazon reviews, I was warned about flexible students, spandex costumes, Fabio hair, and space age music. That said, I was promised that all of it was grounded in a solid and awesome power vinyasa practice.

I purchased it and found all of the above to be true.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The specs:

Yoga Style: Power vinyasa.

Suited To: Yogis with a fair amount of asana understanding and enough physical strength to flow from pose to pose. There’s plenty of room for modification, but if I were a complete beginner, I’d be overwhelmed here.

Props: I don’t remember any that are explicitly mentioned, though if I was doing this for the first time at any level, I’d keep a block, a strap, and a blanket nearby.

Run Time: There are 3 leveled practices on this DVD, each one hanging out in the 50-60 minute range, including integration and the guided portion of savasana. (The DVD is set up so that the same music transitions from savasana to the credits, so it’s possible to stay in the most a little longer.)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

For starters, yes, the way the practices are filmed suggests “trendy cult of personality” to me. The general setup is that Bryan Kest is instructing a live class of something like a dozen students — a dozen students who are (conveniently) thin, conventionally attractive, quite flexible, and dressed in varying formations of white spandex. In the second and third practices, Kest is wearing something equally spandexy; in the first, he is wearing spandex shorts covered by cutoff jeans.

I have ripped enough crotches in my life to be utterly unable to imagine how one practices power yoga in jeans.

Occasionally, the film cuts away to (black and white? I’m doing this from memory — are they black and white?) what feel like black and white slow motion (which may totally be my imagination) solo shots of Kest demonstrating various asanas. He is demonstrably more flexible than I am in most of the asanas, but that’s okay: All of the yogis in this DVD are demonstrably more flexible than I am in most of the asanas.

But it really is okay — If I can get past the images projected to what Kest is actually saying in guiding and instructing the practice, it’s a whole different philosophy. (I realize there is plenty to be said in terms of commercial practices that speak to one set of ideals but show another. Because I have trained myself to focus mainly on the audio here, this is not going to be that post.) There’s a lot of talk about the practice being about sensation and breathing rather than aesthetics. In other words, if you’re feeling sensation but still able to breathe deeply, you’re doing a pose right, no matter what it looks like.

There’s also a lot of talk about getting out of your ego, which I’ve taken to heart beyond this DVD. My ego needs to be gotten out of sometimes, in yoga and elsewhere.

All three practices on the DVD follow the same basic pattern:

• Integration and various forms of sun salutes, meant to bring heat to the body.
• Sun salutes incorporating various standing postures, including twists and balancing postures.
• Standing postures outside of sun salutes, including strength and balancing postures.
• Seated postures, always including backbending, sometimes including abdominal core work.
• A forward fold or two.
• Twisting and relaxation postures.

Among practices, however, there’s a noticeable amount of variation in intensity.

The first practice on the DVD is titled “Energize,” and that’s how I’ve basically used it. For me — as someone who was reasonably able-bodied and experienced with yoga when I found this routine — I discovered a series of asanas that in themselves were pretty straightforward but that were sequenced in such a way as to move energy to various places in my body and then ask those muscle groups to relax and open. Some modifications are offered — mostly in terms of strength, sometimes in terms of flexibility — to make the flows more accessible. To date, this tends to be one of my favorite practices when I’m not feeling like challenging myself mentally — but I’m not ready to phone it in physically.

The second practice is “Tone.” It follows a lot of the same lines as “Energize,” with fewer modifications specified (I think because the explicit expectation is that the viewer is familiar with “Energize”) and with more intense poses in each segment. This is the series that introduced me to holding goddess squat for an extended period of time — also that if I held bow long enough, it would become a strength pose for both my back and my thighs. This is the type of practice I like when I’m ready to bring both my physical and mental A-Game.

Finally, there’s the practice titled “Sweat.” (I just mistyped “Swear” there, and I do not think that’s inaccurate, either.) To be completely honest, it’s rare that I can: a) get to the full expression of a demonstrated pose, and b) hold it for as long as the instructions suggest. Of the three, this is the practice I’ve done the least because — for me to do it safely — it requires me to bring my full physical energy plus being playfully out of my ego plus being safe to take some physical risks (like falling out of the full expression of side plank). Admittedly, this is something that happens on a fairly infrequent basis — and when the mood does strike, I’m likely to try to find my way to a real-life class. Still and all, I find that meeting this practice as an expression of yogic play does me a lot of good. It helps me to stay out of my ego.

All of that said, I feel like one reason I like the DVD is because of its versatility: It’s 3 practices on one moderately priced DVD — and I know for a lot of people (me included) that is a major, sometimes even crucial, deciding factor. Moreover, I think that for a lot of people who are physically able to work with these poses, the sequencing and mental (and narrative) instruction here is all kinds of good.

Aesthetics

But it has nothing to do with aesthetics, so we all but miss it in every single workout.

– Bryan Kest (via my memory), talking about the psoas muscle during navasana in one of his Power Yoga DVD practices

I may not have every word right, but the basic sentiment is accurately portrayed. And whether a lot of people are particularly likely to need psoas strengthening, the idea, I think, applies to physical fitness more broadly.

First, and this is applicable to my psoas, I tend to ignore stretching some muscles that don’t directly affect my appearance — or that I don’t think of as directly affecting my appearance. For example, I know I have some stiffness in the muscles along the sides of my ribcage. While I do make an effort to stretch them at least a little each day, I’ve never sequenced an asana practice to target the release of those muscles. One part of the reason for that is because my tightness there, while not comfortable, doesn’t really affect the aesthetic shape of my body.

Contrast that with the muscle tightness I feel across the front of my shoulders and chest. Not only have I sequenced personal practices specifically to open up that area of my body, but I’ve also attended a number of classes and used a myriad of videos with the same stated purpose. In some of those instructional practices, the teacher brought in the idea of aesthetics. Having a tight chest and shoulders can contribute to back pain, yes, but I’ve also witnessed plenty of yogis demonstrate the hunched shoulders and rounded spine and remark on how that isn’t very attractive.

Although I’m not sure I’d “all but miss” my heart center if it weren’t a factor in creating what I consider an aesthetically pleasing line to my body, I can’t deny that aesthetics plays some role in the muscles I choose to stretch.

Similarly, aesthetics also plays a role in the muscles I choose to strengthen. Regular readers might have noticed my recent-ish (in the grand scheme of my practice) fascination with feet. For the past few years, I’ve experienced intermittent foot pain in my standing postures. I chalked this up to my foot anatomy and the increasing frequency, duration, and physical intensity of my asana practices, deciding it must be a side effect that comes with the territory. Until I stumbled on the idea online — while researching another topic only tangentially related — it had never even occurred to me that I could stretch and strengthen the muscles in my feet — the way I did the rest of my body — so they’d be better able to support me in standing poses.

Again, I don’t think aesthetics is the only force at play here, but if it were my butt or thighs hurting in the postures? I probably couldn’t avoid knowing how to strengthen or tone those if I wanted to. However, strong, supple feet are really not a showcase image in most people’s conceptualization of the aesthetic ideal.

But it goes deeper — or maybe broader — than that. Recently, the blog Living ~400lbs posted The Fitness Question, asking readers if the benefits of exercise would be worth it if they never lost weight. Weight loss is only one aspect of aesthetics, but I sometimes wonder if there’s a similar principle at play on a grander scale — that is, if a major motivator in people’s exercise habits is the hope or expectation that it will help them to look a certain way.

The expectation can take a number of forms; “tone” is one I hear often — that regular exercise will increase the appearance of muscle definition (which may or may not include muscle mass) while decreasing the appearance of surface fat. Of course this doesn’t happen with every body: on mine, the muscles arrive where they will, but the surface fat that’s always been there I now acknowledge as a permanent fixture of my form.

I also sometimes interpret “tone” as “flexibility” — that is, a truly toned muscle will stretch as well as contract. For a long time, I hung on the hope that if I toned and stretched my muscles enough, I’d eventually develop the flexibility to get into every single yoga asana (or at least every asana a teacher might reasonably demonstrate in class). It took some study of anatomy and even more self-study to understand that:

1. There’s more to it than that. Bone shapes, sizes, and angles vary widely — and they also play a significant role in what a particular asana looks like — not to mention how it feels — for any given individual’s body.
2. Sometimes — like in the case of arm binding — regardless of muscle flexibility or the shape of my spine or shoulders, it ain’t ever gonna happen, at least not in a way that is beneficial for me.

Of course it’s good to use anatomical- and self-knowledge to determine what’s causing any particular limitation and whether it’s helpful or harmful to try to push a given edge. And in the course of that determination, it’s empowering to recognize the pressure (from self or society) to strive for a particular aesthetic and to name that hangup for what it is.

There are aspects of movement, meditation, and health that have nothing to do with aesthetics. It’s a rewarding challenge to find the space for them.

Download Review: Forrest Yoga at YogaDownload

Tori in ardha uttanasana.

I’ve actually tried this practice a few times, and I’m sort of still making up my mind about it. If you’re curious, have the time, and would like to try it out, I’d be very interested in your impressions as well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The specs:

Yoga Style: Vinyasa flow, though sometimes a bit creative/non-traditional.

Suited To: Yogis who are familiar enough with asanas to move fairly quickly from one to another without terribly detailed instruction. Yogis who are physically able to move from pose to pose with limited modifications offered. YogaDownload calls the level “Beginner-Intermediate” and the intensity “You’ll Feel It.”

Props: None suggested, though I wouldn’t have minded a block during some of the reclining bridge work or a blanket during pigeon.

Run Time: The 20-minute version ran about 25 minutes in practice length. There are also 30-minute, 45-minute, and 60-minute versions of this practice available. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

On one hand, I’m not a fan of the concept of “branded yoga,” that is, types of practices named after individuals rather than styles. Effectively, I think they’re often trying to capitalize on “reinventing” something that’s been around for thousands of years. While I totally understand the thrill of sharing “this is what works for me” — because, hi, this blog — I think there’s maybe a difference between that and trademarking the name as its own unique thing.

On the other, given that the concept of Forrest Yoga includes using a vigorous physical practice to release toxins and find healing in the emotional body — Well, I can’t pretend I don’t love that.

So maybe I’ll just stick with reviewing this specific download, yeah?

After integration, we started reclined with some bridge work. There was traditional bridge and also an optional one-legged variation. Overall, given that they provided appropriate options — and suggested that yogis check in to see how their own backs were feeling — I enjoyed this section. For folks for whom neither option was totally sufficient, it might be worth it to try a one-legged bridge with the spine supported by a block. This would allow for quad and glute strengthening while minimizing lower back strain.

Then came some fairly standard sun salutes. Generally, few modifications are offered. One exception is the first time through warrior I where “sugar-footing” the back leg out (so the feet are parallel with the hip points, basically) is mentioned straight off. Additionally, lowering the knees through chaturanga is mentioned, but not until about 15 minutes in. It’s a modification with which I’m personally familiar, so I would have felt free to apply it whenever — but if I were newer to the practice, I’d want to know about it with the first vinyasa.

All in all, I appreciate this download’s focus on listening to one’s body and not entering a pose or variation if it feels harmful — particularly if it feels harmful on the joints (low back, knees, etc.). I am particularly intrigued by a beginning vinyasa of supine poses. Though I might not sequence a one-legged bridge in a 20-minute practice on my own (though to be fair, the 20-minute version might be edited from the 60-minute full practice), a non-standing sequence (especially one that is not cat/cow) to start is all kinds of refreshing.

From a body-size perspective, the practice is all audio, so no bodies are visually represented. Also, while size is not explicitly accommodated (which I don’t actually consider a negative), paying attention to how one’s body feels in the various asanas — and modifying where appropriate — is stressed.

So I’m toying with the idea of purchasing a longer version of the practice, but I hesitate — not because I don’t think it will be worthwhile in itself but because I don’t think it will be substantially different from what I have now.

DVD Review: Rodney Yee’s Ultimate Power Yoga

I let the Me stay in the crop just for the goofy face I am making.

When I read the title Ultimate Power Yoga, I was ready for this DVD to be scary, in an ass-kicking, ultra-bendy kind of way. After trying it out, I was impressed by the overall intensity of the practice (physically and mentally), but I was also relieved to discover that all of the postures were basically accessible to me. Not that I could do every pose, not that I’d even seen every asana before, but there wasn’t anything that made me go, “How do bodies even work like that?”

Ultimately (okay, yes, pun intended), I think what makes this power yoga DVD “ultimate” is the ability to customize some fairly diverse sections according to specific needs and preferences. The DVD contains 5 segments, each 15-20 minutes long, that can be mixed and matched. The segments are:

Power Foundations: — This is a series of mostly supine and seated postures designed to improve core stability. As someone whose core is already pretty stable, I don’t find it particularly challenging physically. However, as someone with chronic pelvic pain, I do find that a supine/seated flow is all kinds of awesome for my bad days. I don’t mean that it helps with my pain, but I do appreciate that since my pelvis is always supported, it’s a lot easier for me to actually do these. Additionally, that floor support means that yogis who are physically challenged by this series can use the support to keep movements smaller and safe while building their core strength.

Strengthening Sun Salutations: This is a standing series with relatively few explicit modifications (knees bent in forward fold, etc.). That said, for folks who know their modifications in traditional sun salutes (e.g., knees down or cobra instead of up dog), it’s relatively easy to work them in. There is a general element of “listen to your body and do what works for you” throughout the whole DVD, so this is well within the spirit of the practice. As for physical intensity, this segment always takes me by surprise. I start out believing it’s going to be easy, because that’s how it feels, but by the end I’m always wondering if we’re done yet. Not that the individual poses are strange or demanding of themselves, but there is some challenge, and the flow turns fast.

Sculpting Standing Poses: To be honest, I avoided this section my first few times through the DVD because I was afraid it was going to be frighteningly intense. While it does maintain the heat created during the sun salutation sequence, it doesn’t intensify that heat for me. There are some two=footed standing postures like triangle and warrior II as well as some standing balances like warrior III. This section is one that doesn’t modify a lot for physical needs.

Broadening Backbends: I like me some backbends. I have an accommodating, bendy back. Working my edge for each backbend for a total of 20 minutes? Serious heart opening. Rodney Yee’s instruction is pretty awesome for this, by the way. He repeats a number of times that it’s not necessary to go to one’s maximum. Still and all, even though modifications (even just in degree) are offered in most backbends, I get a heart- and spine-opening experience every time.

Ultimate Power Restoration: This is a series of some longer-held stretches, including a lot of forward bends. I expect that it was designed to complement the backbending series, and it does that, but it’s a good restorative conclusion to the other segments as well. Some modifications are offered, though some degree of strength and flexibility is assumed.

The DVD is designed to mix and match. Personally, I’ve used the first two segments as warmups. The foundations segment I think is a suitable beginning for most people who can move from supine to seated on their own. With sun salutations, I’d suggest using it as a beginning only if you’re used to practices that build heat quickly. I don’t think it’s unsuitable for a first segment, but I do think it’s best saved for folks who are going to be ready to move relatively fast.

For the standing series, I have only ever used it as a middle segment as that seems to be how it was created. Though there are moments for centering both at the beginning and end, it seems to be bookended by segments with more integration and restoration.

As for the end, I’ve done so on both the backbending and restorative series. For me, ending on backbending is therapeutic but also kind of sudden. It’s like “heart opening, heart opening, heart opening, BOOM! savasana,” which totally works with how my body is put together but may well not work for everyone. That said, there is a savasana at the end of the backbending segment, which suggests it was intended to be used as a possible final segment for folks who wanted it.

From a body diversity standpoint, I’m sort of in the middle with this DVD. The only body featured in it is Rodney Yee, who is trim and flexible. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s not that this is a problem on its own. It’s more like, every DVD that features solely slimmer bodies is a DVD that doesn’t depict larger ones — and that absence of body diversity is a problem. Additionally, while some modifications are offered, they are largely flexibility-oriented and not body-size-oriented. However, there is no talk of weight loss and relatively little discussion of body image. The body image detail that does ensue is pretty relevant — in other words, talking about strengthening or stretching the specific muscle groups targeted in a given pose.

Overall, I find it versatile and accessible, at least for folks who have some familiarity with yoga and preferably with vinyasa-style yoga. While I would ultimately (again, pun intended) appreciate a practice of similar intensity that features larger body sizes, I think that’s a systemic criticism rather than a complaint against this individual DVD.

DVD Review: Seane Corn’s Vinyasa Flow Yoga – Uniting Movement and Breath

I’ve been keeping this blog for about 5 months now, and this is the first time I’ve been motivated to write a DVD review. Of course, part of that is because I don’t always use DVDs to practice, but part is because of how much I liked this practice when I tried it out yesterday. (Of course, if there’s actual interest in reviews like these, I would be happy to write more.)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

First, some quick specs:

Yoga Style: — I’d call it an intro to vinyasa. There is definite intention and movement toward linking asanas into traditional sun salutations. However, a lot of the movements are broken down and entered into slowly, especially the first time through each.

Suited To**: If this were my very first time doing yoga, I think I’d be confused and a little frustrated by the faster pacing. However, there’s a lot of explanation, so I think if I were at least a little familiar with yoga, I’d be pretty okay with this. In terms of physicality, this practice is active but doesn’t really tax my strength or stamina.

Props: Yoga block (or book or whatever) recommended but maybe not strictly necessary.

Run Time: There’s some interview at the beginning, but for practice length, I get about 65 minutes from integration through savasana.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The instructional format is Seane Corn alone in a studio demonstrating the poses as she’s instructing. The tone and pace are very informal and conversational, more like I hear when I’m taking a class at my local studio and less like I hear from other instructors on DVDs, which have a tendency to sound a little bit scripted or rehearsed.

I was really impressed by Seane’s attention to and explanation of body alignment. She’ll give a cue (for example, pressing with the inner palm in chaturanga) as well as an explanation of why a particular positioning is important (in this case, stabilizing and reducing strain on the wrists). There’s a strong emphasis on safety and avoiding injury, which: a) is a huge factor in being able to enjoy my yoga practice; b) is sometimes missing from other instructional DVDs. There’s also a focus on exploring sensations or reactions as one approaches different postures, rather than feeling like a given pose is supposed to be easy or difficult or that one needs to match the picture made by the very flexible person onscreen.

The practice follows a sequencing that’s pretty familiar to me. First, there was a seated section, focusing on breath integration and setting an intention. I appreciated that length of this section was substantial — maybe three to six full minutes — again, more like what I’m used to in live classes, less like what I’m used to seeing on other yoga DVDs. I also liked that Seane explained a little bit about intentions: why a yogi might set one, what setting an intention might look or sound like. Additionally, she continues to come back to this intention throughout the practice, which is a nice way to remember that yoga is not only about the physical.

The next section of the practice is sun salute. She starts slowly, detailing alignment in tadasana and upward salute, then moving into forward fold and ardha uttanasana. Even when we started to do full sun salutes, I believe all of them were modified — knees down to lower through chaturanga, low cobra rather than upward dog. Certainly folks familiar with and able to do other versions could substitute, but the verbal instructions always involved the expressions described above. There’s some work with warrior I and incorporating it into a modified sun salute, but as she explains, her intention is largely to get a feel for how to step into the standing postures from down dog.

After sun salutes come standing poses. The DVD covers tree, triangle, warrior II, extended side angle, and pyramid, all interspersed with some straddle forward folds. There was a strong emphasis on the alignment and activation of the back foot and hip, which — even though I’ve been practicing yoga for something like eleven years — made a substantial and immediate difference in how I hold myself in the warriors. (And I have the soreness today to attest to it!) Seane starts instructing these poses in isolation — that is, not inside a sun salute — which I think would be very helpful for folks who aren’t so familiar with these poses. Extended side angle is introduced from down dog (how one might typically enter it in a vinyasa class), but that’s after exploring the entrance with warrior I as well as the other standing postures.

Finally, there’s a grounded section that incorporates some gentle back bending (bridge), twists, and forward folds. Again, there’s a lot of attention paid to alignment, both with the use of props and via explaining some common body tendencies. For example, I discovered that one error — I’m going to call it an error because the pose works better for me with the correction than it did before — I was making in twisting was to initiate the twist from my hips. I suppose this would be fine if I was actually wanting to feel a lot of sensation through my hips, but what it was really doing for me was limiting the sensation and eventual release in my spine. Even if not every verbal cue or alignment suggestion brings me extra freedom or release, there are a lot that work for me personally, so I think it makes sense to at least try them out. At the end there’s a short savasana (characteristic of what I’ve seen in other DVDs) and a substantial revisit of the intention (characteristic of what I’ve seen in real-life classes).

I am also a fan of the way Seane incorporates props into the series. She only uses blocks (sometimes one, sometimes two), but they’re introduced with the very first sit, and she makes it a point to suggest other times when blocks could be used (as a headrest for forward folds, for hands in lunges, etc.). I like that they’re introduced relatively quickly into the explanation of a pose; fairly often, I’ve seen DVDs that only suggest a block or other prop when they’re doing the second side of an asymmetrical pose. It’s nice to know, but it’s nicer to know the first time I do a pose. I also enjoy that she approaches triangle and side angle: a) with using blocks at the default; b) by saying — “I’m going to reach for my block” or something similar in a way that implies using blocks is her personal preference for these poses. I’ve witnessed a number of assumptions — from instructors and students — that blocks are “only” for “beginners.” It’s refreshing to see an instructor who runs counter to that, at least in a couple of asanas.

In terms of accommodating different body sizes, there are some good and not-so-good points to this DVD. While Seane herself is thin and conventionally attractive (not a criticism, but a factor to consider in context of the relative lack of DVDs from folks of larger sizes), there is zero talk of weight loss or body size in this DVD. As this has not been the case for other yoga DVDs I’ve used — even ones I like — it’s a point I appreciate. That said, there are a couple of what I see as pretty standard pose variations that might help larger-bodied people but that Seane doesn’t offer with this instruction.

The first is in tadasana: Per Seane’s instruction in the DVD, the feet are together for this pose. I have some wide hips and find it much easier to find stability when my feet are hips’ width apart. I’m not sure if it’s because there’s a greater absolute difference between “feet together” and “feet hips’ width apart” for me, but it makes a difference to my practice.

Similarly, when she introduces child’s pose, the knees are always together. I have some bulk in my front body (quadriceps, abdominal fat, boobs), and child’s pose with my knees together basically stacks these areas on top of one another, which is kind of squishing and not terribly restorative. Offering an option with the knees apart might do more to accommodate different body types.

These are relatively small criticisms in light of how good I think the overall DVD is. But as it seems to be a DVD aimed at folks who are less familiar with yoga, I think it’s pretty important to make sure they explicitly are options. After experimentation, I felt pretty free to modify the instructions to what works for me, but I also know not everyone has that “toolbox” of yoga knowledge and confidence.

All that said, even though I might not be the “intended audience” for this DVD, I consider it a good investment and am happy to add it to my “keeper” collection.

** I realize that it’s helpful for people to know how much strength, endurance, flexibility, etc. is required to practice the sequences of asanas. But I really, really hate talking about “levels” of yoga because doing something that requires more strength/endurance/whatever is not necessarily “advanced.”