Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a beautiful, mindful, and potentially powerful yoga practice. It is true that there are no big surprise poses in this sequence--all are well-known, fairly basic level poses. The main audio option contains some instruction, but mostly about moving into and out of the poses; there is not much about alignment within the pose. Complete beginners may need more instruction and modifications than available here. The other audio option omits instruction at all, containing only prompts for moving from one pose to another. The basic poses, simple instruction, and deemphasis on speed makes this dvd a good place for advanced beginners who have some knowledge of the poses to deepen their understanding of them, and for anyone, irrespective of level, to work on the mindful awareness aspect of their yoga practice. The intensity in this dvd comes, not from speed or difficulty of poses, but from deep, slow, conscious repetition of fundamental asanas, with the time to build awareness of movement into, within, and out of them. Yoga is not meant to be a purely physical activity. The awareness aspect of yoga is rightfully considered advanced practice, and the familiar poses presented here allow the mind to take precedence. The point is not merely physical endurance (though, if done right, this sequence will also challenge the body in that way). The purpose is at least twofold: physically, to develop long and lean muscle through slow repetition of simple postures, and mentally, to use the simplicity of the poses as a platform for developing presence and awareness with each pose. Yoga is, after all, about the mind-body connection, and this practice aims at allowing the time and space for working on this crucial element. For those ready to move their yoga practice beyond the physical dimension while still developing the body, this is a lovely practice dvd. The asanas are presented in small cycles of three poses or so with about three repetitions each, so it is hard to present an exact sequence, but here is a list of poses, roughly as they appear in the practice: Staff, Flying Crossed Legged Pose, Cobbler, Half Boat, Boat, Simple Crossed Leg Twist, Cat, Down Dog, Plank, Cobra, Single-legged Down Dog, Triangle, Warrior 2, Standing Forward Bend, Chair, Standing Side Stretch, Warrior 1 and 2, Low Lunge with backbend, Low lunge with hands in reverse prayer, Bow, Cobbler with forward bend, Head to Knee forward bend, Wide Angle forward bend series, Seated Forward Bend, Back Stretch, Reclined Bent Knee Twist, Bridge, Reclined Leg Stretch, Reclined Crossed Leg to Chest, Corpse.