Yoga Zone: Gentle Yoga

Rating:
Summary: Yoga Zone fans be warned....
Review: ...that the 1st session on this DVD is a re-packaging of Session 2 from the Yoga Zone Total Body Conditioning for Beginners DVD! This is not mentioned in any way on the Gentle Yoga DVD. How disappointing, considering that there are many other decent programs from the Yoga Zone TV series that they could have used without "double-dipping" on this one.

That being said (if you don't have Total Body Conditioning), Session 1 is a decent program. However, Charles does skip a lunge pose on one side. In this program Yoga Zone tried to edit the mistake....unsucessfully. One moment Charles and Lisa are lunging with their left leg and literally 2 seconds later....Charles and Lisa are lunging with their right leg! If Yoga Zone couldn't edit that any better then they really should not have even used this session on the DVD.

Session 2 (with Charles and Jean) seems a bit choppy and without flow. Charles has you do a neck stretch after doing just a couple of shoulder rolls. Seems a bit forced to me. I didn't consider the ab pose (legs up and feet near the head) to be "gentle" at all.

I give this DVD barely 3 stars.

What happened to you, Yoga Zone? You used to put out quality yoga DVD's!

Rating:
Summary: Slow and Easy Yoga Postures in Jamaica
Review: If you are just starting Yoga, you might enjoy the park-like setting and slow, easy yoga postures. There are no fast moves from pose to pose. The poses are just the very basic ones with very few standing poses.

You start with a slow, wonderfully healing Kneeling Sun Salute. I love this moving sequence because you feel free and feel that you are a bird flying. As you move your hands up to the sky, you then fly back down as if you were swooping for a fish in the sea. This workout is close to a beach and the outdoor setting is quite calming. The music makes you drift towards relaxation. The volume of Charles' voice is much lower than the volume of the music, so you might have to adjust the sound to get the perfect balance. I can't really do this workout late at night and still hear his voice. During the day or morning, it is fine.

The poses that require a good sense of balance have modifications so this can also be used by beginners who are heading towards the intermediate level. Even advanced yogis might enjoy a less strenuous workout. I like using this for an after workout stretch routine. Especially after The Method Standing Pilates Blend workout!

There are plenty of leg stretches. The pose you will have to work towards as a beginner will be the four legged table which is probably one of the most challenging poses I can think of doing. So, work at your own pace and if it takes three years to get there, lol, imagine how amazing you will feel when you do the table pose and you can stay there for at least 5 seconds. I swear, it has taken me years to almost get to the point where I can hold a table pose for as long as an instructor. Fortunately Charles has a great sense of humor and he does the exercise rather fast so you don't have to stay up in the pose very long. It looks a bit like you are sitting and then you push your body up with your arms so your stomach is parallel to the sky. Then they move to a boat pose complete with modifications. None of the poses are threatening at all and the entire experience is so calming. They end with a relaxation pose. Then there is a break and Alan Finger speaks for a minute or so and then you do the final relaxation pose. Alan appears again to speak about the benefits of yoga.

The second section is at the beach on a raised platform surrounded by plants. Charles has a new workout partner and explains why Yoga helps to remove stress and toxins. This section has neck stretches, cat/cow where you are on all fours and you press your back up like a cat and then hollow out and look up. Then you do a few stomach exercises to strengthen the core. After a few more leg stretches complete with modifications and a few cat/cow type exercises. Alan appears again and suddenly you are back to the second part of the second section. Now you are standing and will do a few forward bends. Then back to the floor to stretch out the hips. Charles has a pleasant gentle teaching style and as his partner does some of the exercises he sits and explains the details so you know you are doing the postures correctly. Alan appears again to speak about this not being a goal oriented pursuit. (Although, I must say I have some goals for postures I want to accomplish.) After a Flowing Bridge, you sit like a yogi while Charles gives more info on Yoga and thanks everyone for joining him on the Yoga Zone.

This seems more like a program that was on TV or a promotional workout for yoga than a regular Yoga Zone workout. Yet, it still works and I liked the bits where Alan Finger appears since he is my favorite Yoga Zone instructor.

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yes, I'm not exactly sure what happened with the lunge mistake because you only do one side. You can stop the tape and do both sides or just skip that pose entirely. I'd give this tape 3 stars, but because they are making this for beginners it should be absolutely perfect, editing and all. I hate to discourage people from trying a beginner workout, but there is one problem with this workout as correctly noted in other reviews. If you can overlook a 10 second mistake then this might still work for you. I even add in my own exercises when I don't like a posture they are doing.

For a much better introduction, try Crunch Candlelight Yoga or the Intermediate Yoga Zone Flexibility and Stress Release. I think my first Yoga tape was the alimacgraw yogamind&body workout and it is one of the most relaxing tapes I've ever found.

~TheRebeccaReview.com