Rating: 
Summary: Good for total novices, the "workout" is not one.
Review: I bought this DVD assuming that the pose instruction was too "beginner" for me but looking forward to the "bonus" beginners workout. I have the Rodney Yee Power Yoga for beginners and it's challenging, I wanted a second DVD that was easier. I was frustrated to find that the workout is really just a series of pose instructions. Thus I would recommend this DVD for the true novice, but I penalized its rating for claiming to have a "beginners workout" when it really doesn't. I didn't get what I thought I was getting.
Rating: 
Summary: Yoga Journal's Yoga for Beginners DVD ~ Patricia Walden
Review: I bought this DVD assuming that the pose instruction was too "beginner" for me but looking forward to the "bonus" beginners workout. I have the Rodney Yee Power Yoga for beginners and it's challenging, I wanted a second DVD that was easier. I was frustrated to find that the workout is really just a series of pose instructions. Thus I would recommend this DVD for the true novice, but I penalized its rating for claiming to have a "beginners workout" when it really doesn't. I didn't get what I thought I was getting.
Rating:
Summary: Good for total novices, the "workout" is not one.
Review: I bought this DVD assuming that the pose instruction was too "beginner" for me but looking forward to the "bonus" beginners workout. I have the Rodney Yee Power Yoga for beginners and it's challenging, I wanted a second DVD that was easier. I was frustrated to find that the workout is really just a series of pose instructions. Thus I would recommend this DVD for the true novice, but I penalized its rating for claiming to have a "beginners workout" when it really doesn't. I didn't get what I thought I was getting.
Rating: 
Summary: Great way to begin your yoga journey
Review: I bought this video because the woman at the video store said that you needed about an hour to get into yoga. Well, this video is great because it takes you through all of the basic yoga positions and the time just flies by! You get a good workout with the added relaxation at the end. A great buy for anyone beginning yoga.
Rating:
Summary: Good for beginners, if you don't mind her voice
Review: I had already taken some beginner's yoga classes when I bought this video, so I wasn't completely in square one, and I can see how an absolute beginner would benefit from the extensive narration before each workout segment and in between poses. Once I recognized the poses by name though, I found it difficult to practice because of all the narration. It was quite distracting, and I find her voice very annoying. I also thought it contradictory that while this video is for beginners, Walden demonstrates all poses to the fullest of HER ability, which is clearly not that of a beginner. She never demonstrated the use of blocks in any of the poses, but mentions that you may use them if you need to - how is a beginner to know how??? On the positive side, her verbal cues were helpful in achieving correct posture and alignment. I also enjoyed the bonus workouts.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it
Review: I have been practicing yoga daily for a month now with various DVDs, so I decided to buy this because I wanted indepth instructions one the asanas.The main segment that teaches the basic yoga poses was very thorough, but was very very slow...too slow to provide an adequate workout. The flow segment that was suppose to incorporate everything learned in the main segment was extremely fast, with little explaination. I thought the bonus flexibility segment would be better, but it wasn't. The first part, the backbends, included heavy use of props (like chairs and big cushions), so I found myself interrupting my workout and scrambling to move props in and out. Then, at the end, was 15 minutes worth of standing backwards bends that involved bending all the way back so that your hands touched the floor, definately NOT safe for someone just starting out in yoga. The forward bends segment wasn't much better. Throughout all the segments, Walden provides little instruction on breathing and places little emphasis on the importance of breathing. The basic pullout menu for the asanas (which is just a chaptering for the main segment) is helpful for refreshing your memory of the poses, but that is about the only thing good about this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Great and suitable for beginners!
Review: I know nothing about yoga. It is the first yoga DVD I just bought today and it is really great for a beginner. It provides very clear instructions. For me, English is not my native language but still I can pick it up easily. It is highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent beginner program
Review: I originally purchased this in VHS format. This is a very good program for absolute beginners, as I was when I started with it. However, even after using the program frequently enough that I have literally memorized it, I find that I enjoy it enough that I continue using it almost daily, although I now also have other sources of instruction. The program does progress slowly and does not focus much on the breathing, although there are breathing cues given at specific points. However, for someone who is just beginning to explore yoga, slowness is a benefit, not a drawback, and there is enough to worry about when trying to align the poses correctly without also worrying about trying to breathe in a specific manner, and the Iyengar yoga style in general reserves breath control beyond just trying to remember to breathe regularly and evenly for people above the raw beginner level. Patrica Walden does a very good job of explaining the basics for each pose, and if you read the booklet which comes with the DVD or the tape, you get a much more detailed description of each pose, as well as suggested modifications and suggested variations to try on your own. At first, if you are anything like I was (in pretty decent shape, relatively young - ok, 31 when I started with it - and not overweight but not the most flexible person on earth either), you will WANT the slowness, because you will be very tired, sore, and out-of-breath in between poses. Once you begin working more comfortably in the poses, you can use the fast-forward and skip buttons on the DVD remote in order to speed up the program and make things faster and more of a workout. Plus, the poses selected are a very good set of basic poses, primarily standing poses, and they quickly begin to build up your strength and flexibility, which makes the program a very good program to begin with. Also, almost all of the poses can be done entirely without props, although they will likely help, and the props which you will likely want can be fairly easily substituted with household items (i.e., blocks, a strap, and a chair), unlike some of the other beginner programs I have seen which utilize large bolsters in addition to blocks and a strap. In fact, I recommend this particular program so highly that I recently gave it to my own mother when she expressed an interest in exploring yoga, and I have recommended it to several friends. A complementary DVD is Yoga Basics, also by Patricia Walden, which gives more seated poses and twists. Although there is some overlap with this DVD, the two are worth having together. As for the bonus Yoga for Flexibility program, I thought it was made fairly clear that those poses are fairly advanced ones not intended for beginners, but I like having the program on the DVD because it gives me something else to work with once I have become more of a master of the other poses. I do recommend getting this program on DVD rather than VHS, especially with good single-disc DVD players down way under the $... mark and cheap adapters available at Radio Shack for those of us with elderly TVs. The DVD makes the program easier to fast-forward through when you are ready to work at a faster pace, and I wore the video tape just about out after using it nearly every day for months.
Rating:
Summary: Great for beginners.
Review: I read over some of the reviews below, and it is obvious that these reviewers are not following the instructions of the video. This tape is great for a beginner who is seriously interested in entering a regular yoga practice. Don't expect a "workout" at first. Yoga is not for "working out." It is a practice that unifies the body, mind and spirit, and it takes time and practice to get the full benefits of even the simplest pose. Once you master the poses more and more, you will definitely experience much greater flexibility and strength, and you will indeed experience increased body head and heart rhythm as you do the postures. I can't recommend this video enough. It's a great beginning. **Don't try doing the stretches without the brick supports recommended in this video.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but perhaps not for beginners
Review: I've taken a few Iyengar yoga classes, so the material on this DVD wasn't new to me. If you are interested in getting started with yoga I would suggest taking an instructor-led class, as the instructor will be able to give you immediate feedback on your poses. Trying to copy what an expert is doing on TV is difficult at best, and you could end up hurting yourself.
Having said that, I found this to be the best DVD on yoga among the ones I've seen. Even the short opening sequence where Ms. Walden does a series of poses in Death Valley is worth watching on its own. I found her to be a good instructor, not too spacey but also warm and pleasant to watch. Don't miss the bonus interview with Patricia, as she gives some good pointers about maintaining a practice.
If you've never done yoga before, you might find some of her instructions bizarre, like "Soften the throat". In my Iyengar yoga class several years ago the instructor said the same things, so when I heard Patricia repeat them I realized that this is part of the Iyengar program. And I've also discovered that many of the seemingly odd comments are actually useful for making yourself aware of what your body is telling you, even after the session is over.
At first I was a little put off by the extended instruction given during the exercises, which others have pointed out makes this not a workout DVD at all. I disagree--you can either skip over those parts or continue holding the pose while the instruction is going on. This is something you would have to experience during a beginner class anyway, so get used to interruptions when you're first getting started.
Also, don't expect to be able to do the poses exactly the way the instructor does them (or even close). Find your own limits and don't push yourself too hard to go beyond them. This is not a competition; it's about relaxing and feeling good about yourself, no matter what your ability level.
In short, don't expect Patricia's DVD to answer all your questions about yoga, but it's a useful tool that you can use to increase your flexibility, calm your nerves, and improve your life. Namaste.
|
