Rating: 
Summary: Authentic beginner's Ashtanga practice: recommended
Review: I have studied with Nicki Doane and ask potential viewers of the DVD to ignore the negative remarks about her voice; there is nothing wrong with the tone or pace of her instruction. This DVD is not an aerobics class or entertainment and that should not be a deciding factor when choosing to view this instruction. While the DVD is beautiful, it is an authentic and careful demonstration of Ashtanga yoga as taught to Nicki directly from Sri K. Patabhi Jois.
It is a true beginner's practice as she carefully explains each asana while offering reminders and other information about Ashtanga yoga. It is not, however, the full primary series. The entire primary series is too advanced for real beginners to learn on this DVD. It is slower than what one might encounter in a lead Ashtanga class. That is to fully instruct beginners as to the correct positioning of the body. It includes Sun Salutation A and B, most of the standing poses (no tree pose, for example) and very few seated poses. I was pleased to see the DVD includes the opening prayer, begins and ends with an "Om", and ends with Sivasana.
I can recommend this to anyone who wants to augment a beginner or primary series practice at home, while traveling, or any other time you aren't in class.
Namaste.
Rating: 
Summary: The voice!
Review: I love this DVD. I have the introductory as well and I love that too. The more negative reviews here have their points. The biggest ones being:
A) Her voice is monotone or boring. I think there is some truth to that, but because it is so monotone I have not gotten sick of it after doing this workout for months. I actually have always liked it. It seems to lull into a point of focus I feel helps me to concentrate better. I don't know. Not for everyone, I guess, but helpful to me.
B) The second DVD is the same as the first. This I don't really agree with. In the first one you learn each pose one at a time and do that one pose (or one pose to the second pose) like 5 times. That gets boring after you've done it a while. The second DVD (this one) goes through Surynemaskar A and B much faster. I was happy to move onto this DVD and not have to do samasthiti to ekam to samasthiti 6 times in a row. If you are serious about ashtanga and want to work hard, you CAN do the whole DVD, with time. It's not the easist yoga to do, but it's really fun and I like Nikki Doane's approach.
Rating: 
Summary: as long as you have the right expectations, this DVD rules.
Review: I love this DVD. I have the introductory as well and I love that too. The more negative reviews here have their points. The biggest ones being:
A) Her voice is monotone or boring. I think there is some truth to that, but because it is so monotone I have not gotten sick of it after doing this workout for months. I actually have always liked it. It seems to lull into a point of focus I feel helps me to concentrate better. I don't know. Not for everyone, I guess, but helpful to me.
B) The second DVD is the same as the first. This I don't really agree with. In the first one you learn each pose one at a time and do that one pose (or one pose to the second pose) like 5 times. That gets boring after you've done it a while. The second DVD (this one) goes through Surynemaskar A and B much faster. I was happy to move onto this DVD and not have to do samasthiti to ekam to samasthiti 6 times in a row. If you are serious about ashtanga and want to work hard, you CAN do the whole DVD, with time. It's not the easist yoga to do, but it's really fun and I like Nikki Doane's approach.
Rating:
Summary: Beginners Workout and Introductory Poses are different
Review: I really like these two workouts. I do believe, however, that you need some background in yoga to really get the full benefit of the DVDs. I, too, ordered both DVDs. They were exactly the same. They are not supposed to be the same, though. It's a production mistake. I sent back the Introductory Poses DVD and received the correct one from Amazon with a very sincere apology.
Rating:
Summary: Mc Ashtanga (watered down Ashtanga)
Review: I teach Ashtanga yoga. Always looking for ideas, I bought this video intending to see how she explains and modifies some of the more difficult poses for beginners. I was both surprised and disappointed. On the negative side, her voice is really annoying. While narrating the practice, she sounds exactly like the character "Lilleth" from Fraiser or Cheers: cold, serious, unapproachable, monotone. (In the interview section, when she is just talking, her voice is fine. I wish she had just been herself for the practice part of the video). Then, the practice. Another negative. Ashtanga has a set series of poses. Always the same poses in the same order (the idea is the practice is the same so you can notice changes in yourself). She does not do the standard sun salutations but breaks them down into smaller components. OK, fine, beginner video. But I would like to see the option of just doing them AS THEY WOULD BE DONE IN ANY ASHTANGA CLASS IN THE WORLD, and that is not available. Also, the flow. Breathing is an important part of Ashtanga. 5 breaths per pose. No fiddling around getting in and out of position or it will be over. She states up front (but not on the cover of the box) that each pose will be held longer for explanation time. Fine. But again, give us the regular Ashtanga flow as another option. Modifications for beginners: I did not see a lot. This practice would totally discourage my beginning students who have tight hamstrings. She assumes everyone can put their palms flat on the floor but does not thoroughly explain what to do if you can't. Included poses: Standing poses. What about the rest of primary series? Hypocrisy: She tells the audience to relax (in that Lillith voice) but the sun is shining so brightly in her face that her eyebrows are pinched together. I can almost feel the tension coming through the screen! Positives:
This is one of the few yoga DVDs that actually tries to make use of the medium's capabilities. When a special logo appears you can click and get more in depth information about the pose (this would have been a great place for modifications!) The production values are high; The setting is beautiful and it seems professionally done. Overall:
I would not recommend this DVD. Someone new to yoga (unless they were already into ballet or something else that makes them exceptionally flexible) might be very discouraged. Someone who has done other styles of yoga already and is curious about Ashtanga, this might be too watered down. The real practice goes faster and is more flowing. And half the primary series is missing: no seated poses. If you have done yoga and want to learn the Ashtanga sequence and timing David Swenson's videos are much better. Swenson's production is not as professional the setting not as gorgeous, but his yoga is the real Ashtanga. And, he does give modifications for beginners! I gave it a star because the setting (Hawaii) is nice to look at, and another because of the excellent production. The yoga...not the best.
Rating:
Summary: Yoga Journal does Ashtanga
Review: I was curious how Yoga Journal would present Ashtanga vinyasa yoga. Traditional this is a system of hatha yoga poses that are done in a specific order while continiously moving with the breath. Originally, each individual pose was given to a student one by one when their teacher felt that they were ready. Now the Ashtanga Primary sequence is often taught in a class that goes through the first series in one session(which is 90 mins to 2 hours long and has some fairly intense poses). There are a number of ceritified or authorized Ashtanga teachers (given this distinction by the co-founder of this system who is still alive) that have videos of the whole first series. The three I know of are all quite good and are done by David Swenson, John Scott, and Richard Freedman. So what could another video have to offer? Well, as Nicki Doane herself states in the interview, she feels that a lot of these videos are overwhelming for a complete beginner. What she does instead is focus on the Sun Salutations; the very beginning of the first Ashtanga Series and breaks them down. She then continues on to a few standing poses. I believe for someone who wants an introduction to Ashtanga and cannot get to a good teacher, this video is actually quite a nice alternative and would recommend it. In fact, if you want to go futher in the series than she does; it is highly recommended that you study with a qualified teacher to cut down on the risk of injury.
Rating: 
Summary: Lame..boring.. same old thing..waste of $$
Review: I wish I could say I liked this video..but its just the same old thing....her voice is annoying, the music puts me to sleep. Its the same routine as all of their other tapes> just with new music and a new setting. Its kind of a rip off in that sense.
This tape is a waste of $$ and time.
Rating:
Summary: Her voice is so awful I can't even watch the whole tape!
Review: I wish I'd read the reviews before I bought this. Luckily, I only paid $2.99 for the VHS version from Gaiam. Nicki Doane's deep, slow, monotone voice is so irritating that I have to turn the tape off. I can't believe that Gaiam would put out something this annoying and unwatchable. The plus side is that it reminded me how much I enjoy Tracey Rich, who I believe someone else described as "spectacularly unannoying" and the Total Yoga series, so I bought a couple more of her videos. I KNOW I'll enjoy those.
Rating:
Summary: The voice!
Review: The session has its points, namely the explanation of the poses, as some of the other reviewers have stated. But I cannot get past her annoying, grating voice! I have not been able to actually complete a workout: not because of the difficulty of the poses, but because of that voice. "Monotone" doesn't begin do justice! I must admit, I'm somewhat sensitive to this issue, being a professional singer and voice teacher. However, the number of other reviewers who mentioned this distraction leads me to believe that this is something that Ms. Doane should adjust in future tapings. Again, her "interview voice" was perfectly pleasant. This was my first purchase of a Nicki Doane yoga video; it would take a notice that she has revamped her instructional delivery, and at least an audio preview to entice me to purchase another.
Rating:
Summary: Ashtanga Yoga by Nicki Doane
Review: This DVD is a great way to build a base for your Ashtanga yoga practice. The only drawback is that no floor work included. The explanations of the Sun Salutations are very thorough. I like how Nicki repeats the various parts of the Sun Salutation to help build strength and stamina.
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