Yoga for Absolute Beginners

Rating:
Summary: Yoga for Absolute Beginners by Marlon Braccia
Review:
Having spent a great deal of time at a traditional Yoga training center, it pleases me so much that Marlon Braccia has included brief introductions about the history and lifestyle of Yoga in "Yoga for Absolute Beginners". These components, while brief, are so significant, yet almost entirely lacking in secular Yoga training media - at any level. I REALLY like her gentle, down-to-earth approach, and the fact that her explanations are clear, concise, and expressed in simple lay terms, suitable for beginners. Marlon goes beyond the usual basic explanations of the benefits of yoga to include the spiritual practice of yoga, as expressed through breathwork technique and positioning in postures. I also like the fact that the segments are only a half-hour long, but set up in such a way that you can move from one segment to the other for a longer session if you so wish. It is the first holistic represetation of Yoga I have found and I'm absolutely delighted to own it.

Having said that, for its use as an "absolute beginner" Yoga learning tool, I have some comments...

I suggest becoming familiar with the contents of the DVD before embarking on a Yoga regimen. Marlon does not always fully explain the technique, range and limits to each posture. I also feel that the best positioning to avoid injury advice would be better provided in advance of entering the pose itself. Also, from an encouragement standpoint, I think it is important to support beginning Yoga practitioners by using a wide range of demonstrations of each posture, reflecting the varying levels of competency that are possible in a beginner class. Marlon addresses this to some degree, but not enough, in my opinion.

Even as an intermediate practitioner, I still lack the flexibility that Marlon demonstrates in many of her beginner poses. As an "absolute beginner" I may have been discouraged watching this DVD without other instructional support. No media Yoga class can cover all the bases so, while I highly recommend Marlon's, "Yoga for Absolute Beginners", I would suggest using it in conjunction with a Yoga training program that provides a wider range of technical explanations and demonstrations, at least until the beginner is familiar with the proper form for each posture at their own level. For example, some of Suzanne Deason's DVD's utilize several practitioners, with varying levels of competency, to demonstrate each posture. These DVD's may lack the historical and spiritual components of "Yoga for Absolute Beginners", but are helpful in demonstrating the range of competency in beginners that I describe. I'm sure there are others to consider as well.

Overall, Marlon Braccia's, "Yoga for Absolute Beginners" is an excellent introduction to Yoga, and I would highly recommend it to "absolute beginners" or beginners, particularly if it is used in conjunction with a more technical yoga training tool. I consider this DVD a "must have" because it fills a void that more technical Yoga instruction usually doesn't. "Kudos!" to Marlon for her personal and authentic expression of Yoga - and even more so for not following the status quo!



Rating:
Summary: New Yoga DVD by Marlon Braccia
Review: My intent is to allow yoga to encourage and deepen mastery of self (awareness) so I may reach my highest human potential. ~Yogi Marlon

Many Yoga workouts are too advanced for beginners, so I was excited to find a workout that stated: "for absolute beginners." I imagined it would contain all the basic and easy yoga moves I first learned when I started yoga.

This Yoga DVD has interesting aspects, but also has some issues that should be dealt with by the producers. Fortunately there is enough on this DVD to still make it worth purchasing.

For one, you get 7 sections:

1. Meet Yogi Marlon - An interesting section about how yoga changed Marlon Braccia's life. She appears in a silky crimson blouse and it looks similar to an interview where sections have been fused together to form a quick introduction to Marlon's life and philosophy. I'd like to see this type of section on all workout videos. You really get to know the instructor and I enjoy watching interviews. She recommends that we all do yoga for 30 minutes a day. I was impressed by her personality, her pleasant voice and her inner radiance. Yes, she looks like a young Elizabeth Taylor and is a natural beauty.

2. Ideas on Practice - Marlon has a great personality and is very comfortable with her body, her life and her practice. She gives advice while sitting on a carpet surrounded by plants. I like that she wears jewelry while doing yoga, it is pretty unique and emphasizes her femininity. Red is definitely her color. I really like the way she connects with the viewer.

3. Ujjayi Pranayama - Loved how she is by the ocean as waves are crashing behind her. She explains how breathing is similar to waves. Creative!

4. Beginner Practice 1 - My first experience working out with Marlon. This seems to be one of the Yoga Time shows from her instructional TV series. (I noticed that her name kept appearing as it would on TV.) This is one of the first times you can actually hear the yoga breathing. Marlon sits on a violet mat set on a beautiful Persian-style carpet. Peach or very light purple (depending on the light) curtains flow gently down to the carpet and sometimes move as if there is a breeze.
During this section you will learn breathing, cat pose, down dog, child's pose, sun salutations, warrior, inverted poses (with advanced versions) and a spinal twist. Except for the inverted pose, I think anyone who has been exercising moderately will be able to do these exercises. The inverted pose may take a while to learn. It took me a while! The first practice ends with a calming meditation.

5. Beginner Practice II - Marlon explains Yoga history and explains why Yoga works so well. While she says it is not a religion, she seems to be comparing it to a more freeing religion and also talks about universal consciousness. This is the first Yoga DVD I've done that explains some of the spiritual aspects of the practice. Although, you don't have to change your religion to practice yoga. The spirituality might just be that you feel more connected to your soul.

This section has many of the same exercises as the first Beginner Practice. Cat, child's pose, down dog, leg stretches and meditation are all included.

6. Basic Flexiblity - Lots of bending forward, awkward chair pose, moving cat, leg stretches. A calming workout.

7. Strengthen 1 - OK, I'm not sure what happened to the sound quality in this section. The yoga mat also seems to get more crumpled up and I'm imagining that the placement of the microphone is the problem. As Marlon bends over in various poses, you can hear a scratchy sound that is not her breathing. It sounds like the microphone is not in the correct position. Her jewelry might be hitting the microphone. Anyway, this happens at the start. A breathing section and a few more challenging poses complete this section. A few sound problems also occur. I wonder why this was not addressed, but hopefully it doesn't occur in the future DVDs.

Marlon is a woman of many interests. She enjoys doing research in the areas of nutrituion, herbology, aroma therapy, Bach flower remedies, gardening, fashion, feng shui and interior design. Her show Yoga Time with Marlon Braccia can be seen in LA, SF and NY.

While doing these workouts, I have to giggle, because my yoga mat is just about as wrinkled as hers. I mean, when are they going to invent a mat that stays put! At times she falls out of poses (very few times) or gets shaky, so that might be interesting because it is so realistic. It is more like actually being in a real yoga class. The music is very subtle and I wish it was a bit louder.

I'm going to give this a three for personality and for getting my interest, but the technical aspects of this DVD are about a two. If "sound" is a major issue for you, it is something to consider.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

Rating:
Summary: A great start to streaching and simple yoga moves
Review: The video is segmented into 4, 30 minute routines. It seems like a very low production quality local cable tv program from the 80s. The sound quality is terrible, the set almost laughable.

However, the slowness, and instruction is very good. The new to yoga needs to move through streaching poses very slowly in order to get the most streach possible without injury. In order to move to harder vinyasas the student of yoga will need some level of flexability or they will not beable to do the downward facing dog, ect. without props.

M. Braccia also explains the breath. Somethig generally skipped over in other videos/dvds.

I moved fairly quickly on to other routines, but I do return now and then for the extra streach. The other comments indicate the streaches are too advanced, to this I say, move at your own pace and stick with it eventually you will get there, or close to it. After 3 years of yoga, I still can't do the full streaches in the video (remember M. Braccia says she was a professional dancer) but I find on rotation the video is still very useful. And returns me to the basics.


Rating:
Summary: Not for Absolute Beginners
Review: This instruction was far too advanced for "absolute beginners." I had tried a yoga video years ago that was too advanced, so I bought this video because of the title (and it was inexpensive). While the Marlon's verbal instruction was good, the lesson went far too quickly. Each time I looked up at the TV, I was further behind than the last time. If more time would have been spent on each pose, I may have given this a better rating. With the lesson being so quick, I lost interest...quick.