Customer Reviews

Ananda Yoga to Awaken the Chakras [VHS]

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For those who want a workout video,or want to learn to become contortionists, this is not it. For those who want to use their bodies as a vehicle to higher awareness, this is a good way to begin. Yoga is the connecting of body, mind and spirit. To do that we must be able to listen with our bodies as well as with our ears. This video offers an excellant vehicle to do that as well as a good beginning approach to yoga. For those who want a bridge between Hatha Yoga and meditation, this video provides that.I find that the vast majority of yoga videos have very long leaders into the body of the work. It is interesting the first time, but after that one has to fast forward through it all. This is no exception.

Finally, I've found a video that is truly "yoga" and not just an "exercise" video. This video was very helpful for me to discovering what the true purpose of the yoga poses are. I liked the affirmations the Ananda Yoga presents along with the poses, I found they strengthened me on an inner level. The explanations of the chakras and their purpose is fascinating, allowing each one of us to explore deeper aspects of ourselves that we ordinarily would miss in most of the yoga poses you see on videos that exist today.

"It should give valuable benefits on many levels - physical, mental, emotional - and that its highest purpose is to tune practitioners into their own body's subtle energy flows. This allows a practitioner to experience the full spiritual dimension of each posture, thus expanding the benefits of yoga beyond the body, into the mind and soul." ~Rich's philosophy about yoga practice

My first introduction to Chakras was in Alan Finger's Flexibility and Stress Release Yoga Zone video. In this video he leads you into a visualization exercise where you move relaxation from your toes to the top of your head. By the end of the exercises, you feel free from all emotional turmoil, desires and are infused with a rare blissful feeling that only seems accessible to those completely in love or those who have reached complete relaxation or are on a spiritual high.

In fact, now when I see the word "Chakras" I immediately think: Relaxation, Peace, Harmony and Love. This is where the exercises lead and once you have experienced the floating sensation and balancing of emotions, it is almost impossible to prevent yourself from researching this further.

Rich McCord is the Director of Anada Yoga and he has created a healing and gentle practice that might be a healing escape for intermediate Yoga students. His meditative approach allows you to access the invisible energy floating around in your energetic anatomy. His soothing voice leads you through lessons in relaxation and breathing techniques. Breath becomes energy as it purifies your body and mind.

As Rich McCord leads you through gentle stretches, you begin to feel the balancing of your emotions, the cleansing and cooling healing occurring and an almost magical calm descending on you as you release your worries and negative emotions.

I found this video to be especially healing after a time of stress when I was not able to do Yoga for what seemed like weeks. This was the perfect reintroduction into new affirmations, practical applications and a more in depth study of why yoga works.

If you are at the intermediate level, this series of exercises should leave you in a calm, cleansed and relaxed state. I even found myself laughing a few times during the exercises. Rich McCord seems to have a subtle humor that permeates his work. The setting at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the relaxing music also brings nature into your home.

If you are new to Yoga, you may want also want to experience:

Yoga Mind and Body with Erich Schiffmann
Hemalaya Behl's Yoga for Urban Living
Seane Corn: Vinyasa Flow Yoga
Yoga for Weight Loss with Suzanne Deason
MTV Yoga with Kristin McGee
Yoga Zone Yoga for Weight Loss
Yoga Journal's Yoga Step by Step
Crunch Candlelight Yoga

~The Rebecca Review

Fabulous yoga video. It is yoga as I always imagined it to be. Wonderful, wonderful video.