Customer Reviews

Dance the Chakras Yoga Workout - Ana Brett & Ravi Singh ***With the New MATRIX Menu Option***

5 star:		(121)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Although I actually took a Kundalini yoga workshop with instructors Ana Brett and Ravi Singh in 2005, this was the first of their DVDs that I tried, as my home practice tends to consist of more traditional forms of Hatha yoga. To my surprise, I enjoyed this DVD very much, and I expect that I will now include some Kundalini as part of my home practice.

Unlike their live workshops, Ana and Ravi's DVDs feature Ana only on screen, with both Ana and Ravi providing instruction via voiceover. Dance the Chakras is broken down into two main sections, a Kundalini yoga sequence and a series of short guided dances. The DVD chapter menu breaks down as follows (I've added approximate times and brief details):

Introduction
Tune In (just under 3 minutes)--includes ong namo guru dev namo chant
Yoga Set 1 (9.5 minutes)--stomach grinds, ragdoll (fast head-to-knee pose performed repeatedly), crow (a type of squat, not an arm balance) with Breath of Fire [BOF], butterfly with forward bend, bridge with BOF; includes brief pauses to meditate throughout
Yoga Set 2 (16 minutes)--moving legs in and out while lying on back, rolling, chest expansion (arms raised at right angles move in and out) with BOF, arms held at 60 degrees, shoulderstand with BOF, plow, rolling, neck rolls, cat/cow sequence, baby pose (child's pose) with arm mudra and 3-part breath; includes brief pauses to meditate throughout
Shake Your Chakras:
Tribal Dance (5 minutes)--arms opening, surfer dips (rock down and back up), tribal dance (pulse arms down, work your way up)
Hippy Hippy Shake (3.5 minutes)--hips shake side-side-side-up, hip rolls up to one side, side to side sways
Funky Temple Dance (3.5 minutes)--free form, with side sweeps and other large arm movements
Dance of Power (4.5 minutes)--punches, victory dance, sweep kicks
Rock Your Soul:
Heart (2.5 minutes)--includes spinning
Trance Dance (4 minutes)--freeform dance with sat-a-nam wahay guru chant
Deep Relaxation (3 minutes)--relaxation pose
Chakra Mudra Chant (5 minutes; also called mantra meditation)--repeated arm movement pattern while singing ap sahae hoa-suchay da sucha doa-har har har
Closing Prayer (1 minute)--pray for self, other, world peace

Although I don't have much experience with Kundalini yoga, many of the postures included in the yoga sets were familiar, and I enjoyed the mix of fast repetitions with more slow relaxed holds. Ana and Ravi talk about which chakras are being worked via each exercise, moving from the lower body to the top of the head. I was more wary of the dance section: although I do enjoy some dance workouts, I tend not to like more freeform workouts. Surprisingly, I found that these dances were really enjoyable, particularly the Hippy Hippy Shake, with all of its fun hip swings and sways, and the Dance of Power, which had a bit of a kickboxing flavor. Ana's moves are sensual and free, and although I did try to follow her, I didn't feel pressured to copy her exactly either. The chakra mudra meditation was another pleasant surprise that left me feeling very relaxed and focused.

The entire workout comes in at about 60 minutes. However, the DVD also includes some great pre-sets (premixes) which give you several different shorter workout options. These include Shake Your Chakras, 30 minutes; Chakra Light, 30 minutes; Sweat and Glow, 45 minutes; and Angel Tango, 20 minutes. However, you might find that you enjoy the DVD so much that you want to do the entire thing! I think that fans of Ana and Ravi will definitely love this DVD, but I also would recommend it for those new to Kundalini who approach the practice with an open mind and spirit.

I just finished doing this DVD and I wanted to write a review while it was fresh in my mind. The class has a 30 minute chakra workout that includes seated hip grinds; seated leg alternate leg movements up and down;crow pose with breath of fire; butterfly pose; abs (of course); shoulder stand w/ BOF; arm movements for heart chakra; child's pose while lifting clasped hands with breath. Then comes the fun 30 minute chakra dance workouts. Kind of hard to describe, but you will love it. I think there are 4 segments of this. Some are lead and some are free form. the last dance segment is a lotus opening movement with turns. Divine! This segment ends with a WONDERFUL moving meditation chanting in tantric style Sat Nam Wahe Guru. Splendid! Final relaxation then a mantra mediation. Ap Sahai Hoa, a mantra for peace prosperity and self-esteem. It frees the mind from negativity. It is done with arm movements. This DVD is so wonderful. Anna and Ravi keep out doing themselves each time they release DVD's. This is the spirit of Kundalini yoga and includes everything I love: yoga, dancing music, chanting and meditation. Sweet!!!!

I just finished doing this DVD and it's just PERFECT!!!!! What a great workout for the body and the soul.... this DVD elevates my mood like no other!!! This should get 10 stars!!!!! It's soooo much fun!!!!!!

I love the kundalini yoga set for the charkas (it's about 30 min). It includes shoulder stands, crow pose with breath of fire, among others.... then the real fun starts with the dance the charkas set!!!! I had such a great time doing these sets.... Ana demonstrates different dances, really easy to follow.... It's so freeing.... The DVD has 6 different dances you can choose from. One of my favorite dances was the Tribal dance and Rock your soul (heart) dance.... amazing!!! I also loved the mantra meditation, simply beautiful!!!!

A great bonus is the incorporation of 4 pre-set workouts into the DVD... two 30 min. workouts, one 45 min. and one 20 min workout!!! This is great for when I don't have enough time to do the entire DVD!!! Just Brilliant!!!

Congratulations Ana & Ravi for this wonderful work!!!!!

I can't believe how impressed I am with this workout DVD. I've not found something so inspiring, delightful, and fun in a very long time.

The setting is simple - a plain white background with splashes of color. The camera angles are stylistic without interrupting the instruction. When viewing the moves, you grab a sense of the feeling you're supposed to emit when doing the exercises. The instruction is clear, but yet not obnoxious. Ana and Ravi's voices simply blend with the style of the music in a very profound way. There's no interruption in the video where someone stands there and talks to you like you don't know what you're doing; and trust me - you don't need to know what you're doing. A beginner with no knowledge of their body and limited flexibility could do most of the moves. The music is graceful, not pounding, but sexy. It's very sensual music, and something you could listen to time and time again.

I personally have some issues with carpal tunnel and yoga is very hard for me to do when i am asked to bend my wrists and support my body weight on them - I was happy that this video does not include any movement that strained my hands in that way. The only difficult move for me was one that involved a shoulder stand, but over time, my body will strengthen itself to support that move. The video offers a modification to that move that can be done instead of the shoulder stand.

The words, chants, and instruction are simply inspiring. You feel just as beautiful working out to this video as Ana looks in it. I never felt silly or stupid or like I didn't get it. There's a singing chant at the end of the video that was interesting to me, as I don't typically do that kind of thing. But I didn't mind doing it at all; in fact, it sort of put my mind at ease as my body wound down from the exercises and dancing.

This is not a high impact fitness dvd, but it will get your heartrate up and work you out at a very healthy rate. The moves are not repetitious like a step class - you are dancing with the movements in the video. You might think it moves slow, or you might not understand the pacing, but trust me, after finishing this video you will glow from the inside out. Your body will be at the perfect zone, your mind will feel at peace. You'll feel sexy. Your muscles will be sore the next day like you've done a great workout, and you'll feel more flexible over time. The benefits are astounding.

I sleep deeper, healthier, and feel rested when I wake up. I used to hit my snooze bar over and over; now I get up before my alarm goes off, looking forward to putting my yoga clothes on to get a nice early morning workout. Through the day I feel calm, relaxed, and my depression is lifting. My spirits are high, my mood is elevated. I'm not exhausted with life anymore. My stress is fading away :)

I recently bought Fat Free Yoga: Lose Weight and Feel Great, and fell in love with it, inspiring me to purchase Dance the Chakras. DTC is decent, but doesn't click with me nearly as well as Fat Free Yoga.

I am disappointed in the music throughout the DVD - a few of the songs are nice, but in general I expected the music in the dance sections to be especially inspiring, yet some of them are little more than a beat. Ana and Ravi's voices are much louder than the music in the dance sections, and I find it hard to dance to talking. I want to dance to music!

The dances, however, are enjoyable. My favorite is the Dance of Power, and the dance section is fun, light cardio if you put on your own music in the background. Also, the yoga portion of the DVD is ok, but not as enjoyable to me as Fat Free Yoga. Also, the mantra (singing) meditation is cute and a nice song, but seems silly.

Finally, the DVD quality is surprisingly poor at times. During the very beginning warmup, the DVD appears to be skipping, yet it seems intentional (the voice doesn't skip.) It gives me a headache to look at!
Also, the voice prompts are very repetitive. It's not just Ana or Ravi repeating things, but the exact same vocal clips played over and over in loops when moves are repeated. This is very annoying.

I do not mean to insult Ana and Ravi, as they've inspired me greatly in the past few weeks and I do intend to buy more of their DVDs. However, a few things in this one irk me.

I love this DVD. It begins with an all purpose yoga set that works all parts of the body which is about 30 minutes maybe a bit less then it has a series of lead dance/movement routines all of which really get my heart pumping and is SO much fun. I have other dvds from Ana & Ravi and this one is my favorite at least right now. I studied to be a dancer years ago and am always drawn to routines that include dance. There is a meditation I really am loving at the end which includes arm movements - unlike any meditation I have done before. The entire DVD is so much fun and you can practically feel your body getting into shape especially the next day ! Highly Recommended!

This is a wonderful DVD to combine mind, body and spirit. I used the begining yoga sequences to get my mind focused on the day at hand, then I danced the chakras and my body did get a workout. I used my heart rate monitor just to see if I was getting an aerobic workout and I did. I enjoyed the relaxation at the end. I would have preferred letting the heart rate calm down just a bit more before laying on the floor, but not worth a star...I just paused my DVD and calmed down a bit more on my own. Wonderful way to start the morning.

Fell in love with this style of yoga when I tried Ana & Ravis Fat Free Yoga based on all the 5 star reviews. I just got did Dance of The Chakras and did it for the first time this morning--not the whole thing, just the "Sweat & Glow" premix--and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The dances were really fun; I especially liked the "Hippy Hippy Shake." I wore my heart rate monitor and found that I actually got cardio as well. If this is all I need to stay fit I am going to be very, very happy! I'm going to try the entire workout tomorrow.

A positive result from doing only Kundalini Yoga the last two weeks - I have lost 3 pounds and people have remarked that I look healthy and aked what am I doing!!!!!

Definitely very highly recommend this workout!

I was surprized by the review below that said she felt like she was flailing about. It is hard to believe that she is doing the same DVD I am!! I do agree with the reviewer who prefered this over the Trance Dance: style of hippie yoga dance. Dance the Chakras feels more like a dance workout dvd to me, which is what I was looking for, and I know I will do it a lot because it is so much fun. What I liked about these dances was that they were structured so you could feel safe and not totally left to your own devices yet the moves were still very loose and flow-y, not overly choreographed. You just repeat a move a few times in a row--for example, a hip shake--then Ana tells you to keep moving as you prepare for the next move, during which she's kind of free-flowing, and then you do a new simple move which you again repeat several times. You never string the moves together in a choreographed dance or anything like that; you just flow from doing one, then another, then another, then back to the first, etc.
I must say that the time goes fast. Ana looks so happy to be doing the workout and their voices are so perfect for yoga instruction. They have a great attitude and enthusiasm for their yoga that is just so contagious!
The actual yoga practice portion is excellent all on its own but both these sets together is a really powerful workout. I like the pre- planned set options of different lengths as well.
I really love this workout!

Dance the Chakras is simply the best "all in one workout" I've ever experienced. And when I say "all in one" I'm not just referring to the coverage of strength training, stretching and cardio, there's also the mental workout component as well! It begins with a 30 minute kundalini yoga set which opens the chakras or energy centers in our bodies freeing all kinds of warm fuzzies! Then if that were not enough it is followed by a freeing and wonderful dance segment broken into several sections that will have your thighs begging for mercy {surf dips anyone?} I do find it odd that some reviewers found this to be light cardio. I mean did you guys do the tribal dance segment? If you really put yourself into it you WILL get a fabulous workout! But I can't end without telling you about the beautiful meditation chant for inner peace and prosperity! I can't rave enough about this one! It truly is my antidepressant, fitness, soul working regime. Give it A try!! I love you Ana and Ravi!