Customer Reviews

Dosha Yoga

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This dvd has 3 workouts each based on the doshas (pitta, vata, kapha). Since everyone is a bit different and your energy fluctuates, the idea of having different workouts to fit is great. I bought this dvd because of the concept. I viewed it and have never done it. The biggest reason for this was that the editing and cueing were flawed and I have so many wonderful yoga dvd's I just couldn't waste my time with this one. I didn't find the workouts to be as comprehensive as I like either. Also I can't really recommend this for real beginner's as the instruction is not adequate.
The setting is nice with beautiful colors, but is diminished by the home movie feel which is mostly due to the editing. On the plus side there are some unusual postures not found on other dvd's that may be a good change of pace. She also incorporates some chanting which is nice. I would recommend checking this one out at the library first to see if you like it before paying for it.

Dosha Yoga with Hemalaya focuses on three main exercise routines. You can choose from Kapha, Vata and Pitta. There is also a special segment about the Ayurvedic lifestyle that explores giving yourself a massage with oils before showering and explains your best times of the day for various activities. You can also go online to a site to figure out which routine you should follow. I find you can do all three at various times. Kapha seems to work best on its own, but Vata and Pitta are fun to do together.

Kapha was the first one I tried later in the afternoon and it was stimulating and energizing. Torso twists help the body relax into authentic music. The names Camel, Aligator and Swan help to bring the poses to life. By the time the routine was ending, I was quite ready to lay on the floor in corpse pose for as long as possible.

Vata was the next section I tried early in the morning after taking a nice warm bath. The warming and calming elements are enhanced if you do this first and maybe even use Ylang Ylang or put on an exotic perfume. The calming and centering aspects are immediately apparent. You roll like a ball, do an interesting frog movement (hanging over, squat and keep moving from the floor to the sky with your hips). Soon you are swaying like a weeping willow and then challenging your balance. Indian dance is incorporated with hand movements and special mudras. At times this feels a little like a Vinyasa with additional artistic appeal. Facial exercises are done while you are in Cobra.

Pitta was my favorite section and seemed very soothing and cooling. Your mind may feel like it becomes clear and awakens for the day. I like doing this exercise session in the morning because it seems to wake me up for the day. Eagle is especially fun. You start off like you are going to do a balancing pose and then lean forward, one leg behind you and literally flap your arms like bird's wings. It is an especially beautiful feeling and if you can balance on one leg, there is a sense of freedom and control. This seemed to be the most balancing for me and it allowed me to tap into my own powers of creativity.

I can also highly recommend the Yoga for Urban Living Series. They are all healing and nurturing and you may find some of the same poses from this DVD, but with less focus on Ayurveda and chanting. I think this will be especially enjoyed by intermediate practitioners of yoga who want to add fun and creativity to their sessions. What I like about the Urban Living Series is the wide-open room she works out in.

In this DVD, the room seems more cluttered (three people working out) and I missed that spacious feeling. The paintings on the floor and other icons seemed to distract just slightly from the workout because the artwork is so beautiful you keep looking at the pictures instead of focusing on your workout. But if you can remain focused and ignore the distractions, there is so much to enjoy. This is very much about stepping into another culture and enjoying the moment.

I'm a big fan of Hemalaya's workouts so I hope she continues to make more and also includes a longer relaxation section at the end of the routines (even if it is just music). You have to get your own music because right when you lay down in final relaxation, the section ends. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the routines. You just have to plan ahead and have your own CD player nearby.

~The Rebecca Review

I really like this DVD. It has three 20-minute (approximate) practices, each with a different focus. I like having the option to have a gentler or more energizing practice on the same DVD. I really enjoy the Kapha segment.

The practices have a "new age" feel to them, but I don't mind that. I like the music, instruction, and overall quality of the practices. Her cuing is a bit off in one or two parts, but it wasn't a problem for me.

I would suggest this for people with at least a little yoga background, since it mixes different types, and there's not a lot of instruction. She does moves from Kundalini, traditional Indian dance, even some Tibetan moves. She incorporates mudras (hand movements) throughout each practice. The final relaxation pose segment is very short on each one, and she instructs you to continue it on your own.

I like Hemalayaa, and have her Yoga for Urban Living. She is a wonderful instructor.

If you're looking for a different type of yoga practice, this is worth a look. Namaste.

I was really wanting to love this dvd, having bought Hemalayaa\s Yoga for Urban Living and really enjoying it. I just couldn't get into any of the three sections, though. I am very interested in the whole idea of Ayurveda living and finding balance in your life, but I just didn't seem to enjoy this dvd much.There was a lot of chanting of "om", "rum" and "shreem", and I'm not much of a chanter, I guess. ALso, I thought there were some strange postures, like balancing on the balls of your feet in a squat position and then jumping, which I wasn't really able to do well. Two of the sections were supposed to be 'calming' but I didn't find that to be true, for me. I like Hemalayaa Behl's other dvd and would recommend a beginner try it first before trying Dosha Yoga.

The 3 workouts are 20 min long each & there's a 8 min video on basics of "Living an Ayurvedic Lifestyle" which was nice. Each workout can be viewed with narration & music, just narration or just music. The workouts are done in a small room with beautiful Eastern artifacts & decorations. Hemalayaa is accompanied by 1 or 2 women (diff ones in diff workouts) who look between 17-25. Her narration is stiff & sounds almost annoyed like she's bored doing it. Her curing is way off, sometimes she's 1 or 2 seconds off, sometimes even 4 seconds which means her video image is on to the next move while her voice is still describing when to breathe on the previous move. Her video image also looks stiff like she's exercising, not in it spiritually even with fake smiles.
The lighting is great, the quality of the image is professional, but it zooms in too much so all you see is a hand or top of her head sometimes & also moves too slow when traveling up the body & never shows a side or back view.

Vata - Calming & Warming: Suppose to make you more centered, focused & grounded:
Music is hard to hear compared to her narrated voice, I can't describe it since in order to hear it, my neighbors will her her narration screaming.
Starts with chanting "Ram" for 3rd chakra, rolling like a ball for spine, simple ankle & knee rolls, frog & standing fwd bend up/down w/breath (kundalini yoga), standing fwd bend swaying like a willow, slow up/down mountain & standing fwd bend, hands out, up & in chest 3x, Qi Gong wrist shaking, wrist turning, shoulder/arm rolling like backstroke, shoulder shrugs w/exhaling "Ha", arm out tiny shoulder rolls like a bird on tip toes & hands to shoulder rolls like chicken, arms waving slowly/graceful like "water" (cloud hands in qi gong), hands in lotus mudra, miuda? mudra hand position & slow arm movement (warm up for Indian dance), standing fwd bend w/toes grabbed, downward facing dog (this is where narration & video are totally screwed up), upward dog w/fluttering lips, child's pose, downward dog w/leg raised, lifted leg w/bend knee circled to open hip (didn't work for me), repeat on other side, lunge w/miuda mudra, standing fwd bend, mountain pose w/miuda, standing fwd bend, lunge w/miunda, down dog, upward dog w/GREAT EYE exercises & simple mouth stretching, child's pose to downward dog, prep headstand (not full headstand), doward dog, lunge w/miuda, standing fwd bend, mountain w/miuda. Flamingo (easy bent knee back) w/prayer hands up, leg crossed Shiva pose (dvd cover pose w/hand position she doesn't teach at all), repeat on other side, standing fwd bend, squat, rolling like a ball again, squating on tip toes, half locust leg & opposite arm w/chanting ram & lam, boat, laying down prayer & corpse prose for 20 seconds telling you to relax for 15-20 min as the video ends.
I did this workout VERY late at night & did feel more relaxed, but while doing it, I felt my energy felt all over the place... The workout feels jerky & incomplete... This is the moderate workout of the 3, but will probably not get your heart rate up for more then a few seconds a few times if that. She uses some really great exercises from kundalini & qi going, but it feels like she doesn't quite do them right or understand them enough to teach it correctly.

Pitta - Cool Down: suppose to make you feel refreshed, relaxed, calm the fire:
Music is soft, slow & reflective Middle Eastern.
Standing & chant "Shreem" for health/beauty w/hands on heart & open wide. Standing simple torso side bends w/hands raised above head to salute moon, shoulder shrugs w/exhaled "Ha", standing hands open wide & to chest w/double breath "Ha Ha", crouch down balancing on toes chanting "Shreem" (but they don't actually do it), standing fwd bend, downward dog, standing wide fwd bend, down dog, crescent w/slight back bend, standing fwd bend, crouch on toes again, crescent w/slight back bend, down dog, child's pose, cat/cow w/breath w/tongue rolled on exhale, cat hissing (balance on 1 knee/hand, child's pose w/arms stretched to 1 side then other, kneeling moon salutation simple side bends w/hands interlaced above head, bent legs to 1 side simple sitting spinal twist, crouched on toes again, down dog, bouncing lunge to full eagle, warrior 3 w/arms outstretched, lunge, downward dog, repeat on other side, balance on crouched toes again, standing fwd bend, downward dog, triangle, revolved triangle, triangle pose legs head down for hip stretch, repeat on other side, standing fwd bend, squat, sit down, lay down slowly, knees to chest stretch & roll side to side, serpents stretch on both sides (lay on side, straight leg stretched up towards head), ends in corpse pose.
This workout is very easy, relaxed, more about light stretching, breathing & a lot of balancing, but most of it easy. I didn't feel any difference in terms of energy that any other light stretching hatha yoga video would give.

Kapha - Increase Vigor: Suppose to stimulate the body, increase areas & wake up dormant areas:
Music is more a jovial party Middle Eastern or Gypsy music.
Wisdom hand mudra & chanting "huuum" while in mountain pose & wide leg standing fwd bend fast up/down while exhaling "Ha", hands to shoulders & torso twists fast w/breath (Kundalini), more torso twists but w/hands pushing out, mountain, standing fwd bend, lunge, warrior 2, downward dog, upward dog & downward dog up/down fast w/breath (5 Tibetan rites), child's pose, downward dog, lunge warrior 2, standing fwd bend, mountain w/wisdom mudra, standing fwd bend, lunge, warrior 2, downward dog & upward dog fast tibetan rites again, child's pose, downward dog, lunge, warrior 2, standing fwd bend, mountain w/wisdom mudra, light standing back bend, horse stance w/wisdom mudra & small hops trying to touch toes together (movement from Indian dance, only Hemalayaa could do it), mountain pose w/mudra, chair pose, standing fwd bend, warrior 2, side angle, half moon, warrior 2, standing fwd bend, repeat on other side, chair, squat all the way down & bounce on toes lightly, mountain, cutsy shadow boxing bouncing w/o punching & while smiling, mountain, chair w/wisdom mudra, standing fwd bend, mountain w/mudra, standing w/torso twisting w/arms relaxed (great qi gong warm up movement), twirling like a kid w/arms outstretched (5 Tibetan rites)(she doesn't say, but I realized learned long, if you get dizzy, just turn the other direction slowly 1-2x & you'll be ok), lying down spinal twist several times, spinal rolls again, camel & swan (seen it on Stott pilates dvd simple back/tight stretch) slowly several times, rest lying on back, rolling like ball w/smile & ends in corpse pose for 10 seconds.
This workout I did during the day, it's the most physically demanding of the 3, which isn't saying much, you might get your heart rate up, but not sweat. It felt nice, diff stretches then usual. Doing warrior 2 so many times instead of mixing it up with warrior 1, warrior 3 or even triangle annoyed me. It felt like it helped, but no diff then any other workout as far as I could tell.

These workouts are not for beginners to yoga, but for those who already know the basic correct positions & alignments since she gives minimal instruction. The poses aren't held for long, just long enough to get into it, breathe once & move out. These workouts are good for light days for those who workout at least semi regularly.
If you like the idea of increasing your constitutional/organ energy, this is ok, but real Qi Gong dvds are better including "Discovering CHi" or Kundalini yoga dvds as well. Also Tantric Toning is a great heart rate raiser that moves in the speed of aerobics using real Kundalini & Qi Gong moves accurately, but less static yoga asanas. Another one is African Healing Dance w/Wyoma. I surprisingly felt a great increase in energy w/her as well.
I love the idea of this video, but Hemalayaa doesn't seem to show the respect or body awareness to really teach it correctly & get the benefit of the moves. It seems more like a thrown together hodgepodge. The lack of quality of cameraman or director, Hemalayaa's voice being bored sounding & delayed often compared to video & sound level guy not getting the music sound level right really put a damper on enjoying this video as well.

You can see a preview of her older yoga dvd "Yoga for Urban living" to get an idea of her movement style & voice over at her own site hemalayaa dot com

I could have given it 5 stars but I really agree with some of the others that the editing and quality of the DVD is not as good. The poses and the whole concept is interesting. I did all the workouts together so I did get a good workout. The ending could be longer and I don't understand what was the point of having a shavasana and cut it short when the whole concept of this DVD was the relaxing and cooling mood that is supposed to stay with you the whole day. In any case, it has some new and interesting poses and that was great. I still like Hemalayaa she is great always bringing something new.

These 3 workouts are probably good for a morning routine. However, after doing them I didn't feel like I really had a good workout. The editing was awkward and I thought that the postures weren't held long enough to really get any benefit. Try Yoga Zone for better instruction.

I don't have a lot of experience with yoga, I'm just getting started and my girlfriend got me this DVD. I really like it. The music is awesome - I could totally just listen to the music without doing yoga, it really is therapeutic! Hemalaya is beautiful, and she makes it look really easy. I'm having a good time with each of the different routines, sometimes I do just one, sometimes I mix it up. There's also a part on the DVD that talks about Ayurveda, and that's cool, too. I feel like I'm learning a lot very quickly.

I have been using this DVD for years and I LOVE it! There are four different workouts, about 20 minutes each. You can do one or any combination of them. It is beautifully recorded, the music is great, and the actual yoga is not dumbed down , nor is it so complicated that a normal human cannot do it. It is challenging, yet accessible. The combination of yoga and aryuveda is phenomenal! Go online and find out your dosha before you workout for the best personal balance. The section of the dvd on aryuvedic living is truly informative and inspired me to try new beneficial therapies. Hemalaya is lovely to workout with.

I've been doing yoga for a long time, and have been pretty bored with the standard DVDs out there. This one is unique and fun - I love it! I really like the variety in the 3 routines. It was fun to share it with other people. I also like the whole Ayurveda lifestyle segment - I want to learn more about Ayurveda, it's really cool!