Customer Reviews

Element: Yoga for Beginners

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoyed this DVD. The instructors voice and presence are soothing, the background (hanging gardens overlooking the Pacific) are breathtaking and the music is serene and effective.
The practics starts with:
1. Breathwork and Warm-up. This includes sitting while practicing Ujjayi breathing and warming up the legs with light lunging and standing forward bend.
2. Standing Poses and Sun Salutations. The series starts with 2 modified Sun Salutations and then a series of standing poses including, Warrior 1 & 2, Triangle, Side Angle Pose and a Side Angle Twist
3. Hip Openers. The Hip Openers started with Pigeon Pose which I think is a bit difficult for a true beginners with no training from a teacher..
4. Backbends. I like the Backbend series here for beginners. It starts with a light cobra, then moves on to a modified locust pose series. It ends with a counterpose to release the backbends which feels nice.
5. Forward Bends/Stretch/Relaxation. This is all a nice calming series ending with a short meditation.
Overall, I give this DVD 4 and 1/2 stars taking off 1/2 star because I think this is really for an advanced beginner. There is not enough mention of foot, knee, and/or hip alignment and I think it would be very easy to injure your joints without this knowledge. A tutorial in the beginning of the DVd would have been perfect. Maybe with a lined mat showing beginners where to place their feet.

3.5 Stars.

There are elements of this yoga video that I absolutely love; there are also elements that I do not like at all.

The Highs:
The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the music is perfect for both the activity and the setting.
The beginning of the DVD is relaxing; with the breathing and the stretching it does wonders for your tension and stress.
The ending of the DVD is the same as the beginning. Very relaxing, both the breathing and the stretching are as relaxing as it is invigorating.

The Lows:
The middle of the DVD she gets into some Yoga positioning and really doesn't take the time for the newbie to follow along. Also she switches positions and what not without telling you so if you are not watching the TV screen the whole time you miss some very vital stuff.

I am not a beginner at Yoga, but most of my Yoga experience has been integrated with a Pilates based workout. I watched the DVD twice before actually doing the exercises as when I do Yoga there are times I like to have my eyes closed. That's next to impossible to do on the majority of the middle of the DVD. A lot of the time you have to move fast and watch the whole time; I didn't like that at all. I prefer to listen to the voice guide me through the exercises.

The good definitely outweighs the bad, but I can already tell it's not going to be one of my favorite exercise DVD's.

Cherise Everhard, April 2008

While this is not a bad DVD, it is far too strenuous and, in places, complex for real beginners. Only try this if you have at least some experience in a yoga class.

For a while now, a friend has been urging me to consider practicing yoga. With that in mind, I've been looking into various books and videos, and finding them generally either too physically demanding or too involved in the spiritual side of yoga practice. I'm sorry to say that "Yoga for Beginners" is no exception, in spite of the name. In fact it might be more properly titled "Yoga for Beginners Who are Otherwise Quite Strong and Flexible."

In an approximately 50 minute workout, Elena Brower demonstrates a beautiful, flowing workout which looks like it must feel wonderful, if you can manage to follow it. Unfortunately I have neither the strength nor the flexibility to do so. I'm guessing that most of my friends don't either, so it does seem to me that it might be a good idea to offer hints for modifications of the poses to suit older, heavier or simply out-of-shape students. But Brower offers very little in the way of such modifications. I'd guess that about two-thirds of the workout is simply not do-able for me without substantial modification.

At the same time, the poses themselves look quite wonderful, and if you've ever done stretching and/or deep breathing exercises, the pleasure of these poses will be almost palpable to you. Brower's voice is calming. She doesn't rush you through the poses, but at the same time she doesn't spend a lot of time explaining them. Because the practice is slow and deliberate, this isn't as big a problem as it might be during an aerobics video, but as a beginner, I'd have appreciated a bit more information.

Right at the beginning, Brower suggests that the deep breathing is far more important than a deep pose. I think it would be helpful if she reiterated that during the actual workout.

Over all, it's a pretty, calming video as long as you don't allow yourself to get too torqued if you can't do the moves, or you fall out of them frequently. If you can make the necessary modifications for your own fitness level, you may well get something out of this video. Otherwise, keep looking for a good beginning yoga workout. There must be one out there.

Elena Brower practices and teaches Anusara yoga, a school of hatha yoga which, as far as I can tell from her videos, tends to focus slightly more on the spiritual side of ourselves than other yogas I have tried. That is not to say she preaches or even approaches anything religious, but that she reminds you throughout the practice to be grateful to yourself and to your motivation for practicing yoga. She also focuses a great deal on deep breathing, even using your inhalations and exhalations to guide you deeper into the poses, and appears to approach her yoga with an almost meditative mindset. I find it all quite healing on a mental level, a very grounding and fulfilling addition to doing yoga. One thing I find unique to her methods is that she also reminds you to give a small smile here and there throughout the video, which is in itself healing and gratifying. It's amazing to me what a small smile can do to help you relax further into a pose, and to keep you from straining yourself.

That said, she appears to be incredibly flexible (as she should be with 15 years of yoga under her belt), and though her poses are not necessarily difficult, at times she does move through them somewhat quickly--not in a hasty sense, but more as collective parts of one fluid movement. She offers various creative and very deep stretches I have not seen in any other yoga programs, and while she verbally instructs ways to modify the pose if needed, perhaps less flexible viewers would benefit from having another practitioner on screen to display modifications. I think that for someone completely new to yoga, it may prove a bit challenging to keep up. At the very least, watch the video all the way through before trying it. I would also recommend her AM/PM yoga program to anyone looking for a more basic introduction to yoga. The segments are only around 30 minutes, and I found exactly what I would hope for from each; AM was very awakening and energizing, and PM was relaxing and de-stressing.

To anyone with previous exposure and even mild experience with yoga, however, I think it this a great video with much to offer a very satisfying opportunity for growth! I felt nothing but great on all counts after my first practice, and I'm excited to work this into my daily activities.

As a last note, something about her voice is very soothing and calming to me, and her mere presence on screen feels serene and respectful--a quality which, in my experience, is not entirely common among other yoga instructors.

Having had prior Yoga experience, I really enjoyed this DVD, the setting is beautiful, extremely relaxing, the instructor a very calming voice but it's really a shame that she chose to title this Yoga for Beginners. Ive done yoga in a studio and own a few other Yoga DVD's that I really enjoy so I already know the poses and know what to expect and my other DVD's have instructors that cater to all levels; one DVD I own has three instructor each dressed in a different color and they tell you at the beginning that the instructor in blue is for a beginner and red is for an intermediate and green for the expert so you can watch the person who's level you are at and as you have more experience you don't need to run out and buy another DVD, you just watch the instructor on the next level. Another video I own gives you suggested modifications depending on your level and flexibility. Yoga for Beginners does none of these things. So, what I meant when I said it was a shame that this DVD was not properly titled is that it is a great DVD for someone who already has experience doing yoga NOT the beginner and I feel that a lot of people who have no experience with yoga are going to be unhappy with their purchase. What I love about yoga is it's the type of discipline where you should always go at your own pace but that being said what is lacking on this DVD is suggested ways to modify a pose to meet a physical limitation or just getting the basic poses down you. So, I think that an absolute beginner is going to get pretty frustrated pretty quickly and most likely never pick it up again. The title is very misleading, I would not recommend this for a true beginner.

This is a beautifully made session. Reminds me of all the wonderful Gaiam yoga videos. The music is haunting & relaxing. The camera/lighting & sound are high quality & elegant.
Elena Brower is very relaxed, encouraging & friendly in her voice over like a true yoga teacher should always be. She uses both the English & Sanskrit names for each pose, she gives the true spiritual yoga body placement guidance, such a "breathe into your back" (meaning to put your focus on relaxing your back & imagining oxygen going there) or "open your heart" (relax your chest) which keeps your mind with your body instead of just a plain body only focused Westernized workout like some yoga dvds. She gives great cues, she shows you even what it looks like to do downward dog incorrectly (great teaching style), she goes slow into & out of poses as well as slowly in & relax out slightly & back in until your body relaxes into the some of the poses fully. She has great body awareness & is courageous enough to do poses I'd never seen such as twisted lunge.
I am an advanced beginner/low intermediate after 5 years of practice. This is not for only intermediates. This would be challenging for people who are VERY inflexible, or out of shape, but she does show modifications, is encouraging & even doesn't go as full/deep into the poses like Rodney Yee's, etc. You are never expected to go as deep as they are the first time, especially when you're new & to expect so is to only cause yourself stress. This goes against the entire principle of yoga which is to relax & be aware & enjoy your OWN body, not compare yourself to another. To say this is for intermediates or advanced only is wrong since intermediates would be doing wheel poses, hand stands, etc. The relaxed pace & the challenge of this session is in no way for intermediate or higher only.
Intro - 2 min
See above trailer
Seated Warm-Up - 5 min
Simple cross-legged, breathing deep, ujjayi breathing, simple spinal twist, slight cat/cow torso stretch w/breath.
Modified Sun Salutations - 11 min
Elena holds each new move for a while while teaching, she doesn't go normal speed except the last time or two. mountain, standing fwd bend, pyramid/modified lunge, downward facing dog, cat/cow stretch, plank, baby cobra
Standing Poses - 8 min
revolved/twisted lunge, down dog, plank, cobra, warrior 1, warrior 2, revolved warrior/goddess, modified side angle, triangle
Deep Hip Stretches - 12 min
pigeon w/fwd leg's same side arm up, full lunge, down dog, lunge w/elbows on ground & 1 arm up, relax
Reclined - 8 min
upper body locust, bridge, figure 4 legs to chest stretch, reclined single bent & then straight leg up stretch, reclined bent knee to side spinal twist
Savasana/Relaxation - 2 min
relax, laying down

Previews:
above
collagevideo com w/reviews
youtube com under "Element Yoga for Beginners" by totalfitnessdvds

I am fairly new to Yoga. I've been reading up on it and getting familiar with basic poses. I am the definition of "beginner". I decided to purchase this video after looking though the selection of videos at a few local stores. This video really seemed to be what I was looking for; a teacher that has passion and knowledge, all with a beginners twist. I was excited to get started, and popped the video in as soon as I got home. The first 20 minutes went ok. I struggled a bit, but hey, I'm new! I'll get used to this! The the positions started to get tough, and I began to notice there really wasn't enough explanation on how to do the poses. I felt like I needed to pause and rewind quite often to make sure I didn't miss anything and to make sure I was doing it correctly. The biggest problem is that as a person new to yoga, it was often hard or impossible to actually do some of the poses. I realize as a newbie, I need to adjust and over time it will come easier, but I just felt left out! A beginner left out of a beginner video! Perhaps if you have ever participate in yoga before this is a way to get back into it, but its certainly not for someone who has never done it before. I find myself doing the first 20 minutes and then fast forwarding to the cool down at the end. I get maybe 25 minutes out of it. Which isn't bad, but not what I paid for.

I would describe myself as an "advanced beginner" yogi, as I've taken some classes and do a fairly regular home practice with videos or my own sequences. I am familiar with almost all of the poses Brower covers in this video, yet I found the practice frustrating and dissatisfying. Her focus on breathing is excellent, and one of the most important elements of a yoga practice. However, there was far too little discussion of alignment for each of the poses, which raises the risk of injury, especially in beginners. Where was the reminder to drop and relax the shoulders when arms are stretched overhead, or any mention of the "sitting bones" which are so crucially rooted downwards in seated poses? Brower's emphasis seemed to be on arm and hand positioning, where pelvis, hips, and legs were somewhat neglected. We need to check in with every part of our bodies in a yoga pose, and by the time I was able to do this, Brower was on to the next pose. A really good beginner yoga video can be vigorous and challenging, as this is, but it should still remind the practitioner to find and honor his or her "edge", the limit of ability and flexibilty at that particular moment, which this video does not do adequately. A few modifications of the more challenging poses would have been appreciated.

"Element: Yoga for Beginners" is probably best suited to very strong beginners who have enough experience with yoga to provide their own alignment checks and who know how to modify poses to prevent strain and injury. I was able to follow along with occasional difficulty, but if I had tried to do this series of asanas as a complete beginner, I probably would have given it up in favor of a gentler practice and much more precise instruction.

What is nicely beginner-y about this video is that, although she's obviously a pro, the teacher doesn't show off and doesn't make us feel hopelessly inadequate. Whereas many yoga videos show a teacher bending like a rubber pretzel, this one doesn't. She'll say "reach to the floor, or your shins" and instead of slapping her hands all the way down on the floor, which would hurt most of us and make us want to give up, she touches her shins. Hey--I can do that too. She tells you to move in a certain way, "possibly coming down on to your elbows and, someday, even your forehead." Someday is good.
Nice videography: she's outdoors, on a small platform surrounded by green grass and flowers, with a bright blue-sky and water in the distance. It's a nice balance of open and contained (not austere). Better used in the daytime; using this video at night feels out of whack, because it's such a sunny daytime on the set.
The narration is done by voiceover (i.e. she's not talking while she's practicing yoga). The presentation is basic, not overly platitudinous. Her voice is smooth and grounded, though first-timers might find she moves a bit quickly (just a bit). After five minutes I reverted to just watching it all the way through once without playing along. (Anyway it's a little hard to do downward dog and watch a video at the same time. Watch it once first and you won't need to look at the screen as often.)
A true beginner is not going to be able to do everything the teacher does and make it look like she does. If you aren't already doing some stretching exercise, this will quickly make you realize how inflexible you are.
The whole video, especially its first half, is heavy on downward dog and related poses. Occasionally she'll refer to "downward-facing dog" or "warrior 1" or other poses without explaining those terms, but if you're watching you'll understand. Actually it's nice not to have to hear a dictionary lecture. This is all action; the talk is secondary.
The whole is five chapters but if you just "Play" you get one unbroken stream of video, with no indication of where any "chapters" are. Choosing a chapter from the main menu just transports you to a certain spot in the video.
The 50 minutes goes by fairly quickly. There's a 5- or 10-minute warm-down at the end.
No props are used except a yoga mat. No people appear in the video except the teacher.