Customer Reviews

Fat Free Yoga [VHS]

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

 

 

I got this tape on the advice of a friend who said she is addicted to the fat free yoga workout. This tape has four seventeen minute segments that are really convenient since I don't always have an hour to do a workout or feel motivated to do a whole tape - Once I get started though I usually wind up doing the whole thing because I soon feel energized enough. The sets include - start your engines, no impact aerobics, fight fire with fire, and your life is in your own glands.
This kind of yoga, kundalini yoga, emphasizes breathing with everything. There is something called the breath of fire which is simple to learn and gives me a buzz everytime.
It definitely does what it says since I am losing weight(stubborn weight!)and I am not really eating any different.

I enjoy doing these routines. I love how you can choose between four 17 minute workouts, so even when I'm short on time I can fit at least one in. I have other great kundalini yoga dvds and videos by other KY instructors whom I prefer, yet the short routines on this one are convenient and complement the others.

On one hand, I was also very relieved when I got this. Thankfully it's the original "Lose Weight and Feel Great", which was filmed some time ago. So Catherine Quinn still demonstrates the exercises, not Ana Brett, who's shown on the cover. Catherine Quinn looks fit, healthy and strong, and doesn't have the emaciated look of Ana Brett. It's nothing against Ana, but I spent many years around dancers in dance school, dancers who usually had the same painfully thin look bordering on anorexia (it was no accident many had eating disorders as we were pressured to keep our weight down). Catherine Quinn is a healthier role model and at least she looks like an adult woman and not an underdeveloped 11 year old. When my boyfriend saw Ana on this cover he said "Someone give that girl something to eat!". It's too bad Ravi decided to call the series "Fat Free" AND feature Ana in them. Adult men wouldn't do a fat free yoga workout featuring a guy with an 11 year old's body and say "Gee, I want to look like that too". It's silly. But Catherine Quinn is great, so kudos to her.

I also like Ravi's video "In Style Yoga" which features another demonstrator and my favourite female yogi from all of his videos and dvds. "In Style Yoga" has short routines too, so is every bit as convenient. It's strange how Ravi put Ana's name and picture on the "Lose Weight and Feel Great" cover, when in fact the credit is due to Catherine Quinn and Catherine does a beautiful job. She even manages to get through the routines without making any faces, which wouldn't be easy considering how Ravi Singh talks nonstop. But after a while you learn to tune him out. Of all his Fat Free workouts this is the best one and the only one I've hung onto from the series. Check out Ravi's "In Style Yoga", plus kundalini yoga videos and dvds by Donna Davidge and Erin Kamler... I give this 3 stars, will raise it to 4 stars if Ravi puts Catherine Quinn back on the cover instead of Ana.

just a note..there are many forms of Yoga that are new ane emerging so if you read the review printed here regarding Yogi B and how Kundalini yoga is new don't worry. There are some types that are ancient and some that are infant. Even the feted Iyengar school of Yoga is not old. There is a yoga for everyone.
If you like movement and want to intersperse something meditative with it and you not afraid to try something new then Kundalini Yoga is definitely something you should try.
Ana Brett is a joy to watch. Ravi's voice is soothing and instructive. The nicest part about this set is the way it is divided into managesable chunks. Do a lttle, do a lot. And eaither way feel great about your effort and about yourself.
Also, the emphasis on breathing is wonderful...for everyone.
And you can apply breathing techniques (as you can mudras) in lots of situations in daily and find them comforting and helpful.
Kundlini yoga is aerobic. So you can do it for that benefit alone and not even get invloved with philisophy (or what seems to be contrversy according to one reviewer) Kundalini yoga is acessable. And fun. And rejunivinating. And based on ancient principles just like other yogas.
I love this set and am glad I have it.
And ps...side bends DO help get rid of love handles! If not then many fitness videos and teachers are also misinformed.

Comments about Ana Brett (for or against) aren't appropriate for "Lose Weight and Feel Great". She doesn't do any of the exercises. She never even appears on camera. Anyone claiming to have done these routines while supposedly following her lead is pulling your leg (to put it nicely). Or else they're confused with other Ravi Singh products which do feature the two of them. It would be nice if more people who've actually seen this dvd/video would review it, instead of the person who keeps re-posting under various pseudonyms who clearly hasn't seen it, yet alone done the yoga. Some people have too much time on their hands.

As for the routines on "Lose Weight and Feel Great", you likely won't lose weight. Though they're all right if you like kundalini yoga. But Ravi spouts several weight loss myths which have been proven to be false. And while it's true most yoga has been around for thousands of years as Ravi claims, that certainly isn't true of kundalini yoga. Ravi and other KY instructors were trained by Yogi Bhajan (or his students, none of whom studied in India where yoga originates). Bhajan made up the kundalini yoga moves when he moved to North America a few decades ago. Prior to immigrating to the U.S. Bhajan was a taxi driver. He's a controversial bloke and many argue he's more a cult leader/con artist than yoga master. If you want to know more about that there's plenty of info on the net written by his ex-devotees who feel sorely taken advantage of. I won't get into the specifics here. It just makes for an interesting story and is part of the real story behind kundalini yoga's origins.

The most beneficial part of kundalini yoga (and yes it's true, people often feel great afterwards) is the breathing. But then that's true of any type of yoga, including the more authentic types such as ashtanga and hatha yoga, and their derivatives, such as Iyengar. As for the reviewer(s) who can't say enough wonderful things about Ana Brett, I suggest you review Ravi's other dvds or videos on which the woman actually makes an appearance. Watching them first (and actually trying them) would be a good idea, too.

Sat naam, I have been practicing and teaching Kundalini Yoga since 2000, and I would totally recommend this DVD to anyone wanting to start their KY practice and especially to anyone who wants to lose weight and is willing to work at it! One of my students who did the Fat Free set on this DVD several days a week, plus 1-2 KY classes each week, lost over 70 pounds in less than a year. Those kind of results obviously take more discipline, but for you slacker yogis, Kundalini Yoga is a type of yoga that gets you more results, more quickly, than Hatha yoga. By using the breath with movement, and keeping up with an exercise for longer periods of time, you can get up to 18 times more results than the same poses in Hatha or other kinds of yoga. It's a great practice for this day & age where our lives are busy and complicated and we feel we don't "have" enough time. Just start by committing to a few minutes each day, then practice a few minutes more, to build up your practice at your own pace, and feel great!!!

I used this tape exclusively for three weeks (after some sporadic usage before), and I lost about three pounds. Not as dramatic as some people have reported, but I'm confident that I would have lost more if I had done it longer. However, the other "results" I got were more dramatic and though I've added in other things- I can't stay on something for more than three weeks, in general- I continue to reap the benefits from this practice.

I've been practicing Pilates for years now. Although my abdominal muscles were very strong, I was astounded by how much stronger they got from this program. I am flying through my Pilates mat routines now and feeling my abs in just about everything I do. This tape has an entire section called "Fight Fire with Fire" which is supposed to work the third chakra area, located near the lower belly area. The postures are not strenuous- instead of the classic Stretch Pose, we do a modified version with one leg, repeated three times. We also do Tuck Pose (think Child's Pose on your back), modified Leg Lifts and use Breath of Fire throughout much of the practice, but there aren't really any strenuous abdominal poses. It's deceptively effective though- I can now do full-on Stretch Pose with no strain to my back, not to mention a very advanced Hundred, Footwork and Double Leg Pull from Pilates. This section alone is really amazing.

Aerobically, the first and third sections, Start Your Engines and No-Impact Aerobics, respectively, don't look taxing, but they get your heartrate up and, presumably, help burn calories and fat. The first section has a couple of movements that use leg strength- Frog and Piston Pose- while the third uses backbends (with the Breath of Fire) to help burn fat, a classic yoga strategy. In all of these sections, Ravi intersperses meditation and relaxation breaks. Take them- you'll need them.

The last section, Your Life is in Your Glands, was the one I looked forward to the least, but actually grew to be one of my favorites. Glandular Breathing- short sniffing inhales and exhales- is challenging to learn but once done is soothing. This is certainly more physically relaxing than the other three practices, but not quite "easy".

Each section ends with a brief relaxation and also includes a breathing exercise. Please don't skip these, because much of the work of these tapes is accomplished through these exercises.

Kundalini in general and this tape in particular have lead me to mental and emotional breakthroughs I have trouble putting into words. I feel clearer about my goals and how to achieve them as well as how to "be" in the world. I've had significant breakthroughs in my relationships that would not have been possible without this. Dramatic and difficult to prove, but true. Somewhat more tangibly, I've also noticed when practicing qigong that my energy is no longer blocked up in the places that it was before I found this practice. I am confident that this is because of kundalini.

A word of caution: you may very well experience some of the discomfort associated with kundalini energy rising. I had intense headaches that felt like migraines, some nausea and some pains through one side of my back that didn't feel muscular. These were harmless and eventually went away, but it may be disconcerting if you're not anticipating it. Ultimately, it's a good thing- your body is getting rid of things it might not need.

Excellent- and not just for those who want to lose weight.

I recently got all of the Ravi Singh/Ana Brett Fat Free series and I want to say thank you to them for creating such an amazing series! Kundalini is by far my favorite style of yoga. All the breathing is a revelation it makes you feel so energized and alive. And the workouts are kind of fun to do and often the highlight of my day.
To whoever is reading this if you want to change your life - just start! If you don't want to do the whole thing just do one of the four 17 minute sets. I promise you will create a new momentum for yourself!
I am actually coming on line to buy another fat free because I gave my first one to my mother to try and she doesn't want to give it back. If you knew my mother you would know just how amazing this is!!

I bought this tape thinking it was a new Ravi Singh tape...but to my surprise it was an old tape I already ordered 4 yrs.ago with a new wrapping and a woman on the front cover that has nothing to do with the one that does the yoga in the tape. This ought to be forbidden since you can't return the videos once you open them. I felt they stole my money.What kind of "morality" does ravi singh have to do something like this?? I'll NEVER buy any of his tapes again.

This video was my first experience with kundalini yoga, which I found to be different. Throughout the practice, there were only a few yoga poses which I recognized from my prior practice of hatha yoga for the past several years. This workout placed an even greater emphasis on breathing than my other yoga tapes; specifically, the "Breath of Fire," a rapid form of inhaling and exhaling which is purported to result in all kinds of benefits.

The workout is broken down into four approximately 17 minute segments. Ravi Singh provides instruction but does not participate--he sits on a cushion in the corner while model Catherine Quinn performs the movements. The first segment (which is actually about 22 minutes) serves as a warmup, and it begins with simple breathing and stetching. The Breath of Fire is introduced here, but little instruction is provided on this technique. Left Nostril Breathing is also used, and the segment ends with a lying relaxation (Ravi notes that you can skip to the next section if you prefer to keep active).

In Segment 2, called "Fight Fire with Fire," there is an even greater focus on the Breath of Fire, which is performed while holding various static positions--eg, lying on your back with your head and shoulders up and one leg raised. This 17 minute segment ends with practice of the Cooling Breath. The third segment, "No Impact Aerobics," is very similar, and it repeats some of the exercises from the second section. Some new exercises are added, such as a modified pushup on one leg--it's fairly easy to perform, but there are many repetitions. There is more practice with the Breath of Fire, and the Serenity Breath is also introduced. This segment ends with another lying relaxation and comes in at about 15 minutes.

The final segment is titled "Your Life is in Your Own Glands," and thus the exercises are specifically designed to stimulate various glands. Following these movements, there is an extended period of seated meditation as well as an extended lying reaction for a total of 16 minutes. (Brief periods of meditation and relaxation--including rolling up and down on your back to relax your spine--are also interspersed throughout the workout.)

What I liked about this workout was how the energizing bursts using the Breath of Fire were combined with periods of meditation and relaxation. However, I found it hard to believe that the practice would have the weight loss benefits which Ravi Singh repeatedly claimed; in fact, I didn't like the fact that Ravi was so focused on weight issues throughout the workout. I also found it strange--and even somewhat condescending--that he just sat in the corner providing instruction during the workout. His overall style just did not mesh very well with me, including his tendency to spout off in rhyming couplets. This workout might be better suited to those already familiar with kundalini yoga rather than newbies to the method like myself.

NOTE: There is an updated version of this workout called "Fat Free Yoga--New & Improved" which features Ana Brett, not Catherine Quinn; see Ravi Singh and Ana Brett's web site (raviana.com) for more details.

I love Kundalini Yoga and I absolutely love this new series of Kundalini DVDs and Videos by Ravi Singh and Ana Brett called Fat Free Yoga. I have been practicing this form of Yoga for years and have always found Ravi Singh an excellent teacher and dedicated Yoga master. I own many of Ravi's earlier instructional videos and have always found them the perfect way to enhance and sharpen my Kundalini study. Ravi's teaming up with Ana Brett has brought these DVDs and Videos to an even higher level. Her form is amazing and precise. She is strong without looking like she lifts weights. My girlfriend and I practice along to one of the DVDs every morning when we get up. We usually rotate our workouts going through each of the 3 DVDs (1 a day) and then starting them over again. After we finish we are always charged and ready to face the day. We have both taken off weight due to our daily practice along to Ravi and Ana's instruction. Both my girlfriend and I have more energy and are sleeping better also.

For those new to this form of Yoga, Kundalini is different from other forms. It is an all body workout and therapeutic practice helping your organs as well as your muscles, skeletal structure and mental well being. It will actually help to remove toxins from your body, from organs like your liver and kidneys. Following the instruction on these DVDs and Videos give my girlfriend and I a total body workout.

I recommend the complete Fat Free Yoga series by Ravi Singh and Anna Brett without hesitation.