Customer Reviews

Fat Free Yoga

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thinking I was saving some money buying "Used" I got this DVD thinking it was the remake with Ana. Pretty confusing since Ana is on the cover in the same pose on both!
I would give this one 3 1/2 stars actually. I watched it and did it anyway since it was opened.The workout is a good one. Feels effective and Ravi is always great to listen to. But half the reason I get their DVD's is to see Ana.
The demonstrator here gamely keeps up and does a good effort. But she obviously not a yoga person and since Ravi does not do the exercise's there is no one to watch for form whick I feel is so important in a yoga DVD!
I returned this and am impatiently awaiting the one with Ana(It is the pinkish cover and says new on the cover)

I first heard about the Fat Free Yoga: Lose weight and feel great video when I read about it in my local paper. This coloumnist was raving about how after having finding the tape in her library, how fast and effortlessly it made her lose weight after having her weight stuck at the same point for two years. .
I could relate to her story - except my weight had been stuck at the same point for five years! I bought the tape
and it worked! I did the workout three times a week and in the first month I lost six pounds. On top of this I felt amazingly energized.
I have tried so many different types of yoga but I found most of them actually either bored me or made me tense with all the holding of poses etc. I was surprised I had never heard of Kundalini and was more surprised by how much I liked it.
The practice is based on movement and breathing. It has been around for thousands of years. I love the breath of fire which combined with different exercises provides an aerobic effect.
I also like the spiritual element which I think should be an important part of a yoga practice.
This tape has four 17 minute segments. It includes meditations and relaxations throughout. Every part of the body gets worked on.
When I am done I feel relaxed and stretched, focused and inspired.
I am sure that anyone at any level could benefit, Even if you don't need to lose weight this is the perfect workout to get everything covered.

I enjoy doing the routines on this DVD. 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/ 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 DVD. 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 DVD 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. Men wouldn't do a fat free DVD 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 on this DVD, 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 on this DVD. 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 DVDs 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 DVDs by Erin Kamler and Donna Davidge... I give this 3 stars, will raise it to 4 stars if Ravi puts Catherine Quinn back on the cover instead of Ana.

Catherine Quinn demonstrates kundalini yoga postures and movements, while Ravi Singh sits comfortably and provides commentary. Lots and lots of commentary. I found his incessant talking of weight loss geared to women somewhat condescending. Have you ever eaten dinner at a restaurant with other women who spoke of nothing but calories and the size of their thighs, etc. To the point where nothing else in the world exists to them... Well, I was similarly bored by listening to Ravi go on and on and on about fat loss. That in mind, it's not surprising he features a waif-like Kate Moss type on the cover who doesn't appear on camera. It seems Ravi figures women do nothing but obsess about wanting to be similarly thin and bony.

Kundalini yoga isn't my favourite type of yoga, but I wouldn't mind doing it occasionally as part of a rotation. Unfortunately, it's hard to do this one with the sound off. And Ravi's constant superficial chatter is rather off-putting. But if you're capable of tuning out annoying people, the yoga itself is typical kundalini yoga with the usual benefits and pitfalls. I suggest you take this out from the library first before deciding whether to purchase it. I'd prefer to spend my money on other DVDs.

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.

I love every Ravi Singh tape I own and I think I own them azll by now. I especially love the new tapes with Ana Brett. She is my inspiration! I hope they remake all the old videos now that they are a team.
This one is an old favorite(even though it does not have Ana)because it was my first introduction to Kundalini Yoga.
Even though I had not had too much yoga experience I was able to get through the whole thing(though it wasn't easy at first!!)I did it 5 times a week and within a year and a half I was to my college weight(I had put on alot of weight since those days) which isn't anorexic but perfect for me! And I felt great!
My new favorite is the Total Tune Up(with Ana!) which works everything too and I think is a bit more challenging.
But this tape will always have a special place of my video shelf and in my heart.
One more note In 8 1/2 years I have not gained back any wight and I still feel great!

If you are becoming put off like I am with all the focus most yoga puts on chasing after the perfect body then I recommend you check out these dvds(I know this sounds ironic what with the title, Fat Free Yoga, but its true)

Not that your body won't improve - my body is better after 2 months alternating these workouts then it has ever been. But this is a by-product of the practice and not the MAIN EVENT!

Just close your eyes, get into the breathing and you are off on an incredible journey.

You will be left with an ENRICHED SOUL, a new outlook, and, yeah, a yoga butt.

I am a dedicated practioner of many types of yoga(Ashtanga, Hatha, Iyengar, Power, etc..). I own several Kundalini yoga dvds but nothing has ever inspired my practice like these latest tapes with Ravi Singh & Ana Brett! These are easily the best tapes out there.

I just took an amazing week long workshop with the two of them at Omega which is what prompted me to buy these dvds.
The depth of their knowledge(Ravi has been teaching for 30 years and Anas been doing this since childhood) is incredible. They don't just give a class they give an experience!

I am thrilled to depth with these dvds since they do the same thing. It is a guarantee that you will feel like a new person everytime you do one of these workouts.

One more thing - they make yoga accesible to everyone and every dvd is totally different. Genious!!!!!!

This is an amazing DVD, which I highly recommend!

As a former student of Ravi Singh and Ana Brett, I have nothing but the highest of praise, and the sincerest respect for both. I was lucky to have them as teachers. In addition to doing my part of the work, it was through their teaching, guidance & expertise, that helped in bringing forth my inner strengths, qualities & gracefullness! Thank you, thank you!!

Kundalini is the mother of all yogas and the most aerobic of all the forms, and should be practiced with reverence. Yes, it is different from the other yoga forms, as it encompasses meditation, chanting and various breathing techniques, which actually help get you through the different sets. There are those who think Kundalini is weird because of the chanting and the meditation involved, and that's ok, no one is forcing anyone to do what they chose not to do. One would think to look into what Kundalini Yoga entails before purchasing a tape or trying out a class. Unfortunately here in the West, there are those who are afraid of the unfamiliar, especially that which they have never been exposed to, and in turn, try to condemn it because it's not what they expected. Anyway, as with most things here, anything good or positive that helps people take control of their lives, thus making them feel better is usually shot down immediately. Yes, Kundalini Yoga is hard work, but the overall results have been tremendous for me, as well as for other practioners. I have purchased all of Ravi and Ana's dvds, including some of the vhs tapes, and recommend them all. You will get a work out! I do believe Ravi and Ana are in the midst of getting all his older vhs tapes on to dvd, which is why Ana appears on this cover and not the model who is actually doing the work. She is the model in his other dvds. Regardless, I plan to purchase all the dvds when they become available. As the saying goes, "Don't knock it until you've "really" tried it!"

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.