Customer Reviews

Hemalaya Behl: Yoga for Urban Living

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really enjoyed this DVD. This is the first DVD I have purchased from Behl, and let me say that she certainly knows her craft. This DVD offers a workout for every point in the day, a morning quickie (30 minutes), a full workout 60 minutes, a evening workout (25 minutes), breathing exercises, etc. She gives you an opportuntity to experience almost every aspect of yoga (meditation, breath work, postures, etc.). I think that this is one of the most complete yoga dvds on the market today. A person can really get an at home practice going with this dvd. The only thing I would tell someone wanting to purchase this dvd is that this not a Power Yoga type of dvd, where you will sweat the whole workout. Although some of the poses are challenging and all of them are held for a fair amount of time, these workouts are not designed to make a person sweat to the degree that say an Ashtanga workout, a vinyasa flow, or Bikram workout are intended to. After completing one or more of these workouts you will feel stretched, relaxed, and calm, but do not expect a heavy sweat (ala Rodney Yee's Power Yoga, Berly Birch's Power Yoga, or Richard Freeman's Primary Series dvds). I recommend this dvd for a person with at least a few months experience with yoga, especially before attempting the 60 minutes segment if you are not used to an hour or so of yoga. However, the new yoga enthusiast can still get something out of the morning quickie workout and the evening bath workout, and work their way up to the 60 minute workout. Again, this is a great dvd, and is a great buy for the person who is looking for a yoga workout that gives a person more than just a good physical workout.

"Yoga for Urban living is designed to work around your schedule." ~Hemalaya Behl

Hemalaya Behl has been studying yoga since an early age and her practice is steeped in authenticity. She has studied the teachings of Hatha, Vinyasa, Ayurvedic and Tantra.

Hemalaya Behl's Yoga workouts allow you to create your very own yoga sanctuary. Her workouts embody the spirit of yoga. She has a very casual approach. In fact, she is talking you through the entire workout "from a distance." She doesn't actually speak while doing the exercises, but her calming voice/instruction drifts in and out of the soundtrack.

If you are finely tuned and ready to move as soon as an instructor tells you what you will be doing next, relax into this calming series of exercises. There is no rush, no place to go, just breathe. I find her instruction style to be very calming and she has a beautiful spirit.

There are three workouts:

Morning Quickie - The blue walls speak of emotional stability and the wood floors and plants place an emphasis on natural materials. Perfect for any time of the day when you have 40 minutes to enjoy a this yoga escape. There are a few gentle neck stretches and then you start to breathe away your tension and stress. There is an interesting "rotation" segment and a "sun salutation series" in which she is rather good about telling you what you will do next. While doing the spine twists, I suddenly realized I was going much deeper into the poses than I had on other yoga workouts. You will recognize positions like triangle, plow, down dog and cobra. Hemalaya also includes a variety of authentic moves and creative poses.

Daily Connection - The workout is set in a room where purple splashes across the walls in paint and artwork presents a peaceful still dimension. In 60 minutes, Hemalaya can bring you from the highest mountain of stress to the most tranquil valley of relaxation. Her pleasant voice leads you into a meditation of the body. The poses follow a logical progression and have a depth. It reminds me of how one drop of water meets the next and eventually there is a peaceful stream. This is the best way to describe what I cannot otherwise put into words. If you complete all the poses to the fullest extent, this could be considered an advanced workout. I could not fully complete the "eagle" or "camel" although I can say that when I was in my 20s, these were much easier for me to accomplish. While doing this workout, I did finally succeed in maintaining the most amazing Tree Pose I've ever done. It is definitely easier to do tree pose while wearing the shortest shorts. Having fabric in the way does not allow your foot to remain planted on your other leg. You just have to do this pose to see why I am saying this. Anyway, I was quite elated that I could finally master this pose. There are many poses in this workout I won't be mastering for at least another year!

Evening Bath - When they say: Evening Bath - they mean it. You know how you feel when you have a nice warm bath before bed? Well, this yoga workout will have the exact same effect. I'm not sure if it is just the poses or the music that helps you relax into a deep level of peace. The truth is, I feel blissfully asleep while in the relaxation pose and now I know that I should probably climb into bed at that stage. This "evening bath" workout is definitely for the time right before bed. The exercises start with "OM" and as the word vibrates through your entire being, you will quickly abandon all worry and fear and sink into a state of serenity. There are a few gentle twists and then you start to breathe away your tension and stress. You will recognize most of the yoga poses. Spine stretch, leg stretches while on your back, spinal lift, relaxing rolls from side to side, youth postures (fountain of youth - I had no idea my body could do this pose), resting pose (definite challenge pose you can work into over time), chest-opening poses and full-body stretch. The pace is just slow enough to relax and just fast enough so you don't get bored.

Yoga can be a place of escape from everyday stress. The tension of the day melts away into your yoga mat and drips invisibly through the floor as a deep sense of peace pervades your entire being. Yoga reminds you to breathe, to nurture the soul that you are, to let your body release the stress for you as you stretch away worry, fear, sorrow and anger. After completing this yoga workout, all you will feel is an incredible sense of peace and bliss. The postures all flow beautifully and each yoga workout has a different emphasis.

Special DVD Features:

Breathing Techniques Section
Instructional Segment
Custom Audio Options
Interactive Full Motion Menus



P.S. IDEA: I think you can enjoy this workout even more if you place a blanket or down comforter on the floor and then put your yoga mat on top of the blanket/comforter. Having another comforter for the relaxation stage adds an entire new dimension of luxurious comfort. Then, fold a towel in half and place it in the middle of your mat. This gives you more "comfort" during your workout. I find it is easy to move the towel, but I really enjoy the feeling of a soft towel under my feet instead of always feeling the cold "plastic" feel of the yoga mat. Doing all this might seem like too much extra effort, but when you do the Urban Living workouts, you are really creating a mood and a place for your soul to escape and your body to relax.

~The Rebecca Review

Hemalaya Behl's Yoga for Urban Living series provides three separate yoga practices which are designed to be used throughout the day. Some fairly challenging poses are included, and so the routines are probably best suited to intermediate-level yogis, although experienced beginners may be able to modify enough to follow along and more advanced practitioners are likely to enjoy the variety of the routines. The individual practices are as follows:

1) Morning Bath--This 35-minute section was my favorite of the three. Hemalaya begins by leading you through some gentle stretches designed to wake up the body in the A.M. via increasing the blood flow to various parts of the body. An energizing breathing exercise is also included to enhance energy during the practice, which consists of a variety of sun salutation series. Each series becomes increasingly strenuous, gradually adding in some challenging poses such as revolved prayer twist. The practice ends with a nice relaxation and brief "Om" chanting.

2) Daily Connection--This 56-minute routine is designed as a complete daily yoga practice. Hemalaya again incorporates chants and energized breathing into the warmup as a means to awaken both the body and the mind. The practice itself is a nice blend of sun salutations, standing postures, balance work, and floor poses. Many poses are more challenging and demand an intermediate level of expertise, including eagle pose, pigeon, and some lying inversions. Unfortunately, the relaxation segment at the end of the practice is extremely brief, so most people will want to extend the routine a bit to allow for a longer period in savasana.

3) Evening Bath--This was my least favorite of the three sections, mainly because I had little previous experience with some of the more advanced postures included (eg, shoulderstand, plow, deaf man's pose). The 25-minute routine is designed to be a relaxing, end-of-day practice, and as a result, Hemalaya moves much more slowly than in the first two practices. For those who want to move more deeply into challenging relaxation postures, this program might be ideal.

Overall, I enjoyed this series and found Hemalaya's instruction to be both skilled and unique. Despite her Eastern training, she comes across as very down-to-earth, and she practices in a soothing loft-type living room setting with unobtrusive tribal-type music in the background. However, I should also note that she does not consistently provide mirrored cueing, and at times her voiceover is a bit out-of-sync with her movements on screen.

This DVD set would be perfect for someone looking to expand their home yoga practice with several new routines of varying lengths, all of which can be performed at any time of day.

This DVD has more yoga in it than anything else I've seen or bought!
It has 3 different workouts, breathing tips and a great instructional section that helped me through a couple of the more advanced asanas in the longer workout. It also has really great music in each of the routines and the option to just listen to the instructors voice-over so I can listen to my own music if I feel like it. Totally cool. This is my favorite Yoga DVD.

i have a hard time with this dvd. while i love the three different routines, and i love the rhythm, there are some things that drive me nuts.

i don't understand why she switches up her left and right so much! as well, she doesn't offer modifications that would allow people to get into some of the postures more deeply.

finally, the deep relaxation at the end is incredibly short. in the main session, it is less than a minute. this dvd is getting marketed to people who practice regularily and i don't get why they didn't do a proper relaxation. give me two minutes at least!

updated feb 12: ok, it's been three years, and i still use this dvd, so obviously, it's got a lot more of the good than the bad. she does mix up her left and right, and the deep relaxation is too short, but oh well. i'm cool with that now. i just keep track of the left and right on my own, and i pause the dvd once i'm in savasana. so if i could, i'd give it 4 1/2 stars now.

and, i will also say, that i love having this three different practices. very very nice. so perhaps, 4 3/4 stars really.

This Yoga DVD is a one of a kind! I was very plesently surprised with how much yoga was on it! It is very easy to use and theres a workout for every time of day. I found parts of the longer routine a bit challenging, but I especially liked the "Yoga Bath" (evening routine). It really works great to help me sleep. There is also an additional section that explained the different breathing techniques, which was very valuable. I own 4 different yoga videos, this is the second DVD I've bought -and it is by far my favorite one so far. Its a great value. (and the music is very soothing too)

After wasting money on other annoying "fluffy" yoga dvds, I finally found this one. It's perfect for me. It's down to earth (no weird oiled bodies doing poses on sand dunes). There is a 30 minute vigorous morning workout, a 25 minute relaxing evening workout and a 1 hour total workout. I like that the instructor has a healthy, strong body and is not skin and bones. She talks you through the workout well and within a couple of viewings, You won't have to look up to see what she's doing. Great flow, great range of exercises. It may not be as hard a workout as going to a class but it's a very thorough working and I can feel the difference in my muscles. Some said they didn't like the music, I don't find it annoying at all. It's very unobtrusive.

This DVD balances on a line between yoga novices and yoga experts. I think that someone new to yoga could probably do fine with this DVD. The instructor provides plenty of cues as to what you should be doing. There are several more advanced moves that may be too challenging for beginners, even in modified variations. However, since these more advanced moves take up a limited amount of time, the easy answer is just to skip the more difficult poses. Doing so wouldn't really impact the overall workout.

I think that more advanced yoga practitioners could also enjoy this DVD. Although there aren't many advanced poses, this DVD could provide a good routine daily practice. I personally would place my skill level at intermediate and felt that, for the most part, this DVD was just right for me. I've gone through both the morning and evening routines multiple times since purchasing the DVD and really have enjoyed my workout.

There isn't a lot of "urban" about this DVD other than the chic loft it was taped in. I guess the name may be a general guideline; you can find a peaceful place for yoga even in a small space in the city.

The instructor has a very smooth and mellow voice - wonderful to start or end your day listening to this. She also does a good job of demonstrating the poses and the overall pace is neither too fast nor too slow. The morning routine is perfect for gaining energy for the day, while the evening routine is a great way to wind down and relax. I've seen several other yoga videos and this is the only one that I've done more than 1-2 times.

Highly recommended.

This was certainly an enjoyable yoga DVD. The main portion is a full 60-minutes, which seems adequate as Hemalaya hold the poses for quite a long time to really feel each stretch. There are several more advanced poses, for which she does not necessarily show the modifications, but does explain them thoroughly enough that I was able to pick up on those poses for which I need them. There are my more advanced poses then I'm used to on DVDs, but I must say I liked the challenge, and again was able to pickup on the modifications relatively easily.

The morning quickie of about 30-minutes was a bit more of a "power yoga" type. It goes through several sun salutations fairly quickly and you will manage to work up a bit of a sweat depending on your fitness level. These are again fairly easy to follow though it may take a few peeks at the TV screen to become used to it.

The evening bath of about 30-minutes was great as well. Relaxing enough, though I personally do prefer "Candlelight Yoga", but this is definitely great for a change.

I have a few minor complaints about the video, which is more personal preference, but it would be nice to be forewarned. First of all, this DVD is narrated by Hemalaya, she does not speak when showing you the poses, but does voiceover instead. This always throws me for a loop because I do prefer when the instructor speaks live time as it feels a bit more personal. As a result of that, as many other reviewers have mentioned, her moves are often ahead of her narration and that can sometimes throw you a bit behind the visual if you're not studying the screen. Finally, Hemalaya does not "mirror" you as most DVD workouts will. I tried to stick to the verbal queues here instead, but did find myself accidentally starting on the same side again with the quicker transitions.

Overall, a great yoga DVD, and I do recommend. I'll definitely be looking at Hemalaya's other DVD when I'm ready to purchase a new one.

I like the fact that this one DVD has three different practices, (two 25-minute and one 60 minute) each distinct in its mood and pace. The main (60 minute) routine is not kind of practice that will make you sweat (try Rodney Yee's power yoga series for that) but is thorough and slow, which is just as beneficial. Great for back and thigh stretches. It's a good addition to your library of yoga DVDs.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the audio track doesn't always synch up with the video track, and things get repeated (didn't we just do the left side?) which can be annoying, but isn't a big deal, especially if you are not a beginner. I wouldn't recommend this DVD for rank beginners, actually; there isn't much instruction or guidance on most of the postures.

Another plus of this DVD is Hemalaya herself; she is very beautiful, and has a "real" body, which I like. She's clearly very fit, but not stick thin. She's even got a little bit of a belly. Since the last thing I want while doing yoga is to feel lousy about my body, this is a nice plus.