Customer Reviews

Kundalini Yoga to Detox and Destress with Maya Fiennes

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Initial Warning: New Age Cheese Factor is present in this DVD. My boyfriend walked in on me right as Maya was encouraging me to "become the New Aquarian Person!" and he burst out laughing. I don't mind it, being something of a low-key hippy person who talks to her plants and worries about her chakras, but although Boyfriend was interested in joining me for this work out (it does a lot of back stretching and flexing, which since he has a very tense, stiff back, looked appealing to him) he didn't think he could make it through and keep a straight face.

His loss. Still, if being told to become "the new Aquarian Person!" or "We will now chant to strengthen the kidneys" will utterly ruin your enjoyment of a practice, you might, ah, wanna rent this one first. Just in case.

Now, on to the review proper:

This routine can be fairly intense if you're not in shape. It's fun, I like it very much, but it can be quite the work out considering you don't actually *stand up* at any time. That being said, I'm not in the most phenomenal shape of my life at the moment and I can finish this practice. And I enjoy it very much indeed! It is currently part of my regular yoga rotation and I often do the warm up portion of the DVD even on days when I am not doing the full practice. It's very dynamic: you will not hold anything but corpse pose and easy pose. And it's all done sitting or kneeling. Props are not necessary even for We the Inflexible Yogis and Yoginis of the World, which I think would make it great for travel, although I do tend to sit on my yoga mat when I do this practice.

Kundalini yoga is very different from the other hatha yoga styles I've been exposed to. But it's fun, it made my back feel FANTASTIC, the music is great, and I felt reinvigorated and centered after it was done.

I have been doing Kundalini yoga for about 5 years now and I am always on the lookout for new dvd's. I own everything by Ravi Singh. I already have this yoga set on another dvd which is more complete than Maya Fiennes' The only thing I do like about her dvd is the music. The other reviewer said that the chants were African. No they are gurmukhi mantra chants. The music is tribal. That said here is what you can expect.

Setting: Totally white. Teacher is dressed in white on a sheepskin rug.
Music: tribal with vocals. I really liked the music
Instruction: In voice over. She tells you a lot about kundalini yoga during the poses.
Kriya: This is the set for the adrenals. It consists of hands in lotus and moving them out to the side; wrist press; body drops, active cat/cow; pelvis lifts holding ankles and a couple of other poses.
The class ends with deep relaxation.
What I didn't like: No meditation at the end of the class. I think teachers do a dis-service to students when they only teach the physical part of kundalini yoga. I'm a traditionalist in that respect; to me kundalini yoga is much much more than stretching. Without the meditation, you might as well do pilates! There are 1000's of meditations to choose from and she couldn't include one of them on this dvd. That is what I love about Ravi Singh's dvds, he includes meditations on EVERY SINGLE DVD he puts out.

If you are interested in this set on dvd. Get the dvd by Sat Jivan Singh Khalsa at the spiritvoyage website. It includes 4 meditations and a delightful GONG relaxation. You haven't lived until you've relaxed to the sound of the GONG.
I rented this dvd from netflix and after previewing it I sent it right back.

Overall: If you are new to kundalini yoga, you may like this. Old timers may be a bit bored. But she has good energy and is nice to watch.

Maya is a fantastic teacher -- I love it that she tells you exactly what the movements are doing for you: ie: this is draining your lymph nodes, this is massaging your kidneys, this is working your waistline, this will open up the flow of blood to your head to prevent headaches. Some Kundalini programs I've tried (ie: Gurmukh) are just TOO MUCH for me right now -- maybe someday I'll be able to do them, but for now, this is the perfect pace, leaving me energized and making me feel great, not defeated.

Also, the music is just WONDERFUL and that's what really matters in a practice you do with your eyes closed. Really inspiring!

I absolutely love this video. I've been practicing with it almost everyday since I got it. Maya has this beautiful voice and the music is awesome. This CD starts with a warm-up set that I just do on it's own when I don't have much time. Then, it has a set for kidneys and adrenals. I know one of the negative comments was that it's missing a meditation, but I don't feel that it's a big deal since one of the exercises in the set includes a meditation. All the exercises are easy to follow and make me feel great. I usually feel energized and relaxed every time I practice. I shared it with my friends and everyone loved it. Maya does a very good job explaining the benefits of all the exercises.
I also own every Ana and Ravi CD. I love them and I never thought I would find something to compare to the sets they do, but Maya certainly did a great job with this set. I think if you're a beginner, her set is certainly easier to follow and she adheres more to Kundalini wisdom like doing the root locks. I think it makes a big difference to include breathing exercises and root locks.

I've tried 2 of Ravi Singh & Ana Brett's dvds so far & love them. I also love & have almost all of Gurutej Kaur & Gurmakh's.
I felt good energy from this one, parts of my body vibrated, I had sweat, & after dong one exercise, I suddenly felt my muscles in my body release & I was immediately much more flexible. I was dizzy & feeling weird for 15 min after that while I detoxed & my body opened up the energy, but felt great even before that.
She gives great history info about how kundalini & came to the US, and during each exercise, she encourages you to keep going, what each exercise works on & how it benefits your health & spirit. She gives more info about how Kundalini works then Ravi & Ana do.
She actually executes the movements more slowly then Ravi & Ana do. She did a different breathe called "cannon?" (she has a bit of an accent) that felt great that haven't seen on any other dvd yet.

You can see a preview at acacicatalog com

I've been a rabid fan of the Ana Brett/Ravi Singh series, which I own in its entirety, for years and I'm pretty picky about yoga DVDs. I began my journey into Kundalini yoga with Gurmukh's VHS about 12 years ago and I still think that's a fabulous home practice tool as well. Live classes are ideal and having done Teacher's Training I sometimes miss that experience and now practice mostly at home, like most people I know. I love my library of 20 DVDs and use them in rotation all the time. Still, when you do Kundalini at home a lot it's great to come across new energies and sets to incorporate so I grabbed this one after seeing clips on Youtube and I am so glad I took the chance; Maya is fabulous! The sweetness of her voice, the lovely music she arranged/composed, the yoga set she chose...it's all really wonderful.

I've seen comments about the "new age" aspect of this, and I always have to laugh when I hear something as ancient as yoga referred to as "new age". This technology of the science of angles, which is what Kundalini yoga is, has been handed down for hundreds of years and the idea of an age of enlightenment is certainly nothing new either. Still, when you're closed off to things that vibrate at a higher level, you laugh and you push things further away, I get it. I've been there myself. But this is a lovely class with some really powerful and very do-able exercises that can help with healing, detoxofication and letting go of the stresses of everyday living so beautifully...please don't discount it because she's wearing white or talks about becoming a better person.

If you are looking for yoga solely for tight buns, keep looking, that's not what Kundalini is about. True yoga asks tough questions and takes you deep into yourself, into the vast innerspace of YOU. Anyone not interested in that or in feeling true peace, serenity and strength can skip this. Anyone who wants more than sore muscles the next day will be delighted.

The set chosen includes things like body drops, which are really powerful for detoxing and cleansing, and breath of fire, a powerful, rapid breathing technique akin to panting like a puppy only it's done through the nose only. It purifies the blood, energizes the body and takes you deeper into the movements. Kundalini yoga also includes chanting and mudra (hand positions) at times, and it's all designed to effect the human body in much the same way as striking a gong; you create a ripple effect of vibrations that are continuing to work on your behalf long after the exercises are completed.

Maya's cues are helpful and insightful, and I for one hope the other titles she has released become available here soon; I only see them on her website and the prices are quite high because of the conversion from pounds to US dollars. This particular set it approachable for someone just starting out while also offering something very much worthwhile for those who are in great shape. Who doesn't need some level of healing and detoxification, emotionally and physically?

I did, however, miss the inclusion of a post-class meditation, which has always been done in live classes and I noticed Ravi & Ana started including those on their DVDs a while ago...I hope Maya will too. I think it's so important, and the addition of some kind of breath meditation at the beginning would be great as well. Still, this is a beautiful class led by a really wonderful teacher with gorgeous music.

Anyone who takes live Kundalini classes will feel like they're at a favorite yoga studio, it has that kind of energy. A welcome addition to my vast Kundalini library!

This workout is perfect- in my opinion. There is nothing about it I don't like. Maya is wonderful, encouraging and easy to listen to. Other workouts always have some little thing I don't like and that's usually enough to keep me from working out. I have no excuses with this one. I am 63 and could easily do the entire workout with no modifications. Love it!

I have been practicing kundalini yoga 3-5 times per week for the past year plus. I own most of Ravi and Ana's DVDs and Gurmukh's DVD and love them all in their own way. When I have a frantic day, am over stimulated and stressed I always turn to Maya Fiennes for some calm. The music is beautiful, her voice is soothing and the workout releases stress and toxins and makes me feel uplifted and at peace.

You may think all you're going to get are some slow movements and deep breathing exercises. Think again! Along with wonderful African sounding beats and chants are some very lively movements. This is just under an hour (you can skip the introduction the second time) and I look forward to the two days a week I've worked it into my schedule. Truly gives me a good feeling for the day.

I have Relapse Remitting MS and I do this DVD nearly every day. I recently had a 3 month relapse consisting of double vision, fatigue and numbness/weakness in my legs. I was nearly unable to walk for weeks and had to go on IV Prednisone which is very taxing on the entire mind body and spirit. Without this DVD I would have lost it! I was able to do at least the first thirty minutes throughout the entire ordeal and found it to be profoundly theraputic and transformative. The music is fantastic and Maya's words of encouragement seemed tailored just for me.
This DVD is exactly what I needed and I am grateful for it. I understand that experienced Yogis may find it "too easy" but I think it is fantastic and has something to offer everyone. I have reccomended it to everyone in my MS support group because it is so theraputic and you can benefit from it even if you are physically disabled.