Customer Reviews

Kundalini Yoga with Gurmukh [VHS]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Don't even buy this video if you don't know about Kundalini yoga. You will be disappointed. This video does not contain your traditional yoga postures like downward dog, warrior, or triangle. However, if you are willing to try something new and wonderful this may be for you. This video is more spiritual than most other videos, and contains some unusual exercises. You will find yourself doing some leg lifts, flapping your arms, twisting, punching the air, and doing pelvic rolls (just to name a few). It does have some components of calesthinics-type exercise, but is all designed around the style of Kundalini yoga. The music and scenery are lovely, it's set in a rainforest-type outdoor area. The teacher, Gurmukh, is very mellow and has a style different than most western yoga instructors. She uses a very relaxing and sing-song voice. This video also contains a relaxation and meditation session at the end, accompanied with a gong. I love this tape, for something different than my usual yoga practice. If you're willing to try something new, you might love it too. It's not for everyone, so you may want to read up on Kundalini yoga first.

I didn't know much about Kundalini yoga before I bought this video, but had heard about the instructor, so I was curious.

The video was not only beautiful to look at(I could actually just watch this video and listen to the music) but the workout was great. It was relaxing and invigorating by turns. The teacher was fun and I liked her sense of humor and her soothing voice.

I don't understand what the viewer from Boulder Colorado was talking about, this video looks beautiful and is a unique yoga experience that makes you feel really relaxed at the end.

Having practiced yoga now for 6 years, I was ready to learn a different approach to complement my yoga teacher's hatha/Iyengar method of practice. The concept pf kundalini - awakening the energy within you through movement and breath - seemed like a good choice. This video is a fantastic primer into the world of kundalini. It connects you with one of the foundations of any yoga practice, BREATHING. Using rhythmic and sometimes energetically rapid breathing, you learn to connect to the energy within you that can take you yoga practice to a new level. Everyone who is serious about their yoga, should expereince this tape. It is well taught, both visually and vocally. It is aerobic - so don't expect a mellow experience in yoga. Great for waking up in the morning, getting the energy going and revitalizing yourself when you feel low on fuel. This tape will definitely become part of my permanent practice. Namaste Gurmukh!

I am a newcomer to yoga, in the sense that I'm not the type who can effortlessly sit lotus or touch my toes. I've tried lots of yoga classes and found invariably that while I love the energy of them, something about the tendency in our culture to treat it as an aerobics workout (competitive, rushed and stressful) really would turn me off every time.

Gurmukh, the "guide" in this tape, is wonderfully gentle and accepting. She encourages you to warm up to your body and to flow with the moves. Her first emphasis isn't on form, it's on participation and the spirit ("the inner strength that you bring to your yoga practice"). I'll work with the tape to gain flexibility, mobility, easy of movement and peace in the longterm, but what impressed me most was that my first time through left me feeling light, open and blessed. Now that's what I want out of an exercise (mind/body) program!!

I have been fortunate enough to have been a student of Gurmukh's for seven years. During this time, kundalini yoga has become a daily practice for me. It helped me through law school, the bar exam and is now what I use every morning to prepare for my day at the office. This video is a godsend because I don't always have the luxury of going to the yoga center and this serves as a perfect substitute. I can honestly say that I get the same benefits from doing the set on the video as I do from taking a live class with Gurmukh. It is a beautifully shot piece with inspirational music. Gurmukh is the ideal kundalini yoga teacher, as she exemplifies the attributes one receives from practicing this yoga, she is graceful, strong, charismatic, and truthful. Doing this video as little as once a week will change your life, I guarantee it.

I found this video to be a refreshing change of workout from astanga. This workout is not so much based on a series of repeating poses--like sun salutations--but on focusing on one movement for several minutes. To be honest, I thought I would be bored by that approach, but I found it helped me develop depth in a pose (or motions) that astanga did not approach the same way.

Other people have noted that this video includes movements not found in most yoga videos out there. But they really aren't all that exotic; one section is somewhat martial-arts like but nothing terribly strange to the Western viewer. It's a bit like Tae-Bo, in fact.

I'm hardly a yogi, nor trained as a yoga teacher, but I do question some of the advice given by Gurmukh. For instance, "When you want to stop that is exactly when you should not stop." I'm all for developing persistence through yoga, but this can be mis-interpreted as a "no pain, no gain" statement. To my recollection, only once does she give a suggestion of what to do if you can't continue a movement. Most good yoga videos I've encountered urge you not to press your body to a level of discomfort that is unmanageable; she seems to urge you "past" this point. Or could.

Also, I find it's difficult for me to follow the breathing exercises during the meditation section. Personally, going without a breath for basically a count of twelve is HARD, and there's no direction what to do if you do encounter trouble with this part. It can make me quite frustrated to feel I'm somehow inadaquate because my body is screaming for oxygen.

Despite these problems I've encountered, this IS a great tape. I find it brings me energy, a healthy body, and a calm mind--everything I look for in a yoga tape.

This video surpassed my expectations... and I have high expectations.

I started Kundalini Yoga classes roughly a year ago but a family move took me away from any further sessions. My body started getting all tight and stiff over the following months, lack of movement coupled with stress. Not good. That's when I started looking for a good video to help me get back into yoga. I've tried several so far but I have to say that this is the best video I've seen yet.

The music is beautifully simple and doesn't detract from the instruction -- or my thoughts when I'm really into a certain move. This is a major plus in my eyes (or ears).

The instructor's voice is soo pleasant to listen to...so calm! I found myself relaxing more at the mere sound of it, which as a result made it easier to move my body. Another plus point!

And the setting in which the tape was shot (Maui, I believe) is so green and healing -- I could almost smell it's warm moisture through the TV screen! Now that doesn't happen with too many videos. Relaxing, not distracting. So, the eyes also have their chance to enjoy it all. Another plus!

The instructor (Gurmukh) says not to stop when the going gets tough which I understand to mean work through the muscle burn NOT pain. She also says that if something gets too hard (I have problems with knee bends, for example), stop but then slowly start again. I found her instructions responsible. I also never forget where my own limits are and reduce the movements as needed to fit my body. To me that's common sense, so I have to say that I find it hard to understand how the reviewer from Tokyo could repeatedly hurt him-/herself. Even at my age, I have never injured myself while following any sort of exercise tape. Know yourself.

As compared to other yoga tapes I've had, this is not the most aerobic or physically demanding -- which is just fine with me! The stretching and flexibility is really quite demanding in its own right and meets my needs fully. I'm well over 40 now and have no need to have my skin shine with rivers of sweat as I pant my way to the shower. Been there, done that. I'd choose this tape over the others anytime.

I found the moves all "do-able" just like Gurmukh mentions on the tape. I'm no longer all that young and haven't had a yoga class in quite some time, so I was quite stiff and therefore took it easy with the scope of my movements as I got back into moving my body again. But to watch the flexibility of this 58 year old woman... impressive! I would say that it was her inner peace, her being so centered, that impressed me the most. Physically I may never be so flexible as many of today's yoga tapes say I can be, but perhaps that's not the most important goal. If I can come anywhere near to this peaceful stability, this inner strength which seems to radiate from this instructor, then that for me goes hand-in-hand with good health -- and success. This tape helps me along the path to achieving just that.

Highly recommended. Hope they come out with a DVD version soon. I'll be the first one in line for it. Enjoy!

I have bought this tape for everyone I know who is into yoga, and also for some others who could use some Kundalini energy in their lives. Everyone loves it! The first time through the video, it may seem strange or too easy; however, as you practice, you'll find it rewarding in terms of fitness, stress reduction, and fostering a stronger mind-body connection. Give it a chance!

I have been buying many yoga/pilates/dance-inspired tapes in the last year, mainly sticking to Yoga Zone,Crunch and some Living Arts for my Yoga (The Method and Kari Anderson for the others). I had seen this tape online and in the store a couple of times and finally jumped at it. I figured it would be a good alternative to my other tapes.

I had no idea how "aerobic" this one would be -- I was pleasantly surprised as I thought this one may be a bit more spiritual and meditative. I could not keep up in some parts -- the squat sequence (on your toes no less) left me behind. Your arms will also get an incredible work out!

Gurmukh's voice is very peaceful and the tape has great visuals.

For a 58 year old, she is in fantastic shape and if kundalini keeps her looking that way then she has found a convert!

I'm a big fan of Kundalini. What impresses me most about Gurmukh's instruction is the way she moves seamlessly through the poses and exercises, each one more difficult than the last. Before you know it, you're 3/4 of the way through the tape, sweating profusely, and charged with energy. She's almost ridiculously serene and a bit funny--it's obvious her brain is wired in some yogi galaxy far, far away, but that's why I love her. I only hope to look that good when I'm 58. By the end, you feel completely purged of stress and heaviness. I have a large collection of yoga tapes and this is definitely one of my favorites.