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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Gentle Mix of Pilates and Yoga, March 24, 2006
This review is from: Louise Solomon's Yoga & Pilates: Total Body Toner (DVD)
I just did all four segments of this a little while ago and I enjoyed it.
I am more of an intermediate Pilates person and more advanced in my Yoga (nine years of daily practice) and I have a pretty large library of yoga programs (about 100) and about 18 Pilates programs.
This program can be good for someone who is out of shape who need a good place to start, or it can also be good for someone like myself who just wants an easy practice that is still sound and enjoyable. I found this program was good for me this morning because I was pretty tired and slightly under the weather, so for me it was a nice easy practice overall. There are very few challenging moments.
I wouldn't consider this a "workout" per se but I did like it for what it was. If you want to break a sweat and feel your muscles getting fatigued, then you probably won't find much benefit in this unless you haven't exercised in a long time.
The Ab sections is very basic but has some interesting and subtle movements in it which can certainly benefit one's body awareness. The other sections for upper body and lower were also an interesting approach to those areas. The side lying pushup in the upper body section was neat, especially if you do it with one arm at a time. The lower body section had a nice side lying series which I have to admit I definitely felt in my hips and glutes. There is one challenging shoulder bridge in the third section which can be done in a more modified manner.
The final total body section is mostly Yoga, The "Saw" was really the only Pilates exercise that I can think of, so if you only did that section there wouldn't be much Pilates work going on.
I will probably use this program in the future primarily as a gentle practice for low energy days and just do the four sections in a row as I did today. If I had severely low energy I'd probably just do the first three sections or perhaps two of the first three and add the total body segment in as well.
I did find Louise Solomon to be a very pleasant instructor to work with. She has a very soothing voice which is always a plus (she has a very "airy" voice with an austrailian accent which I loved) and her instructions were easy to follow overall. She's also very unintimidating in terms of her appearance. While she is certainly attractive and healthy looking, she doesn't look like an over the top super model nor a Ms. Olympia competitor either.
I guess in a nutshell I'd say that this DVD can probably be really great for someone looking to get a taste of Pilates and Yoga or for an alternative gentle practice for someone with more experience.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Try it, you'll love it!!, December 4, 2004
This review is from: Louise Solomon's Yoga & Pilates: Total Body Toner (DVD)
I have tried different exercise routines to help with wt loss and shaping, I love how yogalates has helped me achieve these goals easily. Believe me, i've done lots of cardio and wt training with slow results, you will see and feel immediate results! My husband can even tell when i've done my workout, he notices my posture, he says I look "perky"! Anyhow, after I "mastered" Vol 1, I am now on Vol 2 and very pleased with the advanced level. I do workouts 1,2 and 3 all as 1 workout, but there is an advanced total workout that I will try in 3 months. I recommend Louise Soloman to my friends, its definitely for a beginner without any yoga or pilates experience. I am sure you will be very happy with how your body will feel/look good without tiring/boring wt lifting routines and extensive cardio. I was able to cut my cardio from 40min to 20 min and still lose wt. and get stronger with these simple exercises. Try it you'll love it!
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remember, this is based on Yoga ! Welcome style and pace, March 21, 2005
This review is from: Louise Solomon's Yoga & Pilates: Total Body Toner (DVD)
Louise Solomon's DVD v2 is well worth your time, even at twice the price! I found this to be an excellent merging of Yoga principles with some Pilates core strength added. The video clearly notes that for those who are more experienced or wish a more intense workout, go straight to the 4th part of the DVD.
There is a book by Louise Solomon with a quick summary of all the exercise poses in the appendix. This book "Yogalates: the Breakthrough Workout..." is available elsewhere (not on Amazon.com for some reason).
I find the fuss over the "Yogalates" and "Yogilates" terms to be unfortunate. Both the American who claims a TM on the latter name and this Australian have put together fine Yoga + Pilates work. Hope they collaborate and extend the message of combining Yoga + Pilates more broadly rather than keeping each other out of their respective country markets (Solomon's is in UK and Australia, American's is in US).
A prior review noted how slowww the sequences are, well that is the nature of Yoga, slow and steady with concentration rather than bouncing quick pace. Yoga practitioners consider that a positive feature, as I expect would Pilates practitioners. Sorry that doesn't meet the expectations of many looking for quick and intense workouts.
Namaste de Mark
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