Customer Reviews

Louise Solomon's Yoga & Pilates: Total Body Toner

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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!

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

This is a very relaxing workout, but not not difficult and the high basic or intermediate will be looking to a second work out tape after for exercise.

However Solomon does work muscle groups in novel ways. I enjoyed it for stress relief and relaxation. The higher score is for the relaxing environment, nice music, good verbal directions, and high production quality.

I got this dvd as a gift 3 years ago from a friend. Like most people who are unfamiliar with yoga and pilates I had no interest in anything that would make my body twist in ways that looked unnatural, so I let it sit on the shelf collecting dust for quite a while. Then, I ended up having bi-lateral knee replacement 7 months ago and even though I had undergone 2 weeks of intense in-hospital physical therapy, 2 weeks of in-home physical therapy and then 4 weeks of out-patient physical therapy, my legs were still not functioning correctly. I couldn't bend my legs all the way, my lower body was very stiff and lacked fluidity when I walked, I gained 20lbs that I just couldn't afford to and was suffering from a sharp pain in my left hip that the physical therapists could not find any reason for. I honestly didn't think I would ever recuperate fully and I was starting to get really depressed. Then I remembered that I had the Total Body Toner dvd, so I decided to pull it out and give it a whirl thinking that the stretching would do me some good. That was one month ago this week. I can honestly tell you that in this short of time, I have seen and felt a significant difference in my ability to bend my legs, I have regained almost all my strength in my entire body and I have even noticed a bit of tone coming back. My biggest applause for this dvd, is that I no longer have the pain in my hip, It literally vanished within the first 2 weeks of doing this program. I cant say enough good things about the work that Louis Solomon has put into this program and cant wait to see how else it will benefit me in the future as I continue to follow it as well as her other dvds. For those of you who think this dvd is a waste of time and money, because it wasnt "fast" enough or "exciting" enough, all I can say, is that you absolutely did not give this dvd a fair chance. Yoga is NOT something to rush through and you should go back to it and have some patience with it.

This is Louise Solomon's Total Body Workout that gives upper body, lower body and abs along with yoga stretching and strength moves and relaxation. This is a little more difficult than her Volume I workout, but still easy enough for the beginner. An intermediate level would be satisfied with this workout as well. No extra equipment is required; you only need a mat and a handtowel. Using a soft relaxing voice Louise Solomon offers wonderful explanations and demonstrations, with modified moves also demonstrated. This workout is slow and concentrated. A wonderful addition to her Volume I DVD for your collection.

I have been using this workout for about 2 years and am very pleased with the results. The combination of yoga and pilates moves are gentle but effective, can be done daily as an excellent morning stretch and I feel energized rather than tired or sore when I finish them. I am 60 years old and my Physical Therapist remarks that I am amazingly flexible and strong. My co-workers continually comment on the chnges they have noticed since I began this workout. I highly recommend Louise Solomon's program for anyone experiencing the stiffness of arthritis and joint/back discomfort that often accompanies the "aging process". It has been a vital addition to my daily routine!

"Yoga & Pilates" is a gentle workout, and "Yoga & Pilates Total Body Toner" is a little more strenuous. For three months I have been alternating these workouts, doing one every day. Within two weeks of starting this program my chronic back pain had vanished and I had much more energy. Within a month, people began mentioning that I look thinner, although I've only actually lost about 5 pounds (25 to go). I'm 60 years old, and feel healthier than I have felt in 20 years.

I found that this DVD offers both a great introduction to yoga/pilates as well as a great intermediate workout. Louise Solomon clearly and precisely guides you through introductory breathing exercises as well as exercises for the abs, upper body and lower body. You can work with each one of the beginner workouts or, if you have had some knowledge of either yoga or pilates, you can skip into the "Total Body Toner" workout without much difficulty. I love that the total body toner is about 20-30 minutes. For me, this is a great start and I feel stretched and rejuvenated. I can continue my workout on my own or quit after the "Total Body Toner" knowing that I have done a complete workout.

I would recommend this DVD for beginners due to the large amount of time Louise spends explaining basic principles and movements in the first three workouts: abs, upper body and lower body. For the intermediate or advanced level, this DVD might serve as a refresher of basic movements and breathing exercises.

I love this video and would recommend it.

This tape contains several workouts each focusing on a different area of the body and has a final workout containing a little bit of all the individual work outs.