Customer Reviews

Power Yoga for Happiness 2: The Surf Edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I couldn't wait for this to come out, given how much I liked the first serving of "Power Yoga for Happiness."

It doesn't disappoint. I really like Eoin's style - soothing voice, quirky comments, and good cueing overall.

It is rated as more advanced than the previous PYH, but I don't think I agree with that, not that it matters. Its at least intermediate, if you do the poses properly - crow, half moon, warrior 3 etc.

The routines are different versions of the long routine, and I know some people don't like that - it doesn't have a matrix like Shiva Rea's Yoga Shakti. the longest is 90 min, and the shortest 34 min.

However I really enjoy doing these routines, and feel great after them. There are lots of shoulder stretches and twists in this one given its for surfers, but good variety overall and a nice progression and and emphasis on working at your level - all levels, all good.

Probably the only thing I don't like is not being able to watch the screen much as the scenery is beautiful and relaxing.

Thanks Eoin and the team, great job!

I'm a huge fan of Eoin's. Found him through iTunes and downloaded all his free yoga podcasts. Having come from the Shiva Rea school of vinyasa, I found Eoin similar in structure but very different in energy. He moves you faster through the flows, truly one breath, one movement which is the definition of vinyasa. His DVDs are far less stylized than Shiva Rea's. I find them far more human; all three of the people doing yoga in the video make adjustments to their poses and don't do everything perfectly.
Eoin has grown enormously, in my opinion, over the past 6 years as both a yogi and a teacher. From doing his style of yoga for just 4 months, I can do things like Galavasana now which I could only laughingly say, "someday" when I saw Shiva Rea doing it in Yoga Shakti.
I love that Eoin, when giving options to go into deeper variations of a pose, always says, "and ask yourself why," For me, this really helps me identify how my ego plays into my yoga practice and can work against me in my agenda to have the happiest, healthiest 48 year old body I can possibly have. It is vulnerable work to face one's ego and Eoin gives such a nonjudgmental way to enter that door.
I love when he says "we're going to get funky" with whatever the pose is. I know that it is definitely going to be challenging and yes: Funky.
The DVD set is one long flow, 85 minutes. All the shorter flows are seamlessly connected sections; some shortened, some omitted to satisfy either a time constraint or a particular area of the body to work on. This DVD offers a huge amount of shoulder work which I appreciate, as I work a computer/phone desk job. I'm not a surfer, and I am quite sure that you don't have to be a surfer to totally groove on the DVD.
Eoin is playful and kind and very detailed in his instruction. His wife and the other woman doing the poses in the DVD are fabulous yoginis and delightful to watch. Someone is always demonstrating an easier and a harder variation from the classic pose.
The scenery is gorgeous, the music not obtrusive but pleasant, the production is very good and I finish every encounter with this DVD literally blissed out with my heart open and happy.
Rock on, brother Eoin! May you be as blessed by the world as the world is blessed by you!

Love Eoin Finn style and this dvd really has different sequences than his other dvds as well as from other yogis. I have been doing yoga with dvd support for quite a few years now with different teachers, Eoin remains my favorite. Well done with the scenery and the numerous routine possibilities. More challenging than pure and simple yoga which I thought was an easy version of his previous work + it offered few possibilities. As good as his previous dvds with some novelties. Hope more will come with intermediate-advance level and more novelties. I think I will be as addicted to this dvd as I was to his fisrt two. Keep up the good work Eoin! You made me love power yoga.

I wanted so much to like this program, but I just didn't. And I actually felt more stressed out and not at all calm after finishing (I had to do one of my other 20 min stress relief programs to try to feel better, which has never happend to me before). I bought this DVD not because I was a surfer or athlete, but because the scenery appealed to me and his last DVD (Power Yoga for Happiness) got such great reviews.

I tried the 47 minute program, which exposed me to 6 of the chapters. It felt less like yoga than any program I've tried. The focus seemed to be more on calorie burning (which he actually said at one point) and working out (which yes you will get a work out) than on true yoga.

I generally like a fast paced yoga workout that doesn't focus a lot on meditation. I have other power yoga workouts from other instructors that I quite enjoy. But the complete lack of focus on the breath in this DVD, and on really getting in tune w/ your body, just did not produce an effective practice for me.

My gripes:

1. sun salutations were entirely too fast; I have done fast sun salutation flows but never this fast, and I actually had trouble keeping up (and I know the poses as he is saying them).

2. choppy flow at times due to the piecing together of different parts and the shortening of some sections. I actually got confused a couple of times.

3. I really did not see many modifications, which I would have appreciated (I consider myself intermediate level and did need some modifications for some of these poses)

4. strange flow - he would do a bunch of poses on one side, then move to the other side, rather than doing each pose on each side. While this does produce more calorie burn, this left me feeling very unbalanced. One leg would be totally fatigued, and the other wouldn't. By the time we got to the other leg, I felt off balance again.

5. the music was not conducive to relaxation. It was nice, for sure, but not really slow enough for yoga. A bit upbeat.

6. Eoin is very likeable, but his voice and instruction did not at all aid me in trying to get into the practice. I found it distracting.

7. Sometimes I'd look up at the TV and it would be sunset, other times bright, sometimes the camera was on all three, sometimes only one, sometimes they were doing a modification, sometimes they weren't - all in the same pose. It seemed strangely put together.

So that's my two cents.

I think this is a workout that you would love if:

1. you are an athlete looking to tone muscles and that's about it

2. you don't want any kind of internal focus in your yoga, just a hard workout

3. your main goal is to burn calories and nothing else.

4. you like upbeat more than calming

5. you are intermediate or advanced in your yoga abilities

I want to burn calories sometimes and this is where power yoga comes in for me. But I also want to feel good at the end regardless of whether I'm doing power yoga or a gentle vinyasa flow. I did not here. I can honestly say that I will probably never view this program again. :-( I would recommend instead some of Rodney Yee's power yoga programs (Stamina, Strength, Flexibility), or Suzanne Deason's Lower Body Yoga.

Let me start by saying that I've been doing yoga on and off for about 10 years. I own a pretty good collection of yoga DVDs, and this DVD is one of my favorite in my collection!!!

I really like the fact that there are so many practices in this DVD!!!!! As a mother of a 7 month old, sometimes I don't have enough time to dedicate 1 hour plus to my yoga practice. So Eoin DVDs are amazing in this respect, I can do a 30 min or a 40 min (+-) if I am pressed with time. I just finished the Sunset Session and I feel amazing!!!! That's how I feel every time I do any practice on this DVD. I love the beach setting also!!! Very beautiful and relaxing. This DVD is challenging but doable at the same time. Love all the poses and the flows....very unique indeed. I also like the fact that Eoin doesn't do tons of sun salutations. Some other DVD practices have way too many round of sun salutations for my liking.

Eoin's instructions are very clear!!! I don't really need to look at the TV that much to see what they are doing. Eoin seems to be a nice down to earth person that has inspired me to take my yoga to the next level!!!! I can't wait to try more of his DVDs especially the new ones coming out in December 8th!!!!!!!

Thanks Eoin for putting together such magical yoga practices!!!!!

After taking yoga classes at college, I was desperate to find a video to keep it up at home and was frustrated by the sheer number of videos for each different style of yoga. I was extremely disappointed with most of the available dvds I could find; most were either too easy or too hokey.

This video is perfect; the routines flow, the scenery and music are soothing but not distracting, the cueing is good, and Eoin provides alternatives to modify the poses for various levels. Eoin also reminds you of proper body alignment to keep you from hurting yourself or straining anything. Even after just a couple of sessions my body feels looser and stronger and I feel more relaxed. I've tried others, but this video is just what I wanted.

The dvd includes strengthening and stretching for targeted areas- abs, shoulders, etc. as well as longer routines for more full-body work, and each routine is bordered by warm-up and sun salutations and a cool-down relaxation.

But a note- I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to yoga. It is a more intermediate video, even though it is easy to follow, the poses are ones that can be tricky to get right the first time in subtle ways. It's a phenomenal follow-up to a class or a continuation of yoga.

Power Yoga for Happiness 2 is a wonderful DVD. Eoinn Finn's teaching is clear, inspiring, filled with knowledge, and happily seasoned with a little dose of humor. The beach setting is peacefully natural and the students have lovely alignment and show all levels variations. It is a pleasure to watch and practice with.

I have almost all of Eoin Finn's yoga DVDs. He has turned out to be my favorite Yoga DVD instructor (and I have tried at least a dozen), and of them all this is the one I come back to most often. I have never been within fifteen feet of a surfboard, so these strike me as a few general intermediate vinyasa practices with a few separate routines emphasizing core and shoulder work.

I continually return to "Bliss Rider," the 42 minute, balanced workout.

After a few times through it's easy simply to be guided by Eoin's voice, which is lovely and calming but never too serious. What I most love about this disc, though, seems usually lower down on the list of important yoga disc features: the music, which here is subtle, interesting and beautiful. Best of all: Savasana on "Bliss Rider," (maybe a few others too) with seagulls calling in the background. So relaxing!

It's clear that this man understands how yoga can be as much about joy as about pushing one's edges, learning alignment principles, etc. By all appearances, he's kind and generous of spirit (and occasionally just silly enough) as well as a very accomplished yogi, and all this comes through in is teaching. I always feel good after using his instruction.

This is a super program. I have been using it for the last two months and can feel a difference in my surfing performance and my overall health. I recommend it to any surfer who wants to involve yoga in their training. The benefits of the yoga in this DVD will help your overall athleticism and I would venture to guess any sport you partake in.

I would say that I am a novice at yoga. So, I thought for some reason that I would like this video. I mean I surfed for a while, so I can appreciate the appeal of practicing yoga near the ocean and stuff. But, the "flow" really moves, so if you're not already proficient at yoga, then you might get a little lost with this DVD.