Customer Reviews

The Pursuit of Happy Hips with Eoin Finn

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a lovely DVD!
Eoin Finn's newest DVD is in many ways his best yet.
As promised, there are four routines, ranging in length from 80 minutes to just over 40, of various degrees of difficulty.
Even though there is some overlap, I definitely didn't feel like I was doing parts of the same routine. Each practice had something absolutely to offer in terms of sequences and poses.
World Champion's Hips (80 minutes) and Hot Chocolate (about 60 minutes) are probably my favorite (and probably more challenging than others) - they include nicely paced sun salutes and two rounds of sun salutes with extra push-ups - but only two rounds, some very nice variations of standing poses combined with shoulder and chest openers, hip opening poses, back bends (front body openers) as Eoin calls them (bow, wheel, again, with interesting variations). Hot Chocolate includes crow and some interesting squat work, WC's Hips includes some wonderful splits variations. Lovely core work is included in these segments as well.

Downhill and Easy Street are more relaxed practices, they include some sun salutations and some standing poses, lovely hip openers, Easy Street has a nice seated meditation.

All practices include wonderful hip opening work - from every angle - hip flexors, glute muscles and underlying smaller muscle groups, hamstrings, quads, etc. Each practice also offers fantastic shoulder and chest openers.

The pace of the practice is very very pleasant - there is no rush to get in and out of the pose, there is a lot of emphasis on alignment, and gradually getting into a pose deeper. There is also a lot less vinyasa than in previous DVD - i.e. once you get into seated poses you stay seated.

Eoin's narration is absolutely wonderful, playful, light and humorous (that's what we love his DVDs for) yet he provides some extremely valuable guidelines how to get into each pose correctly so it feels right, etc.

Eoin also offers some really nice insights, without being preachy or dogmatic in the slightest, he shares a lot of yogic wisdom.

The cast is great - you can tell some members are Winter sports Olympians - they use ski poles to assist with balancing poses ;)

The music is pleasant, mostly instrumental.

The background is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

I've been working my way through the 4 routines and over 4 hours of yoga that are presented on this DVD. This yoga is, as Eoin might say, pure honey! The hips are a huge joint, the connector between the upper and lower body. Eoin stresses the importance of bringing good energy to the hips-- "When we unlock the hips, stress disappears, our movements become more efficient, and our outlook on life becomes positive." I like positive! This DVD definitely focuses on the hips by offering various front and back hip opening postures like stretching lunges, pigeon and cow/face variations, as well as strengthening for the hips in strong warriors, lunges, and balancing sequences.

The first routine I did was 79 minutes long, titled "World Championships Hips." This was the "big kahuna," offering hip work and opening, core strength sequences, and a well balanced practice of forward and back bending, and twists. The whole shebang!

A few days later I tried the 51 minute mellow flow, "Easy Street." This routine employed classical sun salutations which I LOVED, as well as a lovely mermaid stretch posture that I tucked into my "favorites" queue for the time being.

The following week I took it "All Downhill" with the 43 minute routine. This was well balanced with just enough challenge to refresh me, but leave me feeling pretty Zen. Hip openers here included standing pigeon and half-frog pigeon.

Finally, I finished my disc with the 57 minute "Hot Chocolate" flow. This was challenging! Chest openers were welcome in the first part of the class. The core strengthening sequence in plank and forearm plank was demanding, but rewarded with some amazing stretching. The relaxation was nice and long, well earned.

The music was great throughout, as were the narration voices. Sometimes it was Eoin, sometimes a woman (who I'm guessing might be Insiya Rasiwala-Finn). The cueing was phenomenal. I found that I could completely listen to the cues and do the practice without watching the video at all. The poses were broken down with great detail, without being obnoxious. Trikonasana, for example, was set up in stages to truly feel the alignment. The hip openers, particularly pigeons, were directed with great care. Each pose came with an explanation- why do it, where to feel it, what to activate. I find this approach extremely important for both beginner and experienced practitioners. I did find myself over thinking some of the postures as I was led into them more slowly than I typically move, and for me...thinking can be dangerous. So finding a balance here was a personal point.

Another feature I enjoyed was the relevant quotes, quips, stories, and yoga-ish thoughts that were presented between cues. The whole package of the music, voice, and words made me feel like life was really "all good" as I breathed into each flow.

One aspect I did find myself wanting on was more warm-up, maybe starting a little gentler with some breath work, joint moving, and spine warming. This is just a personal preference I suppose, and I could certainly do my own warm-ups when I do the sessions again. The "Easy Street" flow offered a longer sun salutation warm-up, but the other routines jumped right into the fitness, with only one or two sun salutations. I did appreciate the upper body strength offerings of the double chaturanga though.

Even though I could have listened to the exceptional guiding without watching the video, I couldn't help but look in awe (envy??) at the beautiful settings that the disc showed, (sunsets, mountains, urban and deserted beaches, fields of flowers) and the great supporting cast that demonstrated various options of the poses. Although I did find myself wondering...where are all Eoin's guy friends? As far as the technical stuff of DVD-ing goes, the production is top notch.

The DVD extras include a great section on knee safety and alignment, which is key when practicing hip opening poses in yoga. Another extra features the connection between yoga and sports, with interviews from yogis, sports extremists, and in-betweeners, along with an "athlete's meditation." The website also offers downloadable routines and PDF files of the routines.

Hips are happy, body is happy, mind is free. Shanti Shanti Shanti!

I have both Power Yoga for Happiness and Power Yoga for Happiness 2: The Surf Edition and a fan of Eoin Finn's power yoga style. "The Pursuit of Happy Hips" is his latest DVD and does not disappoint. It is very similar in style and asanas found on the Power Yoga for Happiness titles, however, there is definitely an emphasis on your hips. There are 4 separate Yoga routines on this single DVD. A 50 minute relaxed class focusing on stretching and meditative movement. A ~50 minute physical class that is similar to the "Strength" and "Hip" class on Power Yoga for Happiness, a shorter version of the physical class (~40 minutes), and a hardcore 80 minute routine. Though none of the asanas are particularly acrobatic(standing pigeon to crow pose with single leg extension is as acrobatic as it gets), the routine is intense, challenging and always interesting. I have been practicing regularly for about 7 years and was amazed at the amount my hips were worked. The class is made up of Canadian Olympians and it feels the flow is geared towards athletes and skiers, but it still feels very much like a yoga class. Though I feel that PYFH1 is Eoin's best, his verbal cues are a bit quirky. In PYFH2 his quirkiness is definitely toned down, but I don't like the work out as much because the lack of backbends. I feel "The Pursuit of Happy Hips" is a perfect balance of the 2; a well balanced work out and positive verbal cues. Nice work.

I really enjoyed this DVD. Although Eoin mentions that this DVD would be good at any level, I think that if someone was really new to exercise in general, this may not be a good fit. There is a person doing a modified version for many of the poses, but it's not always easy to see what she is doing, and they don't always discuss the modifiers so it's a matter of watching, or already knowing what possible modifications to make.

Easy Street (51 minutes): I take one day a week off from the elliptical and strength exercise but usually try to get in some walking. On this particular day off, I opted to try this yoga flow instead of walking, looking for something gentle to provide some stretching. I was feeling a bit tight when I first started but felt wonderful after. This practice starts in a sitting meditation, thinking about your breath and alignment, before moving into some gentle cat / cow and downward dog stretches. It then goes into sun salutation with 2 rounds for each leg and a nice standing stretching flow that begins from warrior 2. Pigeon pose with forward bend is next, and he gives very good instructions on form and alignment. Next is a stretch series that is about 11 minutes long and includes several different seated forward bends, upward (reverse) plank, revolved head to knee and a ballet arch pose. Stretching continues with half spinal twist and gomukhasana. The flow closes with seated breathing (3 minutes) and shivasana (4 minutes), and back to seated breathing. This flow was yummy.

All Downhill (43 minutes): I completed this after doing the elliptical and some of Shiva Rea's Creative Core Abs. This flow starts in a brief standing meditation and then sun salutation and moves into a warrior 2 flow (same as from Easy Street). The next sequence includes several balance poses, including optional advanced variations. It continues with backbending and pigeon pose, this time doing a gentle backbend while lifting and grabbing the back foot during pigeon. He then goes into a 6.5 minute stretch flow that is a shorter version of the one from Easy Street, including forward bends, upward plank, and revolved head to knee. Stretching continues with gomukhasana, spinal twist, and supine pigeon pose. The flow closes with Shivasana and moves back to seated. I really enjoyed this flow as well, and liked the balance poses.

Hot Chocolate (57 minutes): This starts in standing moving into what Eoin calls the ultra yang sun salutation and a standing flow that includes optional crow pose and squats. It continues with some challenging butt and core toners before relaxing into the seated forward bend flow with the same poses as from Easy Street. He then continues into challenging boat pose variations, and then relaxes again into hip openers. Next is the backbending and and pigeon pose variation that is the same as from All Downhill. Then half wheel pose with optional full wheel. The last cycle of poses includes happy baby, supine leg stretch, and supine gomukhasana, and then closing with Shivasana. I really liked this flow, although it seemed a bit long by the end. Next time I might hit the skip button to skip by the standing flow chapter to really concentrate on the core work and hip opening. I loved the core work and boat pose variations.

World Champion's Hips (79 minutes): I did not complete this flow, but he refers to it as the "Full Monty", and looks like it includes the material from the other flows.

There are also two flows that can be downloaded from Eoin's web page. There is a coupon with the DVD to download one of them for free.

All in all I really, really like this DVD and see it becoming one of my favorites. As mentioned by others, the setting is beautiful, the narration is very good.

What can I say but so far, so good? I've only played a part of the long program, but after 40 minutes of sun salutations and pigeon poses, I'm limbered up and ready for hours of swing dancing. Finn speaks to my funny bone with his Canadian surfer dialect, but more serious yoga practitioners might find his goofy similes annoying. Personally, when he says a a position should feel chocolatey smooth or something, it makes me realize I should focus on being comfortable.

Eoin Finn is probably my favorite yoga instructor on DVD. I do his routines frequently -- both from this DVD and "Yoga for Happiness". While they are fitness-oriented, his routines contain a combination of basic and challenging poses and always modifications. You can get sweaty and still get that "mind-body connection thing" that yoga should give you.

Eoin has a very nice voice and I have to say that he says the funniest things in a very serious way! I have been mentally planning a trip to Vancouver, BC just so I can take one of his yoga classes. This dvd was a great purchase and I would buy it again.

I hesitated on purchasing this workout because I don't like doing yoga longer than 30 minutes. I'm happy I did. The workout has some very good stopping points and I've been breaking it up into 20 minute workouts. I use it mostly after runs. I can certainly feel the stretch in my hips and can tell a difference too. This is my first workout by Eion. His voice is so calming and I like how he slowly and genly takes you through each move. This has become one of my favorite workouts. If you like doing yoga, you will not be disappointed.

Eoin is hilarious (I don't think he means to be) but he is an excellent instructor. He is truly "chill", but his yoga routines kick your butt. I have been doing yoga DVDs for years but this is REALLY yoga, no pilates, no discussion about heart rate.... There are 4 combinations to choose from and you can, most likely, find one that will fit your needs every day.

Once again - Eoin 'brings it'!

I've been a fan of Eoin's yoga routines via DVD for 9 years & they are all easy to do, provide great verbal redirection & body alignment cues & fabulous "Eoinisms".

Happy Hips is all things good!

Thanks & Namste

As far as DVD's for at home practice, this is THE ONE. The hips opening poses are the deepest I've ever seen on a DVD. And its a great deal because there are over 4 hours of Yoga. This is a must have for anyone who is a serious at home yogi. I love that this is not at all easy, but if you are newer to yoga or not feeling well there is an Easy Street practice and modifications for beginner ease. I highly recommend.

.5 star off for phrases like "juicy, honey, and sweet", a little too cheesy for me, but in no way detracts from the goodness.