Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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157 of 158 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Rodney Yee's Best!, August 27, 2005
I did this one this morning, and I love it! It's an hour and really is quite a bit different from Rodney's usual stuff...it's not that the poses are held any longer than usual, but they're executed really slowly (though not TOO slowly, at least for me, lol) and repeated 2-3x.
It's hard to describe, but it almost feels like a dance, the way he puts it all together...he's soooo graceful anyway, and this really showcases that fact. I was able to get into wide-legged forward bend much deeper than I usually am able, and I think it's the way he sequences this pose with others...i.e., he twists (slowly, of course) to the right, holds the pose, drops down to the left with right arm extended overhead, turns into left one-legged forward bend, then comes through into wide-legged forward bend (hope I explained this well enough! lol). It's all done so gracefully it makes me want to be just as graceful.
Some of it felt pretty challenging...he does a very slow 10-count-up, 10-count-down cobra pose 3x that I really felt. He also does "baby cobra" pushing into downward dog (again, very slowly) with knees bent, gradually extending the knees into full downward dog. This one really felt good to me.
Also, there's an audio option to turn off all talking except for his announcing each pose as he goes into it...I didn't use it, but it's there for anyone who'd be interested in such a thing.
I usually do from 30 minutes to an hour of some kind of yoga a day, usually following my cardio or weights, or whatever I'm doing that day, and I found this to be at a moderate level for me. I really love the way it's all put together and the way it flows at a nice slow pace, yet still feels challenging enough in all the right places...can you tell I really like this one?
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97 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
burning awareness, August 21, 2006
This is a beautiful, mindful, and potentially powerful yoga practice. It is true that there are no big surprise poses in this sequence--all are well-known, fairly basic level poses. The main audio option contains some instruction, but mostly about moving into and out of the poses; there is not much about alignment within the pose. Complete beginners may need more instruction and modifications than available here. The other audio option omits instruction at all, containing only prompts for moving from one pose to another. The basic poses, simple instruction, and deemphasis on speed makes this dvd a good place for advanced beginners who have some knowledge of the poses to deepen their understanding of them, and for anyone, irrespective of level, to work on the mindful awareness aspect of their yoga practice.
The intensity in this dvd comes, not from speed or difficulty of poses, but from deep, slow, conscious repetition of fundamental asanas, with the time to build awareness of movement into, within, and out of them. Yoga is not meant to be a purely physical activity. The awareness aspect of yoga is rightfully considered advanced practice, and the familiar poses presented here allow the mind to take precedence. The point is not merely physical endurance (though, if done right, this sequence will also challenge the body in that way). The purpose is at least twofold: physically, to develop long and lean muscle through slow repetition of simple postures, and mentally, to use the simplicity of the poses as a platform for developing presence and awareness with each pose. Yoga is, after all, about the mind-body connection, and this practice aims at allowing the time and space for working on this crucial element. For those ready to move their yoga practice beyond the physical dimension while still developing the body, this is a lovely practice dvd.
The asanas are presented in small cycles of three poses or so with about three repetitions each, so it is hard to present an exact sequence, but here is a list of poses, roughly as they appear in the practice: Staff, Flying Crossed Legged Pose, Cobbler, Half Boat, Boat, Simple Crossed Leg Twist, Cat, Down Dog, Plank, Cobra, Single-legged Down Dog, Triangle, Warrior 2, Standing Forward Bend, Chair, Standing Side Stretch, Warrior 1 and 2, Low Lunge with backbend, Low lunge with hands in reverse prayer, Bow, Cobbler with forward bend, Head to Knee forward bend, Wide Angle forward bend series, Seated Forward Bend, Back Stretch, Reclined Bent Knee Twist, Bridge, Reclined Leg Stretch, Reclined Crossed Leg to Chest, Corpse.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great, March 28, 2006
I'm fairly new to yoga and was intrigued at doing a "slow flow" workout. At worst I thought I would have a relaxing practice that I could alternate with a more vigorous workout. Yoga Burn surprised me! I'm finding that the more I get into the slow pace, work on mindfulness and detail the more I feel the "burn". I feel it in my abs and afterwards my upper arms feel like they have been really worked out. My chest also feels more open and free than it has in years. The key as Rodney says is keep it slow and keep your mind with it. Rodney ends the practice by saying "Thank You" "Namaste", I find myself saying "No, thank you! Rodney" for a great DVD!
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