Customer Reviews

Romana's Pilates: Introduction to Pilates Mat [VHS]

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

 

 

I am a certified instructor who studied with Bob Liekens and Romana Kryzanowska during the 1990s. With out a doubt I am fortunate to haved trained with both of these famous Pilates instructors.

When I first heard that Romana was going to be on video, I thought, WOW, this is great! Unfortunately, this video does not live up to the excellent teachings of Romana. It seems like the producer and director didn't have a focued purpose: did they want to create a documentary, or, did they want to creat a mass market Pilates video? It's a little of both, and somehow, this video is neither a documentary nor a mass market video. Watching this video, I wondered if Romana had control.

As I watched the performer demonstrate Pilates, she seemed self-conscious and a little nervous about which exercises were coming next sometimes.

I was hoping to get a first rate documentary, and a good instructional video. Instead, I bought a lackluster mixture.

I'm the granddaughter of Romana Kryzanowska, and I've been surprised by a few of the not so favorable reviews some folks have issued here. I think this video series is great, if you're a beginner and have not had much exposure to the Pilates method, then this is a great way to start the learning process and have something you can follow at home. Because this is Romana's first video series, many individuals with existing Pilates experience have very lofty expectations and are looking for something that will help them become better Pilates teachers. Simply put, these folks are missing the boat; this series is for beginners, not certified instructors or experienced Pilates students. This series wasn't designed to replace an advanced or Continuing Education seminar, those require supervision or individuals can take on unnecessary risk when trying to work out at home. Later videos may focus on more advanced pieces of Pilates equipment and exercises for more experienced Pilates students and teachers, just not this series. My grandmother has always been reserved about providing instruction through video, for one simple reason...Safety. As a result, her video series takes into account the range of people who may buy and use them with Safety being a primary driver of the exercises that were selected for the first edition. If you?re new to Pilates, buy it and begin your Pilates journey in a safe manner; experienced instructors and students get yourselves to the studio and take a lesson with a certified instructor.

I was quite excited to learn about the lessons taught by Romana Kryzanowska, the last living disciple of Joseph Pilates. It is not every day that you have someone teaching you Pilates who actually studied with Joseph Pilates.

The Introduction to Pilates Matwork introduces you to the magic of Pilates and I must say this seems to be more for serious students of Pilates or for anyone interested in seriously changing their body shape.

If you are new to Pilates, this will also gives you the basics and some of the history I was not aware of when I first started exercising. I started to get a sense of how everything evolved and how Pilates has become so prominent in the exercise culture.

There are many segments in this DVD, so it is not only informative, you get two exercise sections. In one, you have a one on one lesson with Romana and then there is a Workout with rapid sequences that will be enjoyed by intermediate students.

Other special features:

Wall alignment warm up
History
Special Wakeup Routine
Documentary

Mari Windsor appears in the documentary. It was fun to see her talking about Romana since Mari first introduced me to Pilates in her Accelerated Body Sculpting videos. While I had done other Pilates exercises in many workouts, that was the first time I actually realized the exercises were part of Joseph Pilates innovative techniques for body sculpting.

Some of the basics you will learn in this workout:

The Hundred
Leg Circles
Rolling Like a Ball
Roll-Up

The results of Pilates are long-lasting and healing. You can literally resculpt your entire body with a good routine. When you see Romana at 80 years old and how flexible she is and how she moves like a dancer even while walking, you will be very motivated to keep up with your exercises.

Romana's energy and zest for life is refreshing and I lament the fact that I did not have anyone like her in my life as a teenager. Sometimes you need a little extra motivation and for someone to care enough to show you how to take care of your physical form. Romana stated Pilates at the young age of 15 and her life is an inspiration. There are quite a few secrets in these DVDs that I have not seen in any other Pilates workouts.

This DVD put everything into perspective and I think this is one of the essential Pilates DVDs to watch because I learned so much about the history and the introduction to Romana's life was magical. She made me want to keep up with my exercises for the rest of my life.

~The Rebecca Review

P.S. If you enjoy this DVD, you may also want to read Ultimate Pilates by Dreas Reyneke.

Also Highly Recommended:

Winsor Pilates with Mari Winsor
The Method Standing Pilates Blend
MTV Pilates Mix
Crunch Fat Burning Pilates
The Method Pilates Target Specifics
Crunch Pick Your Spot Pilates

I've taken Pilates classes and also bought a couple of tapes that I was satisfied with, but I found this video especially good. The instruction is demonstrated and explained well enough and slow enough that a beginner can pick it up quickly. The slow motion playbacks of the moves is an added bonus. The first half of the tape I felt like I was in a private class with Romana!Can't beat getting instruction from the master instructer who was taught by Joe Pilates himself! I found one of her other videos The Powerhouse Mat Workout challenging and I'm considered fit...I'll have to work up to being able to complete that one! But I will be purchasing all of her tapes!

This is a good introduction video that walks you through basic moves.
I found that there was more documentary than exercise.
Great to hear from someone that actually practice with Joseph Pilates.

While I appreciate the historical value of this video and its explanation of classic Pilates history, it is erroneously marketed as an exercise class. The content is particularly dissapointing for anyone with a low-to-moderate fitness level. The rushed and competitive manner in which the material is presented may encourage beginners to take on more risk of injury than would be appropiate for their level. If you're looking for a carefully guided class for beginners, go elsewhere.

I thought this video might actually be practice footage to study before filming the final version, then releasing this video to the public. Sometimes the demonstrator seemed to not know which exercise was coming next. I confess that I bought this video because of the beautiful cover design. It goes to show, you can't judge a video by it's cover. Although the old film reel footage is good of the woman named Romana, I wasn't satisfied with the workout section.

I've been trying to learn Pilates at my gym, and through video tapes. This one looked good, and I was told there was a famous Pilates instructor on it. So I bought it. This video was ok, but it only has fundamental Pilates exercises. Since it's good to have a goal to work for, I found that "Pilates for Everyone" and "Classical Pilates" showed many more exercises. They even have intermediate and advanced exercises. So I was somewhat disappointed after buying "Romana's Pilates." The famous person on this video was wonderful in her prime. There just wasn't enough material to learn from.

While I enjoyed the documentary aspect of learning about Pilates and about Romana (who is very inspirational), the workout included in this DVD was only about 5 minutes long and terribly disappointing. I wish I had bought it used instead of spending $15 on it. I will share it with friends so they can see the background of the workout I've been enjoying for over a year, but I won't mind if it never makes it way home to me again.

I started Pilates last year and enjoy working out. This video was recommended by some of my friends who are 'in the know.' They said the Woman named Romana is famous, and that I would be glad to study this video. This video seemed too basic. Why sell a video that only shows the basic mat? Other videos have basic-intermediate, or intermediate-advanced levels, which provide inspiration to achieve more and learn more. Although Romana is probably an excellent instructor in person, I didn't see what was supposedly so special. If you are at the basic level, and only want to stay at the basic level, I guess this video could be worthwhile.