16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harder than it Looks, February 21, 2005
This review is from: The Santa Fe Stretch (DVD)
I tried this DVD with the idea that as a weight lifter and gymrat, that this would be a way to get flexible and enjoy the area of New Mexico that I love...boy was it a surprise...it is not just a stretch video and my abdominals really got a workout.I did like the stretches, although West seemed to move more like a dancer and that was abit too feminine for me, but the floor work, the what she called "Marine Floats",my center worked hard and it was tough...even as she spoke so gently, the movement was hard work...I told my friends about the abdominal work and we all did it together and laughed at the idea that the soft voice could be doing such hard things...
The lovely shots of Santa Fe were special to me as I used to live around there and recognized the area. There are scenes that almost steal the show from West.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it!, September 4, 2005
This review is from: The Santa Fe Stretch (DVD)
I do the Santa Fe Stretch almost every day. This is the perfect exercise routine for somebody relatively new to yoga, who wants to get into it, and build up their strength and flexibility. The series starts with a simple warm-up and ends with deep stretches and yoga positions. At first there was no way I could do it all, but it didn't put me off. I felt encouraged and did what I could, and then built up until I could do all three series comfortably. In fact, I have introduced several friends and relatives and given copies of The Santa Fe Stretch to people from ages 17-75, and it is appropriate for all. The exercises and positions are peaceful, and beautifully paced. I feel more in harmony, both mentally and physically from doing the Santa Fe Stretch.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
White_waves 9/10/05 wrote a great review, August 22, 2006
This review is from: The Santa Fe Stretch (DVD)
The menu is quite simple, only the options of the 3 chapter workout or play all.
Sue West does the warmup & deep stretches exercises outside & though I was in a hurry to exercise to be ready to go out after, I felt very calm from the beautiful scenery, the music or Sue herself w/her calms soft-spoken voice.
The warm-up consists of very simple stretches that many have seen before. The floorwork is set inside someone's home, consisting of crunches, boat pose in yopga & other ab work, pilates such as the hundreds & others & many different kinds of leg lifts or leg holds to work the abs & legs. The deep stretches is yoga based mostly with deep lunges, side angle, butterly, forward bends, wide legged forwards, downward dog, holding plank/push-up position, etc. along with more simple stretches & good seated spinal twists.
I agree Sue West is very flexible & you can easily see she is/was a former dancer or at least was heavily into it as a hobby, with more then a hint of ballet in her foot holds/moving style. I was surprised how much older her face looked though her body looks to be the envy of any woman in her 20s or 30s or any age. She can easily kick her foot to her head or do easy seated leg splits.
I had a little trouble keeping up at the the point of the deep lunges, but survived though I've been doing exercise dvds reguraly for over 4 years. This isn't my favorite dvd, but the content is great & the production quality is simple, but not bad at all. Only a little wind/thunder at the end is slightly in the way though it's cool to hear the thunder.
Take off 2 stars if you're expecting anything other then a only light simple soft piano music & slow pace of pilates/yoga.
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