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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The title, Flow Yoga for Beginners, is slightly oxymoronic, as "flow" yoga, at least as practiced by many yogis and yoginis, is by its very nature more aerobic, vigorous, and difficult than the yoga undertaken by most beginning students. But leave it to Shiva Rea, whose growing series of home videos is arguably the best on the market, to reconcile those two disparate factors--for the most part, anyway. Rea defines the flow concept as "the ability to move freely in an unbroken string of awareness"; in more pedestrian terms, it’s a continuous sequence of poses, one moving freely and naturally to the next, which tends to generate heat and deepen control of the breath. The breath, specifically ujjayi pranayama, is the centerpiece of Rea’s introduction to this 70-minute program; her instructions in the use of this basic but hard-to-explain technique are excellent. Thereafter, she spends about 20 minutes on backbends (from simple standing and lunging backbends to poses like cobra, bow, locust, and camel, which can be very challenging for inexperienced students); this segment also includes a few twists. Next, the "Relaxing Flexibility Flow" sequence consists mostly of counterposes such as the "happy baby" and badakonasana (cobbler’s pose), while the "Standing Pose Flow," the longest and best of the lot, focuses on poses including and derived from virabadrasana II (aka warrior II), one of the common standing positions. It’s all good, but while Rea provides detailed instruction and simpler variations for many poses, genuine beginners would do well to study the program closely before attempting it; and even then, poses like chaturanga dandasana (a lowered pushup) are rarely taught in beginners classes, even in their easier versions. As for the lush Hawaiian scenery, well, great, but the practice of hatha yoga ultimately depends on going inside, even to the point of doing it with eyes closed. Still and all, while it’s not quite up to the standards of Shiva Rea’s other videos, Flow Yoga for Beginners is a winner. --Sam Graham
Product Description
A superb introduction to one of the most beneficial and rewarding forms of yoga
Flow yoga, also called vinyasa yoga, combines flowing movement with rhythmic breathing for a dynamic mind-body workout. Like a moving meditation, flow yoga unites mind, body, and breath. Your mind clears, your body calms, even as your pulse quickens.
Renowned and innovative flow yoga teacher Shiva Rea leads this introductory practice, filmed amid breathtaking scenery on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. She begins with a seated mediation that teaches you how to link breath with movement. Three more segments introduce her flowing approach to classic poses. Transitions from pose to pose are graceful and easy. You may not have Shiva's flexibility (yet), but you can follow her lead in ways that work for you. Feel yourself becoming stronger and more supple. Sense your new energy and find the fluidity that has always been yours.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
168 of 178 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is a good yoga video. It is well shot with good production values and clear narration. If one is already familiar with hatha yoga, one will not have trouble following along and doing Shiva Rea's routines. It is good for a "video workout partner," and gives you the choice of watching the set without narration.
Ms. Rea is obviously competent, talented, and very adept at yoga. She is quite attractive and demonstrates the overall forms and their "flow" well. The routines are modifications or variations of more traditional forms of yoga, but not drastically so. Some of the forms reminded me of qigong.
The set of exercises on this DVD would constitute a healthy program for someone already in fairly good shape, but I seriously doubt that a couch potato with no understanding of yoga could benefit from it. If you are elderly or have any kind of physical issue, there is no instruction aimed at helping you do the forms or modify them for your needs.
I have to take issue with the marketing of this DVD with the clear statement on the cover that it is for beginners with no yoga experience. I strongly disagree with that. Ms. Rea uses sanskrit terminology frequently without explaining or defining it, and assumes a fair amount of familiarity with yogic techniques/philosophy in her narration. Someone who knows nothing about yoga would not be able to understand all of what is going on, even though they might be able to mimic most of the physical movements after studying the DVD. They will miss some of the more important parts of the process, which are internal/energy-based, and therefore not obvious to a beginner.
For example, telling someone to "move into Downward Facing Dog" is NOT teaching them how to do Downward Facing Dog, which is what beginners need. It loses one star for that serious defect in teaching and misleading cover.
It would also be more helpful to show closeups of the various body parts and have her explain more clearly how they are moving. Some of the movements are far too subtle to be captured in a wide shot, no matter how beautiful that shot is. The breathing exercises at the beginning are a clear case in point. It is virtually impossible to see the subtle movements she narrates as she does them. Not very helpful if one is trying to learn something unfamiliar.
If she would add another (equally well done) section where she explains in much more detail how each posture is done, along with onscreen text and multiple views, this could easily be a solid 5 star DVD. She also needs to add more instruction on esoteric ideas like "opening your heart" and "moving your energy," as well as to explain the sanskrit terminology, before demonstrating the actual flow of forms.
If you are already familiar with yoga or other energy/movement forms such as qigong or Taiji, then you will probably be able to learn from this DVD, although it will require more effort on your part than it should. If you already know the forms, it is a great "workout partner" to exercise along with.
I would definitely not recommend this for absolute beginners.
Ms. Rea is obviously competent, talented, and very adept at yoga. She is quite attractive and demonstrates the overall forms and their "flow" well. The routines are modifications or variations of more traditional forms of yoga, but not drastically so. Some of the forms reminded me of qigong.
The set of exercises on this DVD would constitute a healthy program for someone already in fairly good shape, but I seriously doubt that a couch potato with no understanding of yoga could benefit from it. If you are elderly or have any kind of physical issue, there is no instruction aimed at helping you do the forms or modify them for your needs.
I have to take issue with the marketing of this DVD with the clear statement on the cover that it is for beginners with no yoga experience. I strongly disagree with that. Ms. Rea uses sanskrit terminology frequently without explaining or defining it, and assumes a fair amount of familiarity with yogic techniques/philosophy in her narration. Someone who knows nothing about yoga would not be able to understand all of what is going on, even though they might be able to mimic most of the physical movements after studying the DVD. They will miss some of the more important parts of the process, which are internal/energy-based, and therefore not obvious to a beginner.
For example, telling someone to "move into Downward Facing Dog" is NOT teaching them how to do Downward Facing Dog, which is what beginners need. It loses one star for that serious defect in teaching and misleading cover.
It would also be more helpful to show closeups of the various body parts and have her explain more clearly how they are moving. Some of the movements are far too subtle to be captured in a wide shot, no matter how beautiful that shot is. The breathing exercises at the beginning are a clear case in point. It is virtually impossible to see the subtle movements she narrates as she does them. Not very helpful if one is trying to learn something unfamiliar.
If she would add another (equally well done) section where she explains in much more detail how each posture is done, along with onscreen text and multiple views, this could easily be a solid 5 star DVD. She also needs to add more instruction on esoteric ideas like "opening your heart" and "moving your energy," as well as to explain the sanskrit terminology, before demonstrating the actual flow of forms.
If you are already familiar with yoga or other energy/movement forms such as qigong or Taiji, then you will probably be able to learn from this DVD, although it will require more effort on your part than it should. If you already know the forms, it is a great "workout partner" to exercise along with.
I would definitely not recommend this for absolute beginners.
83 of 86 people found the following review helpful
By Yoni
Amazon Verified Purchase
I was so glad to get another new Shiva DVD less than 5 months since her last one. This DVD was filmed in Kauai , Hawaii as well as her next DVD's to be released this year and next year. This practice is aimed for beginners but everyone can enjoy it , the whole DVD is 70 minutes and has 4 segments (and savasana) that can be done seperately:
1. Foundation Flow - approx 14 min, Shiva starts with some breathing exercises on a rock near a beautiful waterfall and continues with simple poses like cat , cobra and some variations.
2. Beginner's Backbend Flow -approx. 20 min, there is a change of scenery and Shiva is in a beautiful garden with a lot of trees near a lake.
It is actually mainly standing poses - she prepares you for backbends in this practice with some lunge variations , chair with twists ,side bends, half splits and cobra variations and finally bow and camel. This segment might be quite challenging for true beginners but she shows easier modifications for most of the poses so it's definitely doable.
3.Relaxing Flexibility Flow - approx. 10 min , Shiva does simple stretches on the back , very similar to "supine poses" segment in Yoga Shakti it ends with a forward bend (badhakonasana) , it was very relaxing.
4. Beginner's Standing Pose Flow - approx 23 min . now she's at the beach , the clip from Amazon is taken from this segment and it is dark here too not just in the clip , it was probably shot at dusk. This is really a seperate practice cuz there is no sense of getting up for another energizing practice after the relaxing segment. It is a more challenging vinyasa that includes warrior 2 variations and some more backbends.
Too bad there is no matrix , because this segment is just stuck between the previous segments and the savasana ,it would be nice to do it before or after the second segment but since there are only a few chapters I guess it's not such a big deal to skip between them with the remote.
This segment also ends with a very short savasana , barely 2 minutes, which is another minor complaint but all in all I really enjoyed this practice and felt really stretched out , I can't wait for her next DVD's to come out.
1. Foundation Flow - approx 14 min, Shiva starts with some breathing exercises on a rock near a beautiful waterfall and continues with simple poses like cat , cobra and some variations.
2. Beginner's Backbend Flow -approx. 20 min, there is a change of scenery and Shiva is in a beautiful garden with a lot of trees near a lake.
It is actually mainly standing poses - she prepares you for backbends in this practice with some lunge variations , chair with twists ,side bends, half splits and cobra variations and finally bow and camel. This segment might be quite challenging for true beginners but she shows easier modifications for most of the poses so it's definitely doable.
3.Relaxing Flexibility Flow - approx. 10 min , Shiva does simple stretches on the back , very similar to "supine poses" segment in Yoga Shakti it ends with a forward bend (badhakonasana) , it was very relaxing.
4. Beginner's Standing Pose Flow - approx 23 min . now she's at the beach , the clip from Amazon is taken from this segment and it is dark here too not just in the clip , it was probably shot at dusk. This is really a seperate practice cuz there is no sense of getting up for another energizing practice after the relaxing segment. It is a more challenging vinyasa that includes warrior 2 variations and some more backbends.
Too bad there is no matrix , because this segment is just stuck between the previous segments and the savasana ,it would be nice to do it before or after the second segment but since there are only a few chapters I guess it's not such a big deal to skip between them with the remote.
This segment also ends with a very short savasana , barely 2 minutes, which is another minor complaint but all in all I really enjoyed this practice and felt really stretched out , I can't wait for her next DVD's to come out.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I have another hatha yoga DVD that was filmed in Hawaii, and it is just so nice to have the soothing sounds, beautiful backgrounds and gentle lighting of Hawaii helping you relax into your yoga poses. Shiva Rea's voice is smooth and encouraging, and while she is extremely flexible, she gives you hope as you go that, while you might not be limber right now, you can get that way with practice.
This tape only has four real parts. You can either watch them chapter by chapter, or all in a row. You can also choose to watch them with music only, or with her verbal prompts.
The sections each have their own location. Each is quite lovely! You get 15 minutes of basic poses, 20 minutes of a lot of standing backbends, 10 minutes of more relaxing stretches, and the 25 minutes of a long repetitive sequence. Then there is a VERY super-short relaxation at the end.
I think I was spoiled by my other DVD, because with the other one there are multiple hour-long sessions put together, each with its own theme - strengthening, relaxing, etc. With this one, you get just over an hour if you do the whole thing from start to end. But really you wouldn't want to do that - because that last set is a standalone rhythm set that you wouldn't really want to do after relaxing. I wish this one was much more laid out for multiple uses - do set 1 if you have aim A, do set 2 if you have aim B. Also, the sessions should be labeled with how long they will take, so you can plan out your activity. There isn't even any note on the back of the case or in the insert with any times.
I realize you can't control nature, but their timing was off on the filming of some of the segments. The final beach segment got REALLY dark in some parts so you couldn't see what she was doing. Also, the camera work would show her from her top half only while she talked about doing something with her bottom half. I'm not quite that psychic yet :)
I think as far as it went, it was awesome. If I want to do a 25 minute rhythm exercise, I can do that fourth chapter. But if I want to do more than that, I'd have to go jumping around from chapter to chapter chaining together things that didn't really flow well. I would have given this five stars if it had much more content, even if some was repeated. If she had presented perhaps 4 full "workouts" with each one having a warm up, a main section (whatever she wanted to do for that) and then a wind down, that would have been great. You can always fast forward if you want to shorten it up a bit. But the way it is now, you can't really do an hour long workout. You can barely do just over a half hour workout. I would like something longer than that.
Also, the sound at the very beginning was very intrusive. There are different music selections as you go and the later ones were lovely, background and non-interfering. It was just that first set that seemed to interrupt what she was trying to say. It was ironic to me that they had a soundtrack option of music-only, or music-and-voice. I would have preferred a voice-only option for that first segment!
As a final minor complaint, she likes renaming poses into her own terms :) I think for a DVD being marketed to people who are using several DVDs and books and such, she should probably go with the standard names for poses so that things don't get confusing.
Still, it's a nice addition to a library. I wouldn't suggest this as the only DVD on yoga to own, but if you have good staples in your collection already, this makes a nice alternative for when you want a quick half hour of moving stretch.
This tape only has four real parts. You can either watch them chapter by chapter, or all in a row. You can also choose to watch them with music only, or with her verbal prompts.
The sections each have their own location. Each is quite lovely! You get 15 minutes of basic poses, 20 minutes of a lot of standing backbends, 10 minutes of more relaxing stretches, and the 25 minutes of a long repetitive sequence. Then there is a VERY super-short relaxation at the end.
I think I was spoiled by my other DVD, because with the other one there are multiple hour-long sessions put together, each with its own theme - strengthening, relaxing, etc. With this one, you get just over an hour if you do the whole thing from start to end. But really you wouldn't want to do that - because that last set is a standalone rhythm set that you wouldn't really want to do after relaxing. I wish this one was much more laid out for multiple uses - do set 1 if you have aim A, do set 2 if you have aim B. Also, the sessions should be labeled with how long they will take, so you can plan out your activity. There isn't even any note on the back of the case or in the insert with any times.
I realize you can't control nature, but their timing was off on the filming of some of the segments. The final beach segment got REALLY dark in some parts so you couldn't see what she was doing. Also, the camera work would show her from her top half only while she talked about doing something with her bottom half. I'm not quite that psychic yet :)
I think as far as it went, it was awesome. If I want to do a 25 minute rhythm exercise, I can do that fourth chapter. But if I want to do more than that, I'd have to go jumping around from chapter to chapter chaining together things that didn't really flow well. I would have given this five stars if it had much more content, even if some was repeated. If she had presented perhaps 4 full "workouts" with each one having a warm up, a main section (whatever she wanted to do for that) and then a wind down, that would have been great. You can always fast forward if you want to shorten it up a bit. But the way it is now, you can't really do an hour long workout. You can barely do just over a half hour workout. I would like something longer than that.
Also, the sound at the very beginning was very intrusive. There are different music selections as you go and the later ones were lovely, background and non-interfering. It was just that first set that seemed to interrupt what she was trying to say. It was ironic to me that they had a soundtrack option of music-only, or music-and-voice. I would have preferred a voice-only option for that first segment!
As a final minor complaint, she likes renaming poses into her own terms :) I think for a DVD being marketed to people who are using several DVDs and books and such, she should probably go with the standard names for poses so that things don't get confusing.
Still, it's a nice addition to a library. I wouldn't suggest this as the only DVD on yoga to own, but if you have good staples in your collection already, this makes a nice alternative for when you want a quick half hour of moving stretch.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
my friends
to my friends, i can show them another way to do yoga than the classical school. its ok for bigginers
Published 10 days ago by Patricia Rollier
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great gift
I bought these as a gift for my wife and she loves the the program and it works as expected. She is able to use this program every day. Great product.
Published 13 days ago by Dan
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful
This DVD is beautiful, fun that it has 4 separate sequences. Shiva is certainly an inspiration. This is a little more difficult than I thought it would be as a beginners flow... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Patricia Shaefer
2.0 out of 5 stars
Do not like.
Hard to follow directions that are often out of sync with actions and no flow between sequences. Would not recommend.
Published 1 month ago by SNOWMAN
4.0 out of 5 stars
Helping me recover from a yoga injury
I wanted to do yoga at home instead of in a class as I recovered from a yoga related injury. I reinjured an old running injury. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Beverly Puntolillo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shiva Rea: Flow Yoga for Beginners
Fast delivery, no purchase problems, reasonable price, and quality item. The DVD is exactly as the description says and I am very happy with my purchase. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ashlee Doughty
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but not so "beginner"
I bought this dvd because while I used to do yoga about 3 times a week, I haven't practiced in a few years, so I thought I'd start out nice and easy with a beginner video. Read more
Published 3 months ago by paintgal06
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
This is a great yoga CD. It is good for beginners, although it is rather long, I often stop midway to fit it into my busy schedule.
Published 4 months ago by Erie fan
2.0 out of 5 stars
A beginner's DVD for people who've done yoga before
I'm looking for a yoga dvd that is for people who don't know what a 'downward facing dog' is. I made the mistake of assuming that a DVD with "for beginners" would target people... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Pehn Kname
5.0 out of 5 stars
great workout
This is really great to start with if it is your first time doing yoga (which was the case for me), it's really easy to follow and relaxing
Published 5 months ago by mtens
