Customer Reviews

Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners [VHS]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

My husband and I have been doing this tape for almost two weeks and really enjoy it. Neither of us has any prior experience with yoga and we both needed something to soothe us at the end of a hectic day. Although I feel that some of the poses are difficult for beginners, particularly the forward bending dog and the triangle, many of the poses help us to stretch most of our limbs and relax, while being conscious of our breathing. It moves a little quicker than we like, but we do our best to keep up and of course we know that we don't possess the flexibility at this stage to master the poses as Suzanne does. All in all, we enjoy the tape and are trying to do it 3 times per week, or more often. For the price, if you would like to experience some of the benefits of yoga, buy it!

This is actually my second review of this video. I wrote the first after having it for a short time and I loved it then!

I love it even more now!

I do yoga every day at home and take a class with a great teacher also (and have over 50 Yoga videos). Most of the time I'm inclined towards a more rigorous vinyasa flow style yoga but I find I can't do that sort of practice everyday.

This is a tape I use a lot for those "in between" days when I want to do some yoga but don't want to push too hard. For me it's a somewhat restorative tape (though not in the "strict" sense of the word as described in most yoga books/videos).

What I love about this tape is that it moves you through your full range of movements, from gentle forward bends, side bends, shoulder openers, twists and back bends so that you open up your whole body.

The poses aren't held for a long time because the purpose of this tape isn't to move you deeply into postures. Instead it is to gently awaken and remove the "kinks" and muscular tensions from your body.

I find this tape is so gentle that I can use it even if I am a bit under the weather but still want to do something to help me feel balanced and remove body aches without pushing me too hard.

As far as the pacing goes, I can see that the first time or two (especially if you are new to yoga) it may seem hard to follow, but I don't find it difficult to breathe thru this tape at all. Once you know the routine I think the overall pacing isn't a problem at all and in fact is quite relaxing.

Also, you can use this tape as a slightly more challenging short practice by doing slightly more difficult versions of the poses. For example, doing a full Eagle pose (standing on one leg with one leg over the other),Triangle or Side Angle poses (or any of the poses for that matter) without a block, or in the kneeling prayer twist, keep your back leg off the ground in a full lunge position to get a lunging prayer twist. This increases the challenge quite a bit.

Regarding the need for props for this tape. I would recommend buying at least a strap and a block (Yoga Zone has really nice thick blocks which give a lot of stability). If you do yoga fairly regularly the cost of those items is really negligible. Still, you can use a tie or belt from a bathrobe for a strap and I guess books or something like that for a block, but the blocks are much easier to manipulate and the synthetic foam blocks tend to be gentle on the hands and have better traction (which is much safer).

I hope this review is helpful:)

Namaste

The first time I tried this tape it was reasonably difficult and I kept falling over during lunge poses, but by the third time (when I was also using the necessary props) it was truly relaxing and enjoyable...there's a good reason one says "practice yoga" and not "do yoga"! The scenery is lovely, her voice is soothing, and I had no problem understanding the poses even as a complete newcomer to yoga. However, you will want to have a yoga brick and strap to get the most relaxing results; I don't think the box mentions the need for props. Realize that at first you may need to position the brick higher or differently than the instructor until you become more flexible and can relax more deeply.

This tape is only 20 minutes so not all the poses can be held as long as you might like, but I just keep the remote handy and pause whenever I want to hold a stretch a bit longer or continue to hold a pose while she instructs what to do next and then move to the next pose slightly after she starts. Time is very precious and if this was a 60 minute tape I doubt I'd make the time to do it nearly as often.

The upper back stretching exercises are especially nice for anyone who spends most of the day hunched over a computer terminal. It is a pretty simple routine that almost anyone could learn to do for themselves at their own pace.

This video would earn a solid five starts if they shortened the introduction about stress in our lives and instead used the time to cover alternative techniques and poses for less-flexible beginners.

Although I find the scenery beautiful and relaxing, I find this yoga tape to be to fast for a beginner, once you get to know the poses you will be able to catch up. I don't recommend this for a beginner.

This is supposed to be a relaxing video; however, the poses move way too fast to get the sense of relaxation. If you are a beginner, this may be too much for you--it was for me. Also, she spends way too much time during the video talking and telling you the name of each pose. I prefer Patricia Walden's PM Yoga. Her voice is much more soothing which I find helps me relax. The poses are not too hard and after several times doing them you will be amazed at the increase in flexibility. After doing Patrica's pm yoga, i was so relaxed i actually fell asleep several times on the floor after doing it. Talk about deep relaxation.

As a recent fan of the Living Yoga series, this tape has it's own unique edge. I have already tried Living Yoga's Lower Body for beginners, also with Suzanne Deason, and she's a yoga teacher I've come to really appreciate. She doesn't bombard the viewer with information, and she manages to gently guide you through a 20 minute yoga workout that really melts the stress away.

Filmed in Maui (most Living Yoga tapes are, the scenery of these tapes is always breathtaking), the gentle waves and gorgeous sunset in the background have a fantasic calming effect on the viewer. Of course the workout itself is well worth all five stars, it is worth mentionning that the scenery has a kind of subconscious meditative effect that really mellows you out.

She starts off with a 4 minute gentle stretch, which, although some people may find too fast and hard to keep up with, I had absolutely no problems keeping up. Besides, it's only 4 minutes and it's mostly arm movements while in mountain pose, so it's basically something the average person can easily keep up with. By the second or third try it shouldn't even be a problem.

Next is a 13 minute stress relief workout which, in my opinion, is not only a massive understatement, but seems to fly by in much less than 13 minutes. It requires the use of a block and a yoga strap (I use books and my old karate belt), and it's really very easy. The point of these exercises is NOT to add stress onto your body (she thouroughly explains all this in the beginning of the tape), but to just gently stretch and do what you can. If you've ever seen any of Suzanne Deason's other workouts, it's VERY clear that in this particular tape she's not working at maximum capacity; which essentially is the point. Who wants to work up a sweat and stretch all kinds of muscles to the max when you're stressed out anyway?

Finally, she finishes off with a 3 minute deep relaxation, which, by the end of it, you've pretty well forgotten what stressed you out so much in the first place. All in all, the whole reason I bought the tape to begin with. It works; I'm happy.

This tape is also really good for beginners, because the main focus is not on pushing yourself to the limits, but rather just going through the motions without placing any additional stress onto your body. If you aren't the lest bit flexible, and you want to get into yoga for some quiet time or maybe because you're just having 'one of those days' and you want a healthy alternative to heading to the pub for a few drinks, this is a great option. Some people may not find this tape challenging, but I suspect that would be the point to stress relief. It's not challenging, and when I'm stressed out, or something is bothering me, I don't care to take on an additional challenge, I just want to release tension. If you're anything like me in that respect, then this tape is a great investment!

I am a beginner, and this is exactly what I wanted. I like the 20-minute length, the soothing music, the gorgeous scenery (beach, ocean, sunset), gentle voice of Deason (instructor), and the fact that the poses are easy enough for a first-timer to follow. I felt no pressure to "perform" or meet someone else's standards. It's great. Also, if you didn't follow the yoga, viewing the scenery and listening to the music would be enough to relax you. If this is what you're seeking, this is the video for you!

I got this tape because I was looking for a shorter yoga workout to perform during times when I'm time-crunched (most yoga tapes seem to be 40-60 minutes); I also wanted something that was gentle and relaxing as opposed to a more "power yoga" style. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this video, which feels rushed rather than relaxing. Although instructor Suzanne Deason's voice is soothing and she cues well, she moves so quickly from pose to pose that there's little opportunity to enjoy the positions. Furthermore, the use of props only hinders and further complicates this practice--if the workout moved at a slower pace, the props would be a nice addition, allowing those with less flexibility to attain the poses, but because the transitions are so fast, I spent most of my time worrying about where the props were supposed to be positioned, leaving little time to relax in the poses. If you are looking for a short, relaxing yoga practice, I would recommend instead Patricia Walden's PM Yoga; or, if you have more time, Suzanne Deason does a much better job in her Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss.

I am a big fan of the Living Arts yoga series but this is one tape I cannot enjoy. I have been practicing yoga seriously (daily) for seven months now and this tape offered me very little. The poses should be relaxing but she rushes you through the moves way too quickly to feel any release at all. If you are interested in starting yoga, please begin with any of the Linda Arkin tapes! They are much better, longer, offer slower-paced instruction, and will prepare you for the Living Arts series gradually.

The movements are good in this video and they are great for a beginner, but the speed is unbelievable. It's like they crammed as much as they could into 20 minutes. The poses change so fast. At the beginning, I couldn't believe how fast she goes. The pace slows a little and by the end you are more relaxed, but only still recovering from the fast paced first half. Like I said, the movements are good and a nice program for beginners, but the pace is by no means a good one for stress relief. It should be called Yoga for those in a major rush. This series of videos is outstanding. I have never been disappointed in the past. I recommend looking in this same series, but another video.