Product Details

• Actors: Gary Kraftsow
• Directors: Ian Albert and Mark Holmes
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Bayview Entertainment/Widowmaker
• DVD Release Date: February 3, 2009
• Run Time: 170 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000U0FZ0K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,932 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #94 in Movies & TV > DVD > Exercise & Fitness

Editorial Reviews

Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back,Neck and Shoulders with Gary Kraftsow

"Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back,Neck and Shoulders" features short,simple therapeutic yoga practices carefully designed to alleviate pain and promote health in the upper back,neck and shoulders. For the first time ever on DVD,benefit from the expert guidance of Gary Kraftsow,one of the world's leading yoga therapists. Founder of the American Viniyoga Institute,Gary is the designer of the only yoga practices demonstrated to be effective for back pain in a National Institutes of Health&ndsh;sponsored clinical study. If you are one of the 8 out of 10 Americans who have or will experience back pain,make the powerful therapeutic practices on this DVD a part of your everyday regimen for health and well&ndsh;being!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent yoga video for increasing mobility in the upper back, neck, and shoulders, April 11, 2008

By 

Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back, Neck & Shoulders with Gary Kraftsow (DVD)

This DVD focuses on issues of the upper body, specifically the upper back, neck, and shoulders (the other DVD in this series focuses on the lower body). It differs from other yoga DVDs in that it contains a strong educational component in addition to the practice element. Also, the practices on the DVD are designed for rehabilitation and strengthening, and thus they are more similar in feel to a physical therapy session than to a yoga class.

The main menu of this DVD consists of four separate segments: 1) Understanding Back Pain, 2) Technique Workshop, 3) Therapeutic Practices, and 4) Special Features. The Technique Workshop provides the opportunity to study individual postures in greater depth. The Viniyoga Therapeutic Practices offer three complete practice segments tailored to meet different needs as described below. (Note: the DVD also provides bonus MP3 audio versions of each practice.)

1. Upper Back and Neck Therapy (22 minutes). This is the most gentle of the three practices, and it is designed to address misalignment or instability by strengthening and mobilizing the upper back and neck. In consists mainly of movements which serve to lengthen the upper spine.
2. Neck and Shoulder Therapy (32 minutes). This practice is more specifically geared to releasing pain or restricted movement in the neck and shoulders via stretching, aligning, and balancing work. Many of the postures here involve moving one arm as you twist your neck to the opposite side.
3. Strength and Stability (41 minutes). This longer practice is intend to build sustained, long-term health in the upper back, neck, and shoulders. It is a bit more intense than the previous two, containing many of the same posture sequences but adding some stronger work as well.

The practices feature a single student working on a mat against a rather sparse white set, with Gary providing instruction via voiceover. Most people are likely to find the practices rather dry--Gary's voice is a big monotone and repetitive, and there's little "fun factor" here. However, these are therapeutic in nature, and as such, they are quite effective. I found the twisting motions from the Neck and Shoulder Therapy practice in particular to be extremely beneficial for my nagging neck soreness and frequently tight upper back and shoulders. This DVD would be useful for virtually anyone who is at risk for upper back issues, from those who work at a desk daily to those with more chronic conditions. I definitely recommend Viniyoga Therapy for Upper Back, Neck, and Shoulders as an excellent tool for alleviating pain and promoting health in the upper back, neck, and shoulders.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, wonderful, December 6, 2007

By 

bookworm (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back, Neck & Shoulders with Gary Kraftsow (DVD)

I bought this and the "Lower Back" DVD because I spend way too many hours at the computer, and I was having back pain and foot pain from a pinched nerve. The DVDs are great. I love the anatomy overview, and the way you can progress at your own pace. I lent my copy of this upper back video to my chiropractor, and he thought it was fantastic and said he plans to buy both lower and upper back to show his other patients.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, something to help with the PAIN!!!, June 26, 2008

By 

Fancy Nancy (FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viniyoga Therapy for the Upper Back, Neck & Shoulders with Gary Kraftsow (DVD)

This is an excellent DVD, a book could never match the step by step instructions. As you are doing the yoga exercises Gary describes the different areas you should be focusing on stretching and does an excellent job of it. It contains very slow and stress free moves. The DVD contains a segment on Understanding Back Pain, an instructional Technique workshop to learn the practices, there are 2 different Practices for the initial stages and a longer Strengthening & Stability practice to use when you are feel better and improve. You don't have to be Gumby to do these poses. There is no need to try and stretch further than your ability, your flexibility increases over time. I suffer from chronic upper back and neck pain from car accident many years ago. It is especially bad between my shoulder blades, traveling up through my neck. It is tissue damage, I have nothing wrong with any bones. I've tried it all Chiropractor, Acupuncture, and went to the gym for a while. I found that the best thing you can do for an injury with chronic pain is to continually stretch and slowly work on re-strengthening the muscles. I went online searching for a Yoga Video as a last resort. I get so much relief from many of these poses, I even have my favorites from the video that I do any time I feel like it. I live with pain every day of my life and can say that this video has helped me out a lot. It is an excellent way to unwind after a long day of sitting in front of a computer at work.
I don't usually write reviews, but I had to on this one.. I definitely would recommend this DVD for someone who is looking for therapeutic viniyoga therapy. The specific poses/stretches target the upper back, shoulders, and neck. I think it is even good for everyday stress relief, which can cause tension in the shoulders and neck.

I commend Gary Kraftsow for making this DVD. I am so glad I found it! I have even been considering becoming a Yoga instructor to help people with chronic pain like me.