Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Wellspring Media
• VHS Release Date: November 24, 1998
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1885538928
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #502,551 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If you're interested in experimenting with yoga but find the idea a bit intimidating, Stephanie Foster's Yoga: Beginners Level is an excellent starting point. While she emphasizes that her tape is not a replacement for a class, it's still a comfortable way to familiarize yourself with many of the positions, which you can use without the video to stretch and relax. The first half of the tape defines the poses, with two students demonstrating each posture as Foster explains the movements; one student demonstrates the full position while the other shows how it may be performed while seated or using a wall for support for those who aren't yet supple enough for the full pose. The second half of the tape uses the postures in a moving sequence, stretching and working each part of the body. Hatha yoga can be a wonderful tool for improving posture, increasing flexibility, and enhancing relaxation. Foster recommends viewing the entire tape at least once before attempting the poses. This tape is a nice respite for a hectic day, and many of the movements, once mastered, can be discreetly performed while sitting at your desk. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Simple stuff for people in a rush, January 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yoga-Beginners Level [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video is too short! It is only a half and hour long and the actual stretching workout is about 12 minutes long. If one is going to buy a yoga tape, one expects more to it than one little quick routine. I was hoping for something at least an hour long and less hurried. The stretches are demonstrated well, but Ms. Foster rushes though the actual stretching routine, barely holding poses for 10 seconds. Any beginner yoga class I've ever taken has us hold stretches for much longer, and breathing into the stretches was an important componant. This video does not discuss the importance of breathing into the stretches, or breathing at all for that matter, nor does it discuss any kind of history or philosopy behind yoga as a form of exercise. The production value is good, the stretches are demonstrated in a pleasant-looking dimmed studio setting with ambiant new age music, and Ms. Foster has a nice gentle voice, but I still felt rushed! If you're on the go, maybe this is a quickie reminder tape you can use. But its brevity is just too limiting.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nice and stretchy, March 21, 2004

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yoga-Beginners Level [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The first 6 minutes of this hatha yoga tape give you Stephanie's resume, which is quite impressive, and it shows her grace and loveliness as a dancer (she danced with the Twyla Tharp group, among other dance companies) and her expertise as a martial arts practitioner.

"Section 1: Postures".16 minutes long. These are simple to do, and make you feel relaxed; most of them are floor exercises, that keep your spine flexible and the back of your legs stretched. There are also alternative movements that are shown, where one can scale them down to be done sitting in a chair or against a wall for support.
Other than occasionally saying "inhale" and "exhale", Stephanie does not go into the breathing involved in yoga practice.

"Section 2: The Moving Sequence". 15 minutes long. We get the basic positions in Section 1 set into a flowing order, with some pleasant "new age" music by Devon Cormack.
None of it is difficult, and one can follow at one's own level. These exercises are invigorating and at the same time restful, and will make you feel more agile.

Attention to people with weak/trick knees like me: Any posture with a standing lunge puts a lot of stress on my knees (and there are 2 exercises in this set that include a bent knee that is taking most of the weight), and I simply substitute a pose, usually my favorite "downward dog position" makes a good alternate.
A nice exercise tape, but not great. Well worth a try if you can find it at your local library, for a change of pace rental.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not a long enough workout, September 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Yoga-Beginners Level [VHS] (VHS Tape)

For all the careful instruction of how to do the poses, I was taken aback by how short the workout was in the end. While this tape is an excellent source for learning how to correctly do the postures, you should probably use it in conjuction with another tape that actually gives you workout.