Customer Reviews

Yoga Journal's Yoga for Beginners with Patricia Walden [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

It's been 16 years since I took a yoga class in college, and this tape (and the accompanying booklet) was a great re-introduction to 17 or so of the core yoga poses. I really like how Patricia takes the time to explain how to properly come into and out of a pose, as well as proper alignment. I also appreciate the use of props, not being as limber as I once was. These props can be easily improvised from things around the house, and allow you to receive the benefits of the poses without straining. As I've progressed in my practice, I've moved on to other, faster-moving videos like Yoga for Energy with Rodney Yee (which I was not able to keep up with at first, not being sure about proper alignment and position), but I still come back to this video (and the accompanying booklet) for review. As I've advanced a little now, I find myself holding some of the poses longer as she goes through the explanations. Eventually, I will completely move beyond this level, but I sure am glad that this video helped ease me back into yoga. I highly recommend it for beginners.

The Yoga Journal series of tapes are in the style of Iyengaryoga, which uses props such as blocks, straps, folded blankets,furniture, etc., as an aid in performing the postures. (I personally find such props distracting, and I prefer to just go as far in each pose as I can without bothering with them, but I still like philosophy of this style.) Iyengar stresses precision of alignment, and here I think this tape excels, making it a very good beginner's tape as well as a reference. I agree with the other reviewers who find it slow and lacking in production values - there is no waterfall or other natural wonder in the background, as in the Living Yoga series, nor is there a classroom full of attractive bodies like you find in the Bryan Kest tapes. It is more like good medicine, not necessarily tasty, but definitely good for you. Once you get familiar with it, you will find yourself using your remote to get down to work, as there is an awful lot of filler - first ads for other tapes, then titles stating all the cautions, then an odd little video of Patricia flowing through some poses in a flowing costume, then the practice; oh, but first she gabs at you for awhile about all the benefits of yoga... I just leave it cued to where the standing poses begin, do them, finish the tape or not depending on time, and have a productive session. There is a guided relaxation in the end which is good, if you don't crack up at Patricia earnestly asking you to feel you eyeballs shrinking. The time spent on getting Mountain pose exactly right at the beginning of the session is a good reminder, but you wouldn't want to do it every day. There are a number of different styles of the yoga of physique, i.e. Hatha Yoga (and then there are many other branches of yoga, pertaining to all aspects of life). Those looking for the sweat-inducing, so-called Power Yoga will not find it here, as that is the Ashtanga form, where poses flow more quickly and without pauses. But I feel that all yoga practioners would do well to try this tape and the others in the series for their focus on alignment. Proper alignment is important to avoid strain and injury and to reap the full benefit of the poses, which after all are ancient and work on many subtle levels beyond being the latest workout craze. They are meant to effect internal organs, glands, as well as subtle energy centers. You don't want to be crunching down and collapsing in places where you need to be lifted and open, and this is easy to forget. So practice with Patricia and build a good foundation for your future as a yogini.

Patricia Walden's Beginners tape is a great instructional video on Iyengar yoga fundamentals. I took Iyengar Yoga in college as an elective, but I didn't like it and could't wait for the classes to end because they were painfully slow. Cutting yoga classes brought my GPA down, but I just couldn't bear holding the poses for infinity when I had jobs, sleep, exams, books, and lectures waiting for me.

I knew enough from taking ballet and yoga classes recreationlly that I had to do body work outside of the classes to progress especially as I age. I later bought this tape impulsively in a video store when I was a young working professional to keep my body moving and to relieve bodily tension without realizing that it was an Iyengar yoga tape.

Patricia Walden and this tape inspired me to practice yoga. She is very graceful and her instructions encouraging. In the beginning the tape might feel exceptionally slow and unusually long, but Patricia's slow calming voice and the noninvasive background music forced me to slow down and to concentrate on my alignment and poses. The detailed instructions on the poses taught me to become aware of my body and to stretch properly. The slowness that I resented in my younger days has become a teaching tool to develop my bodily awareness. I can't order flexibility on demand. My muscles (and mind) need time and practice to learn to relax.

I was not progressing much in the first few years of doing this tape because I was doing the tape only once or twice per week or when I got motivated. Although I always felt stretched out and refreshed on day 1, I also felt sore and stiff enough the next day that I could not do the same poses with the same flexibility as on day one and would rest my body instead. My practice would then invariably lose momentum and became sporatic. It's difficult to be disciplined, but I suggest that you push through the stiffness gently and discipline yourself to practice yoga DAILY in order to see any noticeable changes in flexibility. This tape teaches the fundamentals of the static poses and therefore does not overwhelm a newcommer so one can really learn the basics. Because this tape helped relieved my physical tension, I gave this Beginners tape as a gift many times to help someone relieve bodily tension or start practicing yoga.

I have since then moved on and now use mostly Patricia Walden's Flexibility tape and other Yoga Journal tapes. I like her instructional tapes for two reasons. First, she speaks only to teach yoga and so I can turn inward to learn about my body and not be distracted and turn outward to focus on the music or an instructor's joke, personality, or ability to motivate. Now when I am doing vinyasa, i.e. moving from one pose to another, or doing other forms of yoga to challenge my body and mind, I can appreciate the fundamentals I learned from holding these static poses in this beginners tape. The basics that I learned from this tape keep me in proper form, help me move from one pose to another more manageably and in a more controlled manner, and I continue to practice awareness in motion. Secondly, her Beginners and Flexibility tapes tend to have longer holding time (but still shorter in duration than those held in my college yoga class) which allows me enough time to practice concentration and to relax deeper into a pose to develop flexibility. My flexibility has improved with a regular practice and perhaps I am ready for a teacher.

At any rate, it's a good idea to have a collection of differnt instructional tapes with different teachers to meet your various bodily and emotional needs, but the Beginners tape (and Patricia Walden's Flexibility tape) covers how to come in and out of poses safely and is great for someone who's new to yoga, wants to relieve bodily and emotional tensions, and to develop grace and flexibility. 75-min tape covers: Simple Sitting pose, Mountain pose, Tiangle pose, Side Stretch pose, Standing Forward Bends, Proud Warrior, Extended Leg Pose, Downward-facing Dog,Staff, Sitting Forward Bend, Cobbler's pose, Supported Shoulderstand, and my favorite: Relaxation pose. Beginners or experienced yoga practitioners can practice these basic poses in the Beginners tape at their desired intensity, but experienced yoga practioner may want to start with her Flexiility tape which has added poses and routines and her unmistakenable trademark - teaching yoga with precision and grace.

I am 32, just started yoga for the first time about 6 months ago, post-partum. I am not a very flexible person either. But this video was perfect for me. Patricia Walden demonstrates the poses very slowly and carefully (so there's no risk of injury) and each pose is repeated throughout. Now I've been able to tackle some of the other yoga videos, but I always come back to this tape to stay correct with the postures. I feel better every time I do this tape, and it's challenging. I can literally feel my circulation increasing as I do it.

I can't imagine why anyone would think this is a less than satisfactory intro to yoga. I am a beginner and this tape hooked me! I was one of those who had a hard time "buying" the idea that yoga could relax you, energize you, and make you feel better about yourself and surroundings, but this tape (and Patricia Walden) succeeded. I now practice yoga at least 4 days per week, and I always feel so much better about myself, my body, and "things" in general - ESPECIALLY after this tape (I have found other tapes either are too difficult or move from pose to pose a bit too quickly to learn them properly). I like the fact that Ms. Walden doesn't really "shove" metaphysical stuff down the viewers throat (tho there are a few zen-y moments), she reminds us not to push ourselves, how to breath, how to relax, and which poses accomplish what (physically *and* mentally).

I can't imagine a better tape than this one to start out with.

This program is, as the title implies, for BEGINNERS. If you are used to doing aerobics, you may become impatient with the methodical pace, or unnerved by Patricia Walden's freakishly serene demeanor. Following the short "show-off" intro (where Ms. Walden does a standing backbend that I immediately set as a long-term goal for myself), the actual instructional portion of the program is easy to understand and follow. There is a lot of explanation and demonstration, including modifications of the poses and the use of props to help those who are less flexible.

Reviewers who have found it boring or "too easy" are perhaps approaching this the wrong way. You set your own pace, and there are no poses that a practitioner is ever "done" with. As a klutzy, non-athletic person, I was thrilled the first time I did this program and was able to get through it without feeling flustered or uncoordinated. I did this tape and nothing else for a year before I felt like I needed to "move on." While I'll always prefer taking a live class, I highly recommend the Yoga Journal series, and especially this tape.

An ideal introductory yoga video, with perhaps the world's loveliest woman. Patricia Walden gently takes a viewer from zero knowledge and experience of yoga, through the basic standing and sitting poses, emphasizing proper form and alignment.

As Patricia says, these poses are the foundation of yoga practice. Those who find this session boring are either too advanced for this tape, or else they are not getting everything out of it. There is a lot of information here, which unfolds with repeated, regular viewings and practice sessions. As a beginner I've welcomed its moderate pace (indeed I sometimes pause it and practice another series of repetitions), and I feel in no hurry to move on. If I were to study with Patricia, or B.K.S. himself, I'd be glad I spent time on these fundamentals.

The Death Valley sequence at the beginning is breathtaking. If you are new to yoga I can think of no better way to be instructed and inspired, than by buying this tape and working with it regularly.

I thought the video was great for basic thorough instructions, but after learning the positions, I found that it was aggravating to have to wait for all the instructions between positions. I also found that because I can't possibly work all the props in my limited space that I can't effectively use the video. For instance, I don't have any vacant wall space, and I don't have an acrylic "wall" prop to use either. I have bought a number of other yoga videos, I look for good instruction, but I also look for flow, and the main thing I look for is if the positions can be done with minimal space and props.

As a beginner, the instructions were simple enough to follow; however, I found using all the props made it very hard to keep up, and this stressed me. I would have kept this tape had there been alternatives to using the props or no props at all.

I was just starting out with yoga and was confused by the postures I was trying to follow in the first video I bought. Using this video gave me a very good foundation and understanding. I was able to move on to other videos with confidence after that. But I do hardly ever use it now because it is slow and paced for beginners. I use it sometimes when I want to review alignment or if I don't feel up to a strenuous work. If you are a beginner I can't think of a better way to start -- but you won't stay there. But isn't that the sign of a good teacher?