Product Details

• Actors: Yoga Journal
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Gaiam
• VHS Release Date: June 13, 2000
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302481953
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,043 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
You can't help but let stress slide away if you unwind with this video of restorative yoga poses that replenish your body's energy and rejuvenate your spirit. Restorative means you're not working your body, but "undoing, allowing nature to restore you ...[and] the healing powers of yoga to reveal themselves to you," explains Patricia Walden, who teaches the first 30-minute session of resting poses. Your body is supported by props, such as folded blankets, a bolster, or a wall, so the stretches are not intense. The poses are taught slowly and quietly, with plenty of time to sink into each pose, open the joints, and relax the muscles. The second 30-minute session, taught by Rodney Yee, emphasizes forward bends, often sitting on the floor in various positions, with your forehead and arms resting on a chair for support. The instruction throughout the video is clear, complete, and patient. The whole experience is relaxing: with the instructors' soothing voices and the gentle music in the background, there's no rush to leave each pose. --Joan Price

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth 6 stars if I amazon.com gave me the room!!!, July 20, 2001

By	"amazonchicken" (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

Positively, the MOST relaxing yoga tape ever invented! Many of the Living Yoga and Yoga Journal tapes reccommend this tape for women during their menstrual periods, to restore balance and bring about a peace of mind, and it most certainly does the trick! Unlike the more recent Living Yoga series, the background is not all that fantastic, but that's hardly relevant. What makes this tape well worth the 6 stars is the YOGA.

It is divided into 2 sessions; the first, with Patricia Walden lasts about 40 minutes, and she demonstrates restorative poses to open and soften the body. This session requires bolsters and blankets, as well as the use of a wall for one particular pose. I use rolled up blankets and pillows, which work just as well. The idea here is not to copy what Patricia Walden is doing, but rather to adapt to your own personal needs; she even encourages the viewer to move the blankets and bolsters around in order to find what makes you most comfortable. In the beginning of this session she suggests that these poses be used when one is tired, sick, during PMS or menses. I personally use this tape for all of these reasons, and the results continue to amaze me. Before trying this tape I have seriously considered the use of perscription drugs to treat my PMS and menstrual cramps, which I decided would be a last resort should this tape fail to give me results. I am by NO MEANS suggesting that this tape be used to treat potential medical ailments such as menstrual cramps or symptoms associated with PMS, but in my particular case, it seems to have worked wonders. Patricia Walden guides you slowly and effectively, never neglecting a single detail such as when to breathe or what to visualize. This session is gentle, effective, and probably the most relaxing yoga session I have ever experienced.

The second session is done by Rodney Yee; it focuses on supported forward bends to calm nerves and quiet the mind. I sometimes do both sessions back to back; the tape is a total of 75 minutes, yet this particular session is only 30 minutes long. For this session you need a blanket and a chair (I use a pillow instead ... I always modify props!). There are a few poses I can't see every person trying, espically when they're sick or menstruating or just plain tired. It is a slightly more challenging session but still, it really relaxes you. I sometimes get anxiety attacks during PMS, and although this session is challenging for a 'relaxation' yoga practice, Rodeny's voice and soothing visualization totally melts the stress away. The meditative effects of this session are not to be underestimated ... you simply CAN'T remain stressed after doing the poses in this session ... I DARE YOU!! ;o)

All in all, I can't possibly praise this tape enough. It may not be what everyone wants in a yoga tape, and some of the reviews seem to demonstrate a kind of disappointment with the 2 sessions, but relaxation yoga is NOT about pushing your body to the limits of its flexibility. Patricia Walden explains in the beginning of this tape that this pracice is not about DOING, it's about UNDOING; restoring the body and mind. If this is what you are looking for in a yoga practice, then this tape is absolutley the BEST! Even for the hard-core yoga fans, it's well worth a try ... you never know what you'll find in that quiet medititve state these tapes gently guide you in. Inner peace is not something I'd take for granted, even if it is only on a 75 minute tape!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS TAPE WAS A SALVATION, November 12, 2000

By	"desertoasis" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

I disagree with the other reviews, about it being so poor-----I guess they missed the point about relaxation. It does take some time to work with the video, like anything in life---our society always wants a quick fix/fast food results. I love Patricia Walden for her heart-centered teaching....I am a holistic movement therapist with years of experience, so I have had some blankets and pillows and creatively "figured out" through trial and error how to adjust my own body to feel right...yoga is like that, you have to have patience to allow going inward to FEEL and adjust and adapt to make it fit your own bodyspirit. This video is still my favorite for unwinding........in the height of my turbulent and chaotic perimenopassage, this tape was the only thing I could do to slow down my heart palpitations, and also when I received news of my brother's death. I was able to really feel all the tight and tense places my body was holding....she is right when she talks about the body UNDOING in this video. The trick about moving from one pose to the next is finding a FLOW within yourself, your center, and remain in center and your breath even as you move the props around, etc. What a wonderful video that I recommend to many women friends......it teaches slowing down and listening within.....if you are the type that is one the fast track of life, running all the time, you won't like this video....but if you are willing to grow into a new awareness, this can take you there....I LOVE RESTORATIVE YOGA more than regular yoga..............I seem to do more of the first half of the video with Patricia than I do with Rodney...but even so, Rodney uses a chair and everyone has a chair, or?????

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not that relaxing, March 15, 2000

By	Chicago Reader (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

I was disappointed with this video, and felt my money would have been better spent on another choice. You really can NOT follow the poses without investing in AT LEAST 2 yoga bolsters and 2 heavy blankets. Couch cushions and pillows just didn't work and I found the whole thing quite an ordeal: switching this bolster and that, moving blankets around. The whole thing is annoying unless you have the right props. Surely it's possible to relax without spending $60 on additional equipment?