Customer Reviews

Yoga: Spirit of Vinyasa Flow

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are 3 classes on this dvd. Class a 39 minutes, class b 70 minutes, class c 71 minutes. I did classes a & b. Both of these classes take place on a cliff, somewhere. Why do yoga teachers insist on scaring us half to death by filming classes on rocks, cliffs, boulders or any place that looks dangerous or uncomfortable?? Would you do yoga on the edge of a cliff? I wouldn't.

Anyway, class A starts out as a nice simple easy class with a seated stretch, half salutes, half warrior one, triangle, standing split. Then it heats up to bound side angle and bird of paradise. That pose took me by surprise as she had lulled me into thinking that this class was for beginners. Alas it is not, it is for intermediates that don't feel like working very hard and are short on time. It also includes side stick with top leg in tree pose. You get into this pose from one legged down dog. Interesting never tried it that way before and guess what, it works! The class also includes camel, heros pose,and shoulder stretches. For 39 minutes, it's a good, short,sweet class. I sweated bullets and felt good afterwards.

Class b is a killer. It concentrates on your hips and hamstrings. Poses include salutes a & b with variations, half moon, warrior 1 & 2 with variations, full split, twisting lunge prayer and the most intense seated stretches I have ever seen on a yoga dvd thus far. One pose was wide legged stretch with one leg bent behind you. Ouch! felt that one. I have been doing this dvd for 3 weeks now and for the first time in my life I am able to do a complete full split. Suprised myself!

I sweated bullets, and felt great afterwards. My only complaint was that on some of the poses, the camera angle wasn't good and I couldn't see what was going on. Also, her cuing wasn't the greatest. She lost me a couple of times and the right left thing is not part of her teaching style. She sometimes cues on one side, but not the other. She also has the habit of adjusting her clothes and fidgeting alot. Better editing would have fixed this as it's distracting.

I just looked at class c and it includes a lot of arm balances. I tried this class and it way above my pay grade. I'll leave this one alone, for now.

All in all a great vinyasa flow class. Very little spirituality here, just a whole lot of stretching and sweating. Oh one more thing about the pose guide. She goes over about 19 poses. Well not really as one section is about not scrunching up your face in class because it bothers her? Huh? Anyway the poses are for absolute beginners. She goes over common poses like triangle, lunge, warrior 1 & 2 half moon. But wait this isn't a dvd for beginners. It says that right on the cover of the dvd. I was expecting her to explain how to get in and out of the intermediate/advanced poses, ie bird of paradise, side crow, head stand. If you are an absolute beginner you shouldn't even buy this dvd. To me, the pose guide was for another dvd, not this one.

This is a great workout that is definitely geared toward an intermediate to advanced practitioner, at bare minimum a beginner with a high degree of flexibility. Even the beginner flow (39 min long) includes some poses that you may not get the first time you try the DVD. There are 2 other flows that are 70 and 71 minutes respectively. These flows provide a great mix of beginner, intermediate, and advance poses done in a flow that will more than likely make you sweat. The DVD also includes a section with 20 or so poses that gets very detailed about how to enter and hold the poses. Overall the DVD quality is good and the instructor is excellent. I would suggest at least several years of experience before trying this DVD unless you have a gymnastics, a dance background, or a good enough understanding of yoga to otherwise be able to modify some of the poses to suit your level.

I can see why this teacher is so popular; her practice brings serenity and at the same time, energizes. The poses are standard like updog, downdog, cobra, etc., but it is the way they are done that brings the calmness. There are some advanced poses like: standing bound angle which can be a challenge but who doesn't want a challenge, now & again? I am delighted with this DVD.

I have had a hard time finding vinyasa yoga DVDs that are not at a really basic, beginner's level that give me a good workout. The only other two I have been completely satisfied with have been Bryan Krest and Shiva Rea. So I was hesitant to buy this DVD but it turns out it was a good find.

As others have mentioned, there are three different complete practices, ranging from a slightly more basic 40 minute one to two 70-minute ones. There is also a separate pose guide which gives tips and advice on how to be sure you're doing the pose correctly. Some other reviewers have indicated the pose guide was for beginners, but I disagree. Since I live overseas where there are no yoga classes I now have to do all my yoga by DVD with no instructor, and while I am at an intermediate or advanced level I don't always know if I have good form in the poses. I liked the fact that the pose guide explains how to correctly move into the pose. For example, she stresses that for pigeon pose it's important that the hips be square, and that yoga students have the tendency to roll the hips open on the pose. That's exactly what I'd been doing all these years, so the pose guide is indeed useful for all levels. (but it's true that the bit on scrunching up your face is a little odd!)

As for the practices, I found that like all yoga instructors Deb has incorporated her own style or variations into her teaching. Her sun salutations do not seem classical to me at all, though it was refreshing to do them in a new way. She incorporates some poses that I haven't done before or haven't seen done in the way that she does them. I felt her pace was about right for my breathing, and the practices all gave a great cardio workout at the beginning as well as really great, deep hip stretches. I felt the DVD was challenging but at the same time fairly doable--none of the extreme Shiva Rea arm balance poses that all of us average yoga practitioners will never be able to do no matter how many years we practice. At least the things I couldn't do I could imagine doing in the future with enough practice.

I really found the DVD to be good, but there were a couple of things I wished were different. Sometimes her cuing was not always clear and I found myself missing something. While the scenery was nice enough, I did think it was odd that her yoga mat perched on that big rock seemed to be at a bit of a steep slope--not really the best positioning for yoga! Also, the camera didn't always get a good angle of the pose and sometimes the DVD focused on her too long from a front angle instead a side angle to really show what she was doing. In any case, once I have done the DVD more I'm sure I'll be more familiar with the sequences and the way she does the poses and it won't matter. Finally, I was disappointed that there was not really any shavasana at the end...the moment you lay down the practice is done!

This is the best yoga vinyasa flow DVD I have seen. Her practice is fluid, her instructions clear, the product description is accurate (intermediate level) and the background breathtaking. I bought several DVD's looking for some change in my daily practice, and this is by far my favorite. There are also time options which allow for those mornings when practice needs to be shortened. I highly recommend this DVD!

There is a pose guide option in the main menu that allows one to see how the pose should look, common mistakes, variations of the pose if you're less flexible, and why the pose is beneficial. So although the DVD difficulty rating is intermediate to advanced, a beginner can learn poses as he/she would in a yoga class. The music is calming, at times seemingly non-existent so you can easily hear what she's telling you.

For people past beginner and ready for more of a challenge, i strongly recommend this DVD. A beginner could certainly enjoy it as well, but to participate in all of the movements, more experience is necessary. It's a nice flowing sequence in all three sessions. One is 39 minutes and the other two 70 minutes. I enjoy her soothing voice and gentle approach to the movements. Enjoy!

Eveyone have so much great comments on this DVD, so I don't have much to say. I have this DVD for a while now and I have to say, this one is my favorite and is the one I always reached for very often. I always felt so relax and completely stretched after the practice from this. Level A is not easy for complete beginner, I say it could be high beginner to low intermediate. I can say I am about strong intermediate to high intermediate. I did all 3 levels and I love all 3. Level C had more hand balancing poses and I definitely can't go all the way into some of the poses so I just try and go into them as far as I can go and hold there until she released. I feel that Level B always makes me feel completely satisfied after... I have to go to the wall to do my head stand or I could fall over and squish my kittie; he likes to do yoga with me and his favorite pose was Savasana on my mat during my practice though he does have his own mat LOL. You just can't go wrong with this DVD...highly recommended.

I have only used the 39 minute flow. With that being said, I enjoyed it so much that I had to post. This is great for everyone. First timers will not be able to do the entire thing, so just watch the parts you can't do a few times and gradually you can work up to them. I highly recommend this one and I have tried many home practice dvds. The 39 minute sequence was well-balanced and the instructor's voice and delivery is not agitating at all.

This is a very good DVD. High production quality. Comftirble 45 intermediate routine and two long chalenging intermed/advanced routines that are based on the gradual strengh and flexibility development of each routine. Great for intermed/adv yoga practioners.