Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great shorter yoga practices appropriate for beginners and others, June 24, 2005
AM/PM Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss provides three short yoga practices (AM, PM, and a bonus practice) that are especially appropriate for someone just starting out with yoga, but more experienced yogis looking for some shorter, basic practices are likely to enjoy these as well. Although the workouts in and of themselves are unlikely to provide weight loss, instructor Suzanne Deason makes a point of saying (both on the DVD itself and in the helpful included leaflet) that these practices form just a part of an overall weight loss program that would also include healthy eating and other fitness activities.
All three practices are filmed in beautiful outdoor settings, and for both the AM and the PM workouts, there is a list of poses included in the accompanying leaflet. The AM practice begins and ends in hero's pose (which I believe she calls "seated warrior"). It focuses on gentle opening of all areas of the body through lunges, standing poses, twists, and finally, simple core work and backbends; two yoga bricks are used to allow greater access to the postures. The PM practice also uses props, this time a yoga wedge and strap (substitutions can be made for these). It starts with some nice shoulder openers using the strap and then includes just a few standing postures such as downward dog, lunge, and wide-legged forward bend. However, the focus of this practice is on seated forward bends, which are supposed to be calming, and so you will do a variety of these before ending in relaxation pose. The AM and the PM workouts come in at just under 25 minutes each.
The bonus workout, Breathwork Through Yoga, is a bit shorter (about 22 minutes). This time, Deason does not use any props (although she reminds you of how you can use them as in the other programs if you wish), and she places a greater emphasis on the breath while moving through the postures, with the practice beginning and ending in a seated meditation. She again leads a brief series of standing poses--pyramid pose is included this time, and the wide-legged standing forward bend is especially nice--moves to kneeling for gate pose, and then moves to the floor for both backbends and core work. The most challenging poses included in this practice are probably bow pose and a boat pose variation; therefore, it has a higher difficultly level than the other two practices but would still be very doable for experienced beginners. A final bonus on the DVD is an approximately 7-minute interview with Suzanne Deason during which she explains the rationale behind each of the workouts.
Overall, this DVD provides some excellent practice experiences for those new to yoga as well as offers options for the more experienced yoga practitioner.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't let the title fool you, January 9, 2007
It's called conditioning for weight loss, but it's just an all around nice workout. Here are the things I like about this product:
1) The DVD lets you choose from four difficulty levels, or watch them combined. I really liked working my way through the levels so the same workout remained challenging. If I'm having a bad day and am too stiff, I can scale back to a lower level for that day.
2) I am a musician and am picky about background music. The Gaiam series of yoga tapes that I've purchased all have pleasant evocative, well performed music that doesn't annoy or distract me, but supports the ambience I'm wanting.
3.) I appreciate yoga and the culture that developed it, but I prefer to imbue the experience with my own spirituality, so I appreciate a workout that doesn't push any belief system too heavily.
4.) The instructor talks during many of the poses about how the different poses can affect your health. This is interesting and informative.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent shorter workouts; appropriate for beginners; great stress relief!, January 11, 2007
Having never done yoga in my life, I decided to give it a try to help reduce my stress levels. I have very little free time so I didn't want to have to commit to an hour at a time knowing I'd never do it. As a result of too much stress I was having trouble with my neck, shoulders, and back. The first week or so the poses were hard but not impossible to preform. I could really tell where the tension was in my body! I've been doing this dvd faithfully for almost three weeks and the difference is amazing. The tension is all but gone, I am much stronger in the poses, I feel much more relaxed and sleep better!
The program itself is put together nicely...soft, unobtrusive music; beautiful scenery; and the instruction is easy to follow with very clear explanations. Suzanne does use yoga blocks which I recommend...they really help in the morning workout when you are less flexible. She also uses a yoga strap and wedge. Obviously, you can't just do this workout and lose weight. As Suzanne says on the dvd, it's part of a healthy lifestyle.
Being a Christian, I hesitated to do yoga because I didn't want to be pressed upon by the belief system behind it but I don't feel that at all with this dvd. It's an excellent workout and I highly recommend it!
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