Ashtanga, NY - A Yoga Documentary Review

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(More customer reviews)My daughter Wini who practices Ashtanga yoga gave me this DVD to watch. She wanted me to understand exactly what it was that has challenged and inspired her so much for the past few years. Last night I watched the DVD. And I must say that I do now understand.
This is a short documentary, only 41 minutes. And yet, it managed to captivate the essence of what the practice of Ashtanga yoga is. It was shot in September of 2001, during a period of time that Sri K Pattabhi Jois, the 86-year old Indian yoga teacher affectionately know as Guruji, came to New York to hold a large group class for devotees. Every day that month, 250 of his followers practiced yoga at dawn under his watchful eye in a huge room at Chelsea piers. Yes, there were some celebrities there, namely Willem Dafoe, Gwyneth Paltrow and Beastie Boy Mike D, but I only recognized Willem Dafoe who made a comment at the beginning about his need to practice yoga to be able better function in the stimulating atmosphere of New York City.
The practice of Ashtanga yoga is intense. It requires almost daily attendance as well as extremely demanding physical exercises. But whoever practices it seems to come away with a cult-like devotion to it and a feeling of camaraderie with the people who practice it alongside each of them even if they do not know their names or who they are, and a sense of spirituality and well being.
During the period of time this documentary was being made, New York experienced the horrible attacks on 9/11. I remember the feeling of living in New York at the time. I remember the deep sense of sadness and mourning. This comes across quite clearly during a ceremony held by the yoga teacher. And the DVD certainly depicted how the devotees' practice of yoga helped the get through this terrible time.
I was fascinated throughout at this very thoughtful and reverent documentary. And although I knew that my own daughter was not in this particular film, I thought a lot of the yoga students looked a lot like her. It was probably because all of them had lithe, lean and flexible bodies.
Before I saw this film I thought I understood what Ashtanga yoga was about. But seeing it with my own eyes certainly deepened my own understanding.
Recommended.

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Totally Nude Warm-Up & Stretch Review

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(More customer reviews)Totally Nude Warm-Up & Stretch is fifty-five minutes long and was released on March 8, 2010. Most of the ladies in this video are porn stars and not professional instructors. The first six minutes of the video is the introduction of the ladies and after that the routine begins. With the exception of Tatum Pierce and Rebecca Blue, all the other ladies are totally nude. Tatum and Rebecca work out together on the DVD and Tatum wears black and pink socks and a black work-out bra and not shorts. Rebecca on the other hand wears black short shorts and nothing else. The video is hard to follow along to and there is no instruction. Only the ones that I put an asterisk next to are the ones that I felt a person could follow along to. There is no oral instruction what so ever and at times you would need some work-out props. Also not included in the DVD is a Scene Selection menu; so if you wanted to try some of the stretches and not watch the whole video. One other thing to note is the camera operator. The person operating the camera was not that great. A third of the workouts were close-up of the ladies and that made it impossible to see the workout. So unless your idea of a work-out is to sweat watching nude ladies warm-up and stretch, then go ahead and buy. Totally Nude Warm-Up & Stretch gets a D.
Carly Banks (porn star) & Karlie Montana (porn star) -The Awakening Breath
Persia Pele
Amy Reid (porn star)
Tanya James (porn star) & Celeste Star (porn star)-The Diamond Stretch
Claudia James
Tatum Pierce
Rebecca Blue (porn star)
Back Stretches
Resistance Stretches
Reverse Resistance Stretches
Lateral Balance Exercise*
Exercises and Body Carving Calisthenics
1.Forward Lunge Variations
2.Windmills and Variations
3.Outtakes
4.Mule Kicks*
5.Two-Arm Curls and Variations*
Advanced Exercises-Aerobice Resistance and Isometric
1.Jumping Jacks*
2.Push-Ups*
3.Bicycles and Crunches
4.Resistance Leg Raises (need a partner)
5.Leg Scissors*
Totally Nude Pilates Workout is fifty-five minutes and is included with the Totally Nude Warm-Up & Stretch DVD. Totally Nude Pilates Workout includes four of the ladies from Totally Nude Warm-Up & Stretch DVD. Totally Nude Pilates Workout is totally useless. For a good forty-five minutes of the DVD you will need a Pilates Exercise Machine and if you don't own then you are going have to go out and buy one. Only about ten minutes was a mat workout. The camera operator did better job this time around then that person did in Totally Nude Warm-Up & Stretch. This is an entertainment only DVD.
Celeste Star (porn star)
Tanya James (porn star)
Tatum Pierce
Rebecca Blue (porn star)
Mat Exercises
-Warm-Up and Stretching
Pilates Machine Exercises
1.Celeste Star
a.The Simple Squat Exercises
b.The Hamstring Kick Exercises
c.Pectorals/Tricep-Combination Pulls
d.Hip & Thigh-Circular Scissors
e.Single Leg-Pull Downs
f.Overhead Triceps and Variations
g.Reverse Deltoid Dips
h.Single Leg Bounce-N-Kick
2.Rebecca Blue
a.Simple Calf Knee Bends
b.Simple Leg Push Off
c.Full Body Core Exercises
d.Tricep and Deltoid Rows
e.Reverse Rows
f.Single Leg Thigh Cutters
g.Overhead Tricep Pull Downs
h.Double Leg Butt Burners
i.Single Leg Bounce-N-Kick
j.Reverse Tricep Rows
k.Hip & Thigh Circular Scissors
Mat Exercises
-Pilates Resistance
-Reverse Lunges
Pilates Machine Exercises
1.Tanya James
a.Leg Lifts
b.Overhead Triceps Pull Downs and Variations
c.Single Leg Push Off
d.Full Body Core Exercises
2.Tatum Pierce
a.Overhead Triceps Pull Downs and Variations
b.Hip & Thigh Circular Scissors
c.Alternating Knee Bends

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Totally Nude Yoga & Tai Chi (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Only slightly more exciting than "virtual fireplace". Seriously bad, horrible, annoying transition effects - the screen goes to blinging white every thirty seconds, horrible lighting - you just don't use red gels for a relaxing yoga scene - and nearly zero action. the "advanced weapons" portions of the tai chi was outright laughable...a bunch of strippers posing clumsily with obvious prop weapons...
The girls are well-built, any one of them could place in a miss trailer park pageant, but not one of them knows what she is doing or even looks asian for that matter. A few of them are sporting dragon tatoos, if that counts for anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those martial arts purists (I've alway felt that self defense is best learned by barfighting) but even I was insulted by the performances.
I bought this DVD because I have an enormous TV I never use and wanted something to run constantly and in the background. I figured naked women was more interesting than fish, but this DVD challenges that theory. Even if you aren't looking at it, the lighting and transition effects create an uncomfortable atmosphere in the room. Everybody involved with this DVD (except the models) should be shot.
It fails for atmosphere, fails for vouyerism (get totally nude aerobics instead), fails as instructional material and fails as performance art. Just a waste of time and money.

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Item Name: Totally Nude Yoga & Tai Chi; Studio:D.G. Distributors

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Living Yoga - Back Care Yoga for Beginners (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)For the past 2 months, I've been experiencing terrible back pain due to muscle spasms. I wasn't offered much help by any of the doctors that I saw, other to be put on muscle relaxers and pain killers, which made me feel even worse. I came across this tape by sheer accident while browsing at my local library. I decided to try it because I was in so much pain, I was willing to try anything!
I got home and did the 20 minutes of tape and was SHOCKED by the results! I literally felt better after 20 minutes of Yoga, than I had in months! I couldn't believe the difference in how I felt, I felt like my old self again.
I'm not much a Yoga person and I don't consider myself very flexible, but this tape WORKS! It's perfect for beginners who haven't done any kind of Yoga before, it's gentle enough to use if you are injured, and best of all, it's effective. I think one of the best parts of this video is that Rodney Yee focuses on strengthening your back and your spine, so that your back problems will go away naturally and you'll be less likely have them again over time.
I would highly recommend this video to anyone that is experiencing any type of lower back pain. I know I will be using this video for years to come!

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Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love Rodney Yee as well as only a handful of other instructors such as Rainbeau Mars, Seane Corn, etc. who have a real passion for yoga to help balance the body and the mind.
This has 2 about 20 min workouts, Rodney doing the morning & Colleen doing the evening. They both use only basic beginner poses that have a relaxed, slow pace. The great thing about this dvd is the 3 different audio instruction. You can have basic overall instruction that Rodney uses in the past which gives you the pose name, basic instruction about posture, as well as some inspiration teaching such as not being hard on yourself that you aren't doing the best you've ever done, etc. You can choose "pose only" which is just the music & Rodney/Colleen only saying only the name of the next pose. Or you can have the "inspirational" mode which tells you the pose & how it helps your body & other inspirational ways the yoga pose helps you through life in a more positive way, by noticing the positive in your body, etc. This is a great idea to get larger target audience who might all have different taste in instruction, or different needs depending on the day. I think all workout dvds should do this, even offer even more varied choices, especially "instruction only" in case you don't like the music, but do want the instruction, etc.. Most dvds now only offer instruction w/music or just music which is too limiting considering the technological possibilities, dvd reviews will get much less complaints due to varied user's tastes & much more sales. *hint hint*
The pose 42 min guide has Rodney & Colleen taking turns being the teacher/model in a total white studio for poses like: mountain, side bend, back bend, standing fwd bend, downward dog, triangle, wide angle standing fwd bend, side angle, warrior 1, cobra, cobbler's/butterfly, seated twist, seated cross legged fwd bend, seated fwd bend, reclined easy stretch figure 4 ankle crossed over knee then pull to chest, happy baby, reclined twist, bridge, reclined rest with knees up, total rest. They mostly focus on common thing people do wrong & quick basics on how to do it right. There could have been more instruction, but this is good for people who get bored fast.
If you want really deep instruction that answers questions you wouldn't even realize to ask about muscle alignment/use during a pose, I would suggest Seane Corn's Vinyasa Flow Yoga - Uniting Movement with Breath.
Video clip: Youtube under "Rodney Yee Yoga for Beginners"
& quick trailer at Gaiam com

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PERFECT POSES FROM THE PROSGet that long, lean yoga look while centering yourmind and improving posture and fl exibility. Yogamasters Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidmandemonstrate all the basic poses in a detailed40-minute Pose Training session. Learn accuratealignment, technique and how to avoid themistakes they see most often. Then, put thoselessons into practice with two full-length workouts. The 20-minute Morning Workoutwill get your day off to a refreshing start, helping you awaken and energize. The15-minute Evening Workout restores, relaxes and soothes. Choose full, in-depthguidance as you get familiar with the routine or opt for minimal conversation so you cantake in the sights and sounds of beautiful Molokai, Hawaii.

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