Description

New Yoga BasicsFitness guru Kathy Smith leads a gentle introduction to yoga, with plenty of adaptations for special needs. She starts with very simple postures for body awareness, proper breathing, and relaxation. Smith explains how to do each pose correctly, how to use your breath, how to modify if necessary, where to focus your concentration, how the body should be aligned, and what parts are working. Her instructions are clear and explicit. Modifications are offered for both more and less flexible exercisers, letting you adapt the yoga practice to your own level. Some of the poses seem like traditional stretches you’re already used to, and Smith makes the transition to the more challenging poses easy to follow. If you’ve been intrigued by yoga, but are intimidated by the poses you’ve seen among experienced yoga practitioners, this is a terrific starting place. (Floor poses: 22 minutes; standing poses: 22 minutes; guided relaxation: 10 minutes.) –Joan PriceKathy Smith – New Yoga Intermediate”New” yoga? Not really. The asanas (poses) in this 55-minute routine are essentially variations on the ones that have been around for millennia. But Kathy Smith and cocreator Rod Stryker for the most part avoid the pitfalls of many yoga videos, which tend to undervalue proper instruction in favor of displaying beautiful bodies in the kind of impossible positions usually seen at the Cirque du Soleil. Split into two sections–the first one concentrates on sun salutes (a series of poses to generate heat and build strength and balance) and various standing poses; the second, shorter one is devoted to sitting and prone asanas–New Yoga offers clear, concise instruction, emphasizing the use of the breath and proper form and alignment (although Smith fails to mention why the latter is important; it’s to facilitate the flow of the breath and blood throughout the body). Some of the routine is quite demanding, but experienced yoga people will have few problems and newcomers should catch on quickly. Plenty of alternative and modified poses are offered to accommodate both intermediate and beginning levels. –Sam GrahamKathy Smith – New Yoga Challenge”Each of us has unlimited potential. How completely we realize it is the challenge,” says fitness guru Kathy Smith. Smith has been enjoying yoga as part of her own program for more than 20 years. She finds yoga beneficial on its own, and complementary to her other fitness activities. Here she teams up with yoga master Rod Stryker for a rigorous, intermediate-to-advanced yoga routine. This workout is more vigorous than you would expect from yoga–you move from one challenging pose to another without stopping, building strength and stamina as well as flexibility. Stryker does almost all of the verbal direction, and he is a superb instructor: precise, personal, welcoming, and offering plenty of alignment cues. Both instructors demonstrate the poses beautifully with exquisite form–you may get distracted just wanting to stare at them. Occasionally they show modifications so you can do a pose in good form even if you’re not as flexible as they are (and who is?). The production is polished and top quality. Running time is one hour, divided into deep breathing and warm-up (5 minutes), continuous standing poses (30 minutes), floor poses (20 minutes), and guided relaxation (5 minutes). If you’re experienced in yoga and would like a new challenge, this tape will delight you. –Joan Price