Search - Element: Am and PM Yoga for Beginners on DVD

Nice gentle practices perfect for waking up or winding down

LCW | 09/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was so excited to get this product as I have another of Elena Brower's Yoga DVD's and absolutly love it. I'm happy to say that this did not dissapoint either.



The AM workout slowly warms up and opens your body and manages to pack in quite an impressive variety of poses into 30 minutes that work your entire body without making it seemed rushed. It leaves you very invigorated and is really the perfect quick workout for the morning.



The PM workout is so relaxing, soothing, and just leaves you feeling all ooey gooey good! Elena adds a lot of breathing and centering in this workout, something I find missing or lacking in many Yoga workouts. It is a soothing workout for both mind and body, the very essence of what Yoga is supposed to be!



Here's a breakdown of the poses:



AM:

-Mountain Pose w/ some gentle arm and shoulder warm ups

-Warm ups w/ cat-cow, down dog, childs pose, a down dog/plank vinyassa, ending in cat cow

-Twisted lunge

-Gentle Sun Salutations

-Standing Poses including Warrior II, Side Angle, Wide Leg Forward Bend, WLFB w. a twist, and Warrior III w/ modificaitons, side plank w/ modifications

-Then you move onto floor work with the Sphinx pose, moving locust pose, boat pose, bridge pose, seated twist

-Ending with a seated meditation and centering



PM:

-Seated meditation and moving your body with your breath to get centered and relax

-Down Dog

-Plank

-Cobra

-Pigeon Pose

-Twisted Pigeon Pose

-Down Dog

-Childs Pose

-Breathing and Centering

-Easy Twist

-Seated Stick Pose (Dandasana) alternating with seated twists

-Seated Forward bends

-Back to Seated Stick Pose

-Cobblers Pose

-One legged seated forward bend

-Savasana



Both workouts are perfect for what they meant to be: gentle and quick with emphasis on both the working and relaxing aspects of Yoga. I highly recommend this great DVD!

"

Good, but not for rank beginners

Jon Norris | Oregon, USA | 10/15/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"
This is a good yoga video, but it is important to realize that it is not an instructional video for absolute beginners. The poses may be easy enough for beginners to tackle, but this is not a video for teaching yoga to a novice.



The video consists of two sets of postures (poses, movements), one for morning and one for evening. Elena Brower obviously knows her stuff, and each pose is shown from a variety of angles. The narration is helpful and clear. There are some instructions for a few variations based on the learner's abilities.



While the video is well shot and the poses well done, I find it lacking in instructional value. There is too much unexplained jargon; "soften your eyes," "inhale brightly open," and so on. The yogic names, when used, are not explained, spelled out onscreen, or pronounced slowly. There is no booklet included to explain, define, or clarify any of the material. Someone already familiar with yoga, or other similar practices, could learn the routines fairly easily from this video.



This all serves to make it more difficult for a rank beginner who might want to start learning yoga from this video. The routines are great, and would be a wonderful addition to one's yoga regime. Just don't make the mistake of thinking you will jumpstart your study of yoga from this video.



With that caveat to warn off absolute beginners, I find this to be a nice presentation of a couple of great yoga routines for those already familiar enough with yoga to add to their practice.

"

Very helpful for beginners :-)

Little Miss Cutey | Melbourne, Australia | 09/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When it comes to yoga, I am definately a beginner and don't do it often because some yoga programs are too challenging for me. This one is great and I'm glad I decided to give it a go. I didn't get it the first time round but I'm finding it getting a little easier with each go and now I'll be enjoying the challenge of progressing to a higher level of it.

This has a gorgeous setting outdoors by the ocean and so that in itself is nice and relaxing. The AM segment is done with standing movements to help energize you and the PM segment is more focused on relaxing and elongating your muscles and nice stretches. I find down dog and sun salutation to be my two favourite moves here. Ellen is a great instructor who has the perfect soft voice for yoga teaching and the way she describes the moves, helps you visualise them without necessarily having to look at your tv set.

While I'm new to yoga, I do find this great. As I mentioned, yoga usually seemed intimidating yet this workout isn't that at all. So if you haven't tried it before (or you have and didn't like it), I think this workout will suit you. It's easy to do and relaxing. I highly recommend it."

Nice start for a true beginner

GLENN LEVY | Chicago | 09/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wanted to start yoga for a while now, but was not sure where to start. I am self conscious about my body image, so taking a class in person was not really something I wanted to do. I have major health issues with my neck and back. I found this video to be easy to follow,understand and do the exercises. Ellen has a relaxing voice, that is clear and she explains each movement in detail. I like the way the video is split into 2 parts AM & PM, each with its own purpose.



I'm hoping this allows more flexibility and less pain, so far so good. I felt good after doing the routine a few times so far. I think this will make it easier for me to go farther into yoga as exercise without putting the stress on my body that other exercise progams have. I believe that's the idea here, and this video is a great help to start out with. I'm glad I decided to get this video. If you have any interest in starting yoga, this is a good place to start in my opinion."