Search - Yoga for Stress Relief on DVD

Moves too fast to be relaxing

Beth Cholette | Upstate NY USA | 09/10/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I first tried this program on VHS when I was fairly new to yoga and wanted some shorter practices to perform during times when I'm time-crunched (back then, there was a lot less yoga media available on the market, and most of the offerings seemed to be longer, at least 40-60 minutes). Furthermore, I wanted something that was gentle and relaxing as opposed to a more "power yoga" style. I was familiar with Suzanne Deason and liked her teaching style, so I decided to give "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners" (the former title of the VHS version) a try.



Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this video, which felt rushed rather than relaxing. Although I still found Deason's voice to be soothing and thought that she cued well, she moved so quickly from pose to pose that there was little opportunity to actualy enjoy/relax in the postures. Furthermore, the use of props only hindered and further complicated this practice--if the routine had moved at a slower pace, with time allowed for lengthier holds, the props would be a nice addition, making this practice more restorative and allowing those with less flexibility to attain the poses. Instead, because the transitions were so fast, I spent most of my time worrying about where the props were supposed to be positioned--by the time I had this figured out, it was time to move on.



Currently, there are much better options on available on the market. Barbara Benagh's Yoga for Stress Relief offers a variety of practices of varying lengths, and I would definitely choose that DVD or another newer release over this one."