Intermediate/Advanced/Power Yoga

AM Latte
Teigh McDonough, Gillian Marloth
Year Released: 2005

AM Latte is part of the Yoga Booty Ballet Master Series. It is a 32-minute workout incorporating a short wake-up routine, ten minutes of low-impact aerobics, five minutes each of lower body strength work and yoga sun salutations, and a closing meditation.

In the YBB Masters it is just Gillian and Teigh -- no class, no Ravi on drums. The set is a spare, brightly-lit studio with wood floors and white walls, softened with long golden-yellow fabric panels, plus soft lighting and plants lining the room edges. The effect is clean, elegant and pretty. The music is fine (if not memorable), often with an Indian vibe, and is appropriately varied to the different types of movement in AM Latte. The only equipment needed is a yoga sticky mat. Teigh and Gillian are barefoot throughout the entire workout, including the aerobics. As usual, they trade off instruction, form tips, and lots of encouragement and positive thoughts.

There is no formal chaptering on the DVD, not even a start menu (I would have appreciated at least that). However, the DVD appears well segmented by exercise groups, so you can use the "skip" buttons on your remote to pass by (or repeat) a particular section.

AM Latte is designed as a "first thing in the morning" routine. Ummm, no thanks for me! I need to start my day with some coffee, toast and Internet, not to mention feeding the cat! My copy of AM Latte is shelved next to my recently-acquired YBB Lives (which it resembles as far as exercise sequencing). Intensity-wise, AM Latte would be most appropriate for the advanced beginner to intermediate exerciser, although I think virtually any fitness level could enjoy it depending on what they want out of this workout.

The first ten minutes is spent "waking up," although this sequence also works well to relax the body and focus the mind for a workout. We begin lying on the floor (you could even do this part in bed) methodically squeezing and relaxing each part of the body, beginning with the feet and working up to the top of the head. Next, sitting Japanese style on the heels (although cross-legged would also work), we do lion's pose, sticking the tongue out while rolling up the eyes (which makes Gillian giggle!). This is followed by a "sat nam" (truth is reality) meditation done while inhaling, chest out, arching the back, then exhaling, collapsing the chest and rounding the back. The inhales/exhales are done rapidly and this goes on for a couple of minutes, making the meditation quite vigorous. A quieter "sa ta na ma" meditation for balance follows. We complete this section with brisk pats and taps all over the body, a mudra for guidance and acceptance of wisdom, and setting an intention.

Ten minutes of low-impact, not-too-intense aerobics follow. The steps are simple, even for choreographically challenged individuals such as myself. The routine is taught TIFT style and we are encouraged to add lots of attitude. For the last couple of moves we mime drinking our soy lattes, brushing our hair, flossing our teeth, and driving off to work -- kind of cute! Using the "skip" buttons you could repeat this aerobic section, which would make AM Latte even more similar to a YBB Live.

Next is five minutes of YBB-style strength work, including standing side leg lifts with arms in ballet positions (which also strengthens the upper body and challenges balance), one-legged squats, and plies. This is followed by five minutes of sun salutations, done at a moderate pace in time to the music. (It is assumed you have at least a basic understanding of the yoga poses involved.) AM Latte concludes with meditations for dealing with stress and for upward aspiration.

A couple of caveats. The "woo woo" factor is quite high in AM Latte, so if this is not your cup of tea (or latte!) you are duly warned. Also, some of the moves, like lion and the body patting, will probably appear pretty comical to any household onlookers.

AM Latte is a good choice for a wake-up routine if that suits your style. I can also see reaching for it when I am short on time, recovering after an illness, or have the I-don't-wanna-work-out blahs. However, although refreshing and energizing, I don't think AM Latte is vigorous enough on its own to be used as a regular workout.

Instructor Comments:
As always, Teigh and Gillian bring a lot of joy and positivity to what they teach. I always enjoy working out with them.

JustSandra

04/02/2006

Pure Power
Rainbeau Mars



Pure Power is a 30-minute challenging yoga routine that is designed to build strength. It is definitely not for beginners, as it includes some fairly strenuous moves which require quite a bit of pre-existing strength, especially in the arms: as an intermediate exerciser who has been practicing yoga for several years, I found that I needed to take several breaks throughout the practice.

Rainbeau Mars leads the practice in her usual calmly flowing manner. The first half of the routine consists of approximately five total sun salutations. Although Rainbeau moves slowly through each series, she inserts poses which will definitely challenge your stamina, including side plank, crescent lunges, awkward chair, and 3-legged down-dog. She also includes some tough movements lying on your stomach such as yogic push-ups (lowering to chaturanga and then lifting back up), 1-legged chaturanga, and cobra variations. From standing, Rainbeau comes to a reclined position (there are no seated postures in this practice) for bridge, lying twist, and relaxation.

This is an excellent program for anyone looking to expand their yoga practice, from more experienced beginners who want to slowly build strength to more advanced yogis who wish to continue to increase their stamina and endurance. Finally, the 1/2 hour time frame is likely to be particularly beneficial for those who have limited time but who still want a serious yoga practice.

Instructor Comments:
In this video, Rainbeau is less chatty and more focused on the poses than in some of her other videos, but as always, she is gently encouraging and provides very good mirrored cuing.

Beth C (aka toaster)

08/21/2004

Growing a Lotus
John Friend

Growing a Lotus is part of a series of four DVDs filmed during a week-long retreat provided by Anusara Yoga founder John Friend at the Omega Institute; the workshop was originally offered as a live webcast. At the start of this one and a half hour session, Friend announces that that goal will be for everyone in the class to get into lotus pose--or some version thereof. Given this, he notes that the postures will focus on opening the hips. During the session, Friend leads from a small stage at the front of the room, sometimes walking around the audience, while an assistant, Kelly Haas, demonstrates the poses.

Friend begins the practice in the traditional Anusara way by chanting 3 rounds of OM and then 3 rounds of the Anusara invocation. Providing detailed instructions on form and alignment, he slowly leads the class into the first standing forward bend of the day, moving into a sort of modified sun salutation series which includes the high lunge, down dog, and eventually incorporating lizard lunge, a hip opener. He teaches just one standing posture, extended side angle pose, before moving the class to the floor. Here Friend leads the group through a pigeon series which includes several repetitions on either side. Seated postures include cow seat, head-to-knee pose, half lord of the fishes, wide angle seated forward bend, cobbler's pose, and baby cradle.

Coming down to lying, Friend cues additional work on the hamstrings and hips through reclined hand-to-foot and reclined hamstring. He then has the participants come back to a seating position for several different moves in a half-hero position, including a half-hero forward bend and a half-hero, half-lotus twist. At this point, Friend announces to the class that they are ready to try lotus pose. He advises you to be careful not to sickle the foot, but other than that, he doesn't really provide any particular pointers or "tips" about how to get into the posture. The pose is held very briefly (this portion appears to have been cut short), and then is repeated on the other side.

Instructor Comments:
After lotus, Friend has the participants come into standing forward bend to stretch, then return to a seated position for a brief meditation. The session ends here; Friend mentions that they will be continuing on with savasana and he encourages the viewer to do so as well, but this is not included on the DVD. Overall, Growing a Lotus a wonderful immersion in the Anusara style and certainly a very nice practice for opening the hips. If you have worked on lotus pose in the past and have come close to getting into the posture, this class might be what puts you over the edge. However, if you have little or no experience with the pose, I don't think that Friend really teaches the posture here; for that, I would recommend Erich Schiffmann's Padmasana (Lotus Pose). Seeing John Friend teach live is a unique experience and probably worth the purchase of this--or one of the other Omega Institute series DVDs--alone! He is warm, engaging, and humorous; if you enjoy the Anusara style ("opening to grace"), adding Friend to your yoga library is a must.

Beth C (aka toaster)

07/01/2009

Riding the Waves of Grace
John Friend
This is the second of four videos filmed during a 2006 Anusara Yoga workshop webcast from The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. I enjoy the variety of people present at various levels of strength, age and flexibility. While John instructs the crowd, a model demonstrates off to the side with draperies behind her. In the other three videos, she is fully visible when needed but for some reason she isn’t as accessible in Riding the Waves (to my forward bending eyes, anyway).

This is the most meditative and lecture-oriented of the four, and my least favorite. For me, this particular recording does not translate well from hands-on workshop to the home computer/TV screen. Sitting upright to contemplate without some asana to release the spine just gets me uncomfortable and jittery. Which is unfortunate because the lecture material has good pointers for the basics of Anusara. The initial asana (after a lot of sitting and lecture) focuses on inner spiral of the legs and opening of the hips, and Friend gives good basics of building your foundation. You are guided through the outer corners of your feet right up to your hip joints in Uttanasa, and there is wonderful instruction on pranayama and expanding the ribs/sternum. The twists are also good – first simple “Sukhasana Twist” then Ardha Matsyendrasana variation.

I enjoy John’s presence, and his mental guidance for enriching your prana … tapping into the divine Ohm / presence / flow that connects us all – but the physicality of this particular DVD doesn’t connect for me. Just when I get halfway stretched out he wants you to sit again. No! I sat all day at work! I’d actually prefer this as a meditation CD.
Instructor Comments:
Learn more about Anusara at www.anusara.com.

Pat58

09/02/2008

All the Right Moves
Grace Lazenby

This fusion of Yoga / Pilates / Ballet exercise has been reviewed several times - just adding my impressions after doing it for the first time. Equipment needed: yoga mat, light hand weights, a ball to squeeze between the legs (used my YBB Squishy Ball), and a body bar or chair (used a Mr. Clean Magic Reach minus cleansing pad, LOL! - worked great - better than it does on the bathroom).

I found ATRM to have pros and cons. Upon a brief review, it turned me off and I regretted purchasing it. The testimonials segment at the beginning seems like a mini infomercial - hello? I bought the thing already? You cannot jump ahead, but fortunately you can bypass that chapter from the main menu. That said, here are the pros and cons:

The Cons: The music ranges from tolerable to awful. At times the techno backbeat helps with the higher rep exercises; at others it distracts from and ruins what would have been a great section. The wonderful stretch at the end is marred by a horrid repetitive organ note. Maybe it was intended to assist with deep breathing; unfortunately it sounds like a church mouse snoring on an organ key.

I had a curious reaction to Grace, herself. It was a "I love her" / "Boy she can be annoying" experience. I must have reached some sort of endorphin surge by the time the second leg series was flowing because I had a profound urge to take her out for a milkshake and grilled cheese. Grace seems to have been existing on espresso or travel mugs of straight-up black coffee. Soon my own craving for a strawberry malted developed, and by the time the leg work was done, I wanted to squirt her with a seltzer hose because she had killed my behind and left me a wrung out mess on the mat.

The Pros: The workout itself. Grace has developed a program that for me, anyway, has a perfect flow - varied, quick enough to raise the heart rate but not overly fast. She seemed to be reading my mind. Just when I couldn't stand one more rep or series, it would switch to something different. I enjoyed the Sun Salutations, for example, but got winded and was sweating, thighs not capable of taking one more deep lunging Warrior variation, when it eased into the next chapter of Pilates mat work. (Did I say "eased?" ~ "Deep intra-muscular hammering of another body part" is more like it.)

Mind-reading again - the pretzels/side lying leg work series fried me, and just as I was thinking, "I'm stopping the DVD to do a nice long Pigeon," Grace has you go into Scissor Dog, raising the worked leg high up behind you, then drop down into a deep Pigeon. Here the wonderful chaptering of this DVD comes into play - you can stay in Pigeon as long as you desire because the second side series is its own chapter.

Other Pros: The time flew. At the end, Grace asks you to check how you feel in forward bend compared to the beginning - sure enough, I was way flexible, my cranky back was happy, and my butt cheeks were singing in tune to the thrumming church mouse on his organ keyboard.

The chaptering is well executed. I felt wonderfully erect and walked regally for the rest of the day. ATRM promotes deep and cleansing breathing, and between that and the full body approach of the workout, I felt oxygenated on a cellular level. The ending stretch segment is wonderful - if only there were a music-off option it would be perfect. Finally, I was able to perform this WO within my limitations (wrists, back) and come out of it feeling better than going in.

Bottom line: the benefits outweight the annoyances, glad I purchased it and even wish Grace would produce another (with better soundtrack). I have Angles, Lines & Curves I - ATRM is way better, in my opinion.
Instructor Comments:
Has some mildly annoying quirks like repeating "uh-huh" and getting breathy and quiet, but this woman knows her stuff so well I can overlook it.

Pat58

02/19/2006


In ALL THE RIGHT MOVES, instructor Grace Lazenby does a nice job of blending traditional sculpting with other methods, mainly yoga but also a bit of pilates and ballet-type conditioning. Her warm up begins with a focus on breathing and incorporates simple sun salutation moves from yoga. (Note: Grace does not use very good form for the yoga poses, thus some prior familiarity with proper form is helpful, although not necessary.)

Following the warm-up, Grace moves on to standing toning exercises. She uses a body bar for balance (a chair can be substituted), and the moves are similar to what you would do with a ballet barre--fans of Callanetics and/or the Lotte Berk Method will see some similarities here. Grace also uses a weighted ball between her legs; I didn't have one, but I found that the exercises were tough enough without the ball! She performs several sets of each exercise, thoroughly fatiguing the muscles. After these moves, Grace returns to the mat for a yoga warrior series which incorporates many down dog poses.

The workout then moves to the floor, beginning with some light weight work for the chest and shoulders. This is only a short section of the video; the overall focus of this workout is definitely on the lower body. The abs section comes next, and here's where the Pilates moves are woven in: Grace starts with the hundred and also does a variation on the roll up using a dumbell. This abs work was a bit of a disappointment to me, as I didn't feel like my abs got a thorough workout doing the few exercises here.

The remaining floor work which follows focuses on the thighs and glutes, and I found it somewhat similar to Karen Voight's Total Body Toning (minus the fitness ring). The moves are simple to execute, yet the many repetitions make them TOUGH to do--just when you think you must be done, Grace throws in another set. Finally, the tape ends with a "warm down" section which provides a nice stretch.

I enjoyed this video; I found the transitions from one method to the next to be smooth and flowing, and the varied workout held my interest. If you are looking for a workout that includes a blend of styles and really challenges the lower body while also being fun, check out this tape!

Instructor Comments:
Grace is a good instructor--encouraging without being overly chatty--although mirrored cuing and proper form would have made this tape even better.

Beth C (aka toaster)

12/15/2003

Ashtanga Yoga
Sarah Powers

This is, without a doubt, the best ashtanga yoga video I have come across. Sarah Powers leads the entire primary series in a yoga studio with a class of about 25, all at various levels. She begins with the invocation, so those who have trouble with that can zoom ahead. She says to prepare yourself for a special time, and she is so right. Sarah leads the class and will do the occasional pose herself, especially ones that are more difficult. She gives alternatives for many poses, including ones which can stress the knees, toes and hips. As far is the infamous ashtanga jump throughs she also gives wonderful advice and pointers. During the class it is wonderful to see her giving adjustments and encouragements to those who need it. Just when you think you can't go on anymore she tells you why you should. Her focus is not just on the pacing, which is rather slow and is often held longer while she adjusts students, but also on proper alignment and safety. She makes me feel very comfortable doing these poses while simultaneously encourages me to work hard. This is not an easy thing to capture in a video!

Her students are at various levels in their practice, but it is a joy to see both beginning and advanced students in the same class, working at their appropriate level. The students in this class ask her questions quietly and with respect, so different from David Life's workshop! This is not a polished video as far as production goes, but it's not bad. People come and go through a door with squeaky hinges; there is lots of outside noise creeping in and the sounds of children playing, but to me it adds to the quality of practice.

For anyone interested in practising ashtanga yoga at home, you need this video. (It is available at ashtanga1.com.)

Fran G

03/16/2001

Autonomy: CardioYoga
Keri Tombazian
Year Released: 1997

This is a great, if little-known, 42-minute power yoga workout. It’s very much like one you would see from Bryan Kest. This one covers the basic power yoga poses, and you hold the stretches for a good amount of time – enough so that you feel it working, but not too long. The instruction is a female voice-over (Keri Tombazian’s voice). She is a little too perky considering it’s yoga, but she’s not annoying or anything. The set is on the drab side, but you’re not generally looking at it anyway during yoga. In fact, you don’t want to look at the TV with this one, because the voice is often not in sync with the two people performing the moves. I just ignore the TV and listen to Keri’s voice, and it works out fine. The only place I know to get this tape is on eBay. There is a repackaged one called New Millennium Workout: Cardio Yoga, so if you see that, it’s the same thing. I recommend snapping it up if you’re a power yoga/Bryan Kest fan. Grade A.

Annie S.

07/07/2004


CardioYoga (B) CardioYoga CardioYoga is a routine that uses a few yoga poses and repeats them in an intensity and order that is designed to get your heart rate up while you stretch muscles deeply. The video, produced by Rick Scott, is a bit weird to follow. There is no real instructor. A narrator's voice cues your moves and discusses safety and breathing, while a man and woman stoicly perform the routine in a sparse, amber-colored setting to club-style world music (ie. Deep Forest). The man frequently demonstrates modifications of poses, to reiterate the narrator's insistence that there is no "right" way to hold a pose, and that you may do whatever makes you feel that you're getting something out of it.

While I'm not sold on the deviant production style, I liked the workout. I felt strong, limber, and relaxed after having done the tape. It actually has helped me cope with a recent minor back injury. If you can put up with the weirdness of the video, I think it does a good job of stretching and relaxing major muscle groups.

Instructor Comments:
This video features two hard bodies (one male, one female) following a routine dictated by an off-screen narrator. It's sort of unusual, but I think the producer's line of logic is to get you to focus on your own body as much as possible.

Karen

11/30/-0001