[.ca] Kathy Smith New Yoga Basics

From Amazon.com:
Fitness 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 Price

Gentle Yoga Practice and Great Place to Start:
I took this DVD out of my Library our of curiousity along with two of Kathy Smiths other Yoga videos. While I've been practicing daily for 7 years and have been fortunate to be blessed with a wonderful and gifted teacher (whose classes I wish I could attend daily), I rely heavily on my home practice due to my schedule. I find that VHS/DVD's are a really great way to keep a home practice from getting stale and I like to alternate between lots of programs for variety as well as different levels of intensity. Even though I have been doing Yoga for a relatively long time I still enjoy working with "beginners" programs on days when I don't want to push really hard but still want a well rounded practice. I found this program to be a real joy to practice with and have been pleasently surprised by the two Yoga Programs of Kathy Smith's that I've gotten to practice with so far. In fact I'll be trying out her intermediate DVD tomorrow and from what I've seen so far I have great expectations. In fact I plan on ordering the 3 DVD set. I think it's admirable that while Kathy Smith is the featured teacher in this program, she was wise enough to have collaborated with Rod Stryker (who not only developed the routine but also was a co-producer on the video if I'm not mistaken). Rod is the real deal, he's as reputable a teacher of yoga as one might find anywhere so this program is extremely sound and well structured. I feel that Kathy does a great job of leading you through the program, she paces the program well, has clear and concise instruction and is an inspiring model. I can see how some might feel there are some poses (particularly those in lunge positions as well as Downward facing dog) that might be a bit too much for a brand new beginner, but if these weren't included the tape would become pretty useless very quickly. The key is just to do what you can and rest when you need to, you will eventually build up strength incrementally. Another positive thing about this program is that it is not filled with "too much" verbal instruction and therefore maintains a flow which makes it very "practice friendly". There are other very good introductory programs out there but often those become hard to practice with because they can get too bogged down with details and therefore are cumbersome to practice with. Anyway, I highly recommend this program for beginners or even those more advanced who (like me on this particular morning) want to have a gentle yoga program to practice with to alternate with more intense programs. Namaste

WAY too difficult for a beginner!:
This DVD jumps from simple stretching and relaxation to quite advanced poses- there seems to be no middle ground. I agree with the other reviewer that the makers of this workout don't really have a clue about the limitations of a beginning yoga student. A few of the poses I can't fully do (i.e.-warrior pose), or can't hold for the entire length. On the other hand, I do think that this workout zips along- the 55 minutes is over before I know it.

Not good for a beginner:
I agree with the previous reviewer in that the background music and ambiance of the DVD are good, but that was pretty much the only redeeming quality I found in this yoga DVD. I find Kathy Smith's "basics" (in general, aerobics and strength training videos included) to be a little too demanding for a beginner. I think she is too in shape for her own good and can't relate to how hard it is for a real beginner to get started. My mom bought this DVD as an introduction to yoga, and she said it was really hard. As a somewhat experienced yoga student, I tried it, and I could totally understand her viewpoint. I myself found it too slow, and I think she could have made better choices in terms of what postures to demonstrate. The ones she does perform are kind of awkward, especially if your muscles are not extremely warm (a fact she briefly mentions at the beginning of the DVD). It's like Kathy Smith can't decide if she wants this to be for relaxation or for a tough workout, and I think that really weakens the whole experience. Half the time I wanted to close my eyes so I could just focus on my breathing and posture, but then she'd be jumping into a strenuous posture (like warrior pose) without much warning. If you really want this DVD, I recommend you watch it a few times before you actually do it, and I recommend you turn your air conditioning off before you start. Otherwise, you will be floundering trying to figure out what you're supposed to be doing every second, and your muscles will be too cold to stretch the way she expects you to.

Pretty Good:
This was the first yoga workout I purchased. Kathy does an excellent job of cueing and explaining the poses. There are two other people on the set with Kathy who demonstrate different levels of flexibility (i.e. for beginners & more advanced students). I also enjoyed the "background music" on this video. The workout is solid, and Kathy keeps it interesting without being boring. I have two criticisms, however. First, there is no warm-up on this tape---which I consider strange, since most other yoga tapes do. Two, some basic equipment is needed, which is not listed on the outer packaging (a strap and a couple of blankets are suggested. I used a man's tie or a belt until I was able to purchase a strap). If neither of these last two points would bother you, then this you might really like this video.

Love it!:
This was my first exposure to yoga. A couple of the poses are challenging but I stuck with it and saw improvement very quickly. My balance is amazing and I feel great.