Search - Total Yoga: The Flow Series - Water on DVD

Perfect vinyasa flow practice!

YogaKat | Oregon United States | 07/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a perfect yoga practice. I love the speed and it has some of my favorite yoga postures.

I agree with the others that you should have some basic knowledge of yoga before attempting this practice. However, I disagree with the other person that said this is too easy and the poses are not held long enough. This is very challenging and brings you in touch with the balance of breath and movement. I think they hold the poses a perfect amount of time.

You start with breathing, then move to a very graceful, slow sun salutation series and warrior/triangle/etc., then on to the floor for a series of forward and backward bending, ending in shoulderstand and fish. I love the closing savasana; it is long and very relaxing music.

I also having been using "Total Yoga, the Original" and love it too. Very similar practices, but this one is slightly shorter in length.

Please check my other Yoga DVD reviews on Amazon.
Namaste'"

Decent Hatha-Vinyasa Yoga Workout

SapphireMoon | USA | 01/03/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Water" is the second level in the "Total Yoga: The Flow Series," with Level one being "Earth," and level three being "Fire." The two instructors, a man and a woman, lead a series of many Sun Salutations and other, mostly basic Yoga poses such as warrior, triangle, lunges and boat pose. The set is incredibly simple with a soft blue background and the woman's voice narrates the workout.

The level of the workout itself is probably best appropriate for a seasoned beginner to light intermediate, in that they have at least some familiarity with Hatha Yoga. The moves are fairly basic and easy to learn though.

There are a couple of drawbacks to this workout however. For one, the poses, while fluid in their transitions, are not held long enough to really challenge an intermediate-to-advanced yoga practicioner (I'd barely began to the feel the burn of holding a pose before the instructors moved out of it) - nor long enough for a beginner to correctly learn proper form.

Second, the music is too slow-paced and coma-inducing for me - and not in a cool ambient way that I'd normally love - no, this sounds more like sweet and fuzzy muzak. I'm accustomed to hearing more hypnotic and rhythmic ambient/world type music in combination with yoga practice, as it better helps me breathe and focus (examples: Shiva Rea, Bryan Kest, or Ana Brett & Ravi Singh) although this of course, is a matter a personal preference.

Overall, I think this is a decent Yoga workout that will certainly help to relax and rejuvinate the body. While there may be far better Yoga videos available on the market, this one is by no means among the worst.

Rating: Fair"

Slow narrated clear cut yoga for beginners, no mind/body spi

Lena, LMT | Nassau, NY | 09/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Good menu options including extra pose detailed instruction, a bonus 15 min workout of Yoga FIRE, & bio of the instructors.
This is done with beautiful production & camera work on a beautiful stage with a picture of clouds background & a man & a woman demonstrating, her doing any modifications. There is no music. It's narrated very well by telling you what to do a perfect amount of time before the demonstrators are doing it. The instructions are clear cut anatomy terms, that even a beginner should be able to follow, but no mind/body connection. The emphasis on breathing deeply is done very well. The only problem is the female narration is done with such perfectly scripted, slow, stiff, careful, perfect pronunciation that it sounds almost condescending.
I got very bored very fast with the slow pace & lack of music.
It starts with deep breathing.
The sun salutations are taught, a & B & others varation & done about 6x total, some with lunges, triangle, warrior 1, side angle, warrior 2, half moon (leg & arm), warrior 3, wide legged standing fwd bend, wide legged arm up. Mountain, standing fwd bend, laying down boat/locust with arms up also, child's boat, sitting boat, camel, bridge, sitting 1 leg stretch & both legs, seated spinal twist, dolphin (downward dog on shoulders instead of hands), child's pose, half shoulder stand/modified plow, fish & ends in corpse with little guided meditation for 10 min.
The bonus fire workout starts with sun salutations, warrior 1, lunges, twisted lunge. This workout moves faster & has many sun salutations.

This would be great if had music & less careful/stiff/slow narration & more mind/body connection. This is for beginners only or easy workout for intermediates.
If you're looking for clear-cut instructive yoga for fitness & stretching, this is for you.
If you want more mind/body connection beyond just being told when to breathe, TAKE OFF TWO stars. Try Shiva Rea, Rodney Yee, Rainbeau Mars, Wai Lana, Teigh McDonough, The Firm Power yoga, Better sex through yoga, Ateeka, Yogi Hari, etc. And you would be interested in increasing your energy with Kundalini yoga as well."

Totally what I needed....

Trish | CA | 12/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this DVD along with it's counterpart (Fire) and between the two, I get exacly what I need and enjoy. I am a novice yogini, but I still enjoy a challenge and this dvd presents a challenge without pain. When I need a little more, I enjoy the Fire workout (not able to complete the entire DVD, but working on it) periodically. I like the flow, set, and sound used in this video. A+"