Product Description

"The Madonna of yoga, exuding creativity and inspiration" —Yogi Times

Good things flow from a strong core: a long lean torso, a healthy back, a positive flow of energy that benefits every aspect of your life. Now, one of the yoga world’s top female teachers shows you an enlightened way to a powerful core. Unlike repetitive conventional abs work, Shiva’s fluid yoga-based approach awakens your creativity and inner fire, building strength and grace in the same way that surfing, rock climbing, or dancing does—while you’re enjoying yourself, not counting the minutes until it’s over. The program includes three flowing segments, which can be done all at once or individually.

Filmed at White Sands National Park, the program was directed by James Wvinner and shot in HD by Hollywood’s Sion Michel (Memoirs of a Geisha). Beautiful, effective, inspiring. It’s an abs workout you’ll look forward to doing again and again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16181 in DVD
• Brand: ACORN MEDIA
• Released on: 2006-10-31
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 37 minutes

Amazon.com
It's hard to say how Shiva Rea would react to being called "the Madonna of yoga," a phrase that appears on the cover of Creative Core Abs. But one thing is certain: the popular, California-based yogi's several DVD programs are uniformly first-rate, and this one is no exception. Roughly defined as the area between the upper thighs and lower ribcage, with particular focus on the abdominals and lower back, the core is "more than our physical center," says Rea; it is "our inner fire," the seat of our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves (not to mention the center of a great many yoga poses). Mindful that core exercises are for many of us "a duty, not a pleasure," Rea has designed three different programs (ranging from seven to seventeen minutes) that aim to offer a more creative, innovative approach to the work. The "Water Core" segment includes various seated movements, many involving the arms as well; there are also sequences done on the back, somewhat akin to the bridge pose, as well as the "water wheel," which combines lifting the hips while alternately extending the legs. The "Spontaneous Core" section incorporates some of the previous movements with several new ones, while the "Fire Core," the longest of the three, blends very challenging poses such as chaturanga and the forearm plank with familiar standing asanas like the Warrior II. As usual, the musical accompaniment is effective but not intrusive, while the setting (New Mexico's White Sands National Park) and the HD cinematography by Sion Michel (a camera operator for Memoirs of a Geisha) are stunning. None of that may matter much while you're flat on your back, struggling to understand what it means to treat a pose as if you're "skateboarding on the empty bowl of your pelvis," but Creative Core Abs is likely to yield satisfying results for those who stick with it. --Sam Graham

Metapsychology, February 20, 2007
Powerful exercise for the core with a beautiful presentation.

body+soul, May 2007
Rea leads a workout that's fluid, transformative, and -- yes, we really mean it -- fun, with nary a crunch in sight.

Customer Reviews

Fun workout say good bye to the crunches
This DVD is so much fun. The first time I watched it I thought it was too easy.I could not believe you could work your abs without the infamous crunches. However, the next day I was sore (the good way). It is so different you feel like a little infant playing. I really recommend this one to complement your workout or for those days when you are short in time.

A unique way to work your abs
I purchased this DVD (along with Shiva's latest Yoga Fluid Power) from another company. This DVD provides a very unique way to work your abdominals. It does not employ a lot of static crunches and situp type ab work that I am use to, instead you will utilize various body parts to work your abs. A lot of the work you will do is very much based on the rhythm of the music that is playing in the background. I would say that parts of workout are more like Shiva's trance dance type stuff, where there is room to find your own beat and style of performing a set of movements. If you are use to yoga that has you sit in a position and then move to another (e.g. Iyengar) or even if you more used to constant movement (e.g. Vinyasa Flow, Ashtanga), you may still find this different. In my opinion, it is very fluid and more dance like than Shiva's very successful Yoga Shakti DVD. And depending upon what you want out of your yoga practice that could be either good or bad. I liked the DVD because it gave me a way of working my abs that I would have never tried on my own.

Very Creative
I like the idea of using your whole body to work your core abs. This is a intersting way to keep your whittle your middle...okay, not very yogic, but you get the picture. So far, I've only completed the segments 1 at a time which has been plenty for me.
I've found that whenever I describe Shiva Rea's DVD's the word thoughtful comes to mind and that's how I feel about this. Time, effort, and care has been infused in and throughout this DVD.