Clear directions and a fluid series of easy-to understand postures make this a perfect class for beginners.

---

Product Description

Yoga is one of the best ways to cultivate a connection between your mind and body. It tones muscles, increases flexibility, calms the mind and can improve overall health. Filmed on a lush, tranquil location overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this unique beginner yoga sequence will teach you yoga breathing, and take you step by step through a full range of yoga poses that will strengthen, stretch, and revitalize your body. You will notice results from your very first practice, and as you become familiar with the postures, both your yoga practice and your body will evolve in an uplifting and truly empowering way.
Elena Brower is a Certified Anusara Yoga instructor and has been teaching for over 10 years. She is the founder of Virayoga in Soho and has been featured in such prestigious publications as The New York Times, Yoga Journal and In Style magazine. Named one of New York City's top yoga teachers by Fit Yoga magazine, Elena's clients include Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Minnie Driver, Eva Mendes, Carla Gugino, Christy Turlington and Rebecca Romijn. Her teaching encourages observation, connection, empowerment and healing.
Element is proud to support the Arbor Day Foundation. For every four Element DVDs purchased a tree will be planted*. In addition to generating oxygen, trees provide air pollution control and decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide levels thereby reducing global warming.
*up to 20,000 trees annually

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11716 in DVD
• Brand: STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2007-12-04
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 51 minutes

Amazon.com

The instructor, Elena, was kind enough to answer some questions from Amazon.com about the Element line of DVDs.

You have an impressive list of celebrity clients--Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts and Rebecca Romijn among others. What do you try to bring to a yoga practice that draws in people who literally have access to the best teachers in the country?

Each of my clients receives what I’ve learned from my teachers; attention, precision and authenticity. Celebrity or not, I always offer my complete focus in order to understandably articulate what each student needs, speaking to their bodies, their minds and their hearts. Ultimately, the alignment cues I offer are not just for the physical pose, they’re intended to help my clients to observe and refine their inner connections, enhancing every experience.

What are the biggest benefits your students reap from yoga?

Consistency and healing. My teachers have taught me to attentively offer meticulous alignment instruction so students may have a direct experience of healing. When you’re consistently aligned physically, your breathing deepens, your mind and heart begin to work in clear harmony with one another, and invariably your body heals in a subtle way. This healing, whether physical or emotional, is reflected in every one of your interactions and relationships.

Who is this workout good for?

If you’re curious about yoga, this is an inspiring introduction. if you’ve got a practice already, you’ll find this is a respectably challenging sequence for a led home practice. And if you’re giving the gift of yoga to a friend, this DVD sets the standard for beauty and production quality. .

How do the Element DVDs differ from other workout programs?

Element DVDs are presented by teachers who have spent many years learning, practicing and teaching; it’s an honor to be included. Each of us endeavors to offer a strengthening practice to challenge you to shift toward balance in both mind and body. In particular, this yoga sequence will provide practitioners of all levels with an uplifting, motivating practice for years to come..

Tell us about the connection between this production and the efforts to reduce global warming.

Anchor Bay Entertainment recently became a corporate sponsor of the Arbor Day Foundation. For every four Element DVDs sold, a tree will be planted in a national forest- so when you’re harmonizing within yourself, you’re also harmonizing with the environment. Over the course of 50 years, that single tree can provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycle $37,500 worth of water, and control $31,500 worth of soil erosion.

---

Customer Reviews

4 &1/2 stars! Almost perfect except
I enjoyed this DVD. The instructors voice and presence are soothing, the background (hanging gardens overlooking the Pacific) are breathtaking and the music is serene and effective.
The practics starts with:
1. Breathwork and Warm-up. This includes sitting while practicing Ujjayi breathing and warming up the legs with light lunging and standing forward bend.
2. Standing Poses and Sun Salutations. The series starts with 2 modified Sun Salutations and then a series of standing poses including, Warrior 1 & 2, Triangle, Side Angle Pose and a Side Angle Twist
3. Hip Openers. The Hip Openers started with Pigeon Pose which I think is a bit difficult for a true beginners with no training from a teacher..
4. Backbends. I like the Backbend series here for beginners. It starts with a light cobra, then moves on to a modified locust pose series. It ends with a counterpose to release the backbends which feels nice.
5. Forward Bends/Stretch/Relaxation. This is all a nice calming series ending with a short meditation.
Overall, I give this DVD 4 and 1/2 stars taking off 1/2 star because I think this is really for an advanced beginner. There is not enough mention of foot, knee, and/or hip alignment and I think it would be very easy to injure your joints without this knowledge. A tutorial in the beginning of the DVd would have been perfect. Maybe with a lined mat showing beginners where to place their feet.

not for beginners
While this is not a bad DVD, it is far too strenuous and, in places, complex for real beginners. Only try this if you have at least some experience in a yoga class.

The title is a bit misleading
For a while now, a friend has been urging me to consider practicing yoga. With that in mind, I've been looking into various books and videos, and finding them generally either too physically demanding or too involved in the spiritual side of yoga practice. I'm sorry to say that "Yoga for Beginners" is no exception, in spite of the name. In fact it might be more properly titled "Yoga for Beginners Who are Otherwise Quite Strong and Flexible."

In an approximately 50 minute workout, Elena Brower demonstrates a beautiful, flowing workout which looks like it must feel wonderful, if you can manage to follow it. Unfortunately I have neither the strength nor the flexibility to do so. I'm guessing that most of my friends don't either, so it does seem to me that it might be a good idea to offer hints for modifications of the poses to suit older, heavier or simply out-of-shape students. But Brower offers very little in the way of such modifications. I'd guess that about two-thirds of the workout is simply not do-able for me without substantial modification.

At the same time, the poses themselves look quite wonderful, and if you've ever done stretching and/or deep breathing exercises, the pleasure of these poses will be almost palpable to you. Brower's voice is calming. She doesn't rush you through the poses, but at the same time she doesn't spend a lot of time explaining them. Because the practice is slow and deliberate, this isn't as big a problem as it might be during an aerobics video, but as a beginner, I'd have appreciated a bit more information.

Right at the beginning, Brower suggests that the deep breathing is far more important than a deep pose. I think it would be helpful if she reiterated that during the actual workout.

Over all, it's a pretty, calming video as long as you don't allow yourself to get too torqued if you can't do the moves, or you fall out of them frequently. If you can make the necessary modifications for your own fitness level, you may well get something out of this video. Otherwise, keep looking for a good beginning yoga workout. There must be one out there.