Product Description

Studio: Gaiam Americas Release Date: 02/12/2007

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #432 in DVD
• Brand: Am
• Released on: 2002-08-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 75 minutes

Amazon.com
A.M. Yoga for Beginners
"The morning is a precious time," says the narrator of A.M. Yoga for Beginners. "Just as the sun rises and falls, so do our natural rhythms. The morning is perfect time to open our bodies and center our minds." This 20-minute yoga practice with supple instructor Rodney Yee is the perfect way to start your day by energizing your body and calming your mind. Filmed on the beach at Maui at sunrise, the video starts with a 4-minute Conscious Relaxation focusing on breathing, then glides into a 14-minute series of yoga poses that are simultaneously relaxing and energizing. It ends with a 2-minute seated Guided Meditation to center your body and mind. Yee's instruction is detailed and gentle. The video is beautifully filmed: you watch the waves roll in as Yee demonstrates yoga poses on a sandy beach. The yoga practice awakens and stretches your muscles gently, leaving you balanced and focused. "Yoga is the foundation of my day," says Yee. "A few minutes in the morning will help give meaning to your day." --Joan Price

P.M. Yoga for Beginners
"The evening is the perfect time to calmly transition between being active and being quiet," says Patricia Walden, instructor of P.M. Yoga for Beginners. "One of the greatest gifts yoga has to offer is deep relaxation." This 20-minute program is designed to balance, calm, and revitalize you at the end of the day. It starts with centering poses: gentle stretches bringing awareness and quiet to your senses. Next are standing poses to release tension, increase circulation, expand the lungs, and help you breathe more deeply. Next, forward bends cool the body and bring quiet to the nervous system. The final restorative poses are so relaxing that you may fall asleep. Walden tells you not only how to do the poses, but what you should feel, and how to quiet your body and your mind. Instruction is soothing and explicit. Although this video is aimed at beginners, seldom are modifications given for the less flexible novice, so if any pose causes discomfort or seems impossible, don't push beyond your personal comfort level. The video was filmed on the windswept sands of Death Valley. --Joan Price

Customer Reviews

Nice Yoga Addition
This DVD provides two shorter routines, once for A.M. and one for P.M., that are both done very well.

As someone who is newer to yoga I found that I was able to do the routines and make them part of my practice as an enjoyable addition.

Very recommended.

For busy yogis
This is a wonderfully done video, but definitely for someone who is busy and will only spend 20 minutes on yoga. It is not for an intermediate or advanced yogi who wants a more thorough practice. Both Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden are excellent instructors and make this a pleasing routine to follow.

Ok
I found this DVD to be okay. I really enjoyed the am portion but agree with other reviewers that it is more of a nice short gentle stretch. But it is a great way to loosen up in the morning as I get pretty stiff when I sleep and he has a nice diversity of poses. However, he does not hold the poses long enough - often I'll pause the DVD to hold them longer. Once I am done (and I do the meditation) I usually run through a few sun salutations on my own and that gets the energy moving after Yee has so nicely warmed me up.
I did not like the pm section as much. Although beautiful and you can tell that the teacher knows what they are doing there are several problems. First is that it is primarily focused on the hamstrings and the shoulders. I'd really like my back stretched to prepare to relax for the evening. The amount of hamstring stretching can be a turn-off. Although this is important this is often the most difficult part of practice for many people so I can see why many feel that this is for 'contortionists'.

So overall the DVD is okay. The ads and intro are completely annoying at the beginning. I put it in and then go to the bathroom to give the DVD time to get to the menu before I get back. But nice easy way to start the day. I'd consider trying other Yee DVDs.