Yoga Journals Ashtanga Yoga - An Active Practice Beginners Workout VHS

I have several yoga tapes and have been to many different kinds of classes, and this is my favorite workout---the one I want to do every morning. If you're brand new to yoga, it'd probably be better to start with Nicki Doane's other tape (introductory poses) to really get a hang of the sun salutations, which are done at a speedy clip in this tape. Other reviewers have complained about Nicki Doane's voice, and I also thought it was strangely harsh when I put in the DVD for the first time, but after going through the entire workout, I found her the best instructor I've had. She is completely neutral, but no-nonsense. Her affectless voice allows me to forget about her as a person (I have not been able to do this with other instructors) and simply focus on the poses, which has helped me to really find my focus and "still" my mind. Other reviewers have also complained about the timings in this workout and the lack of the complete First Series of Ashtanga. All I can say to that is that the timings are perfect for me. The extra time gives me a little room to really work on getting into the poses, and there is plenty of exercise in this tape. Once this is easy, go ahead and move on to a tape with the entire sequence on it (when will Nicki make one?? Whenever she does, I will buy it!), but this workout is complete and balanced in itself. When I finish this workout, my body feels tired and evenly exercised, and I feel exhilirated. Read more

I have been searching for quite some time now for beginning Ashtanga videos that are of a slower pace so that I can focus on alignment, breath and the locks. This and the companion video "Yoga Journal's Ashtanga Yoga Introductory Poses" are perfect. I have been using David Swenson's Short Forms DVD and although it is excellent I find the pace too fast to adequately focus on alignment, breath and the locks due partly to the shape I am in. I have recently been doing "Yoga Journal's Ashtanga Yoga Introductory Poses" and on alternate days David Swenson's "Yoga Short Forms" 45 minute routine. The 1st video in the series "Yoga Journal's Ashtanga Yoga Introductory Poses" breaks down Surya Namaskara A & Surya Namaskara B in to shorter movements so each asana of the vinyasa can be focused on. The second video starts with the Sun Salutations and then moves through the Standing Asanas. Nicki Doane, the Yogini on both the Beginner's Practice and Introductory Poses, is an excellent instructor and I look forward to her future releases. If you do not already own these 2 videos and want to get into Ashtanga Yoga I highly recommend that you get both videos. You will not be disappointed. Even though the pace is slower if you are like me you will still find both videos very challenging. Read more

I bought the first DVD in this series, Doane's Ashtanga Yoga: Introductory Poses. I thought it gave a great introduction to the Ashtanga system, taking you through suryanamaskar A and B and several standing poses. I bought the second DVD, Beginner's workout. It is the EXACT same practice. There is nothing new. Doane goes through the same standing poses as on the first DVD. I find that to be incredibly un-yogic of the people at Gaiam, just a way for them to get more money from unsuspecting customers who get no clue from the descriptions of the two DVDs that they are actually the same. Do not buy this. I plan to write to Gaiam as well to complain about this. Read more

Ten years ago (in 1998) I was taking an Ashtanga Yoga class with a talented if not overly ambitious instructor. For a few months I was doing fine and enjoying the many benefits of the practice, but I took on too much too soon and pinched a nerve in my leg. I shied away thinking it was not for me. I'm 45 and still `active' and just last year I fell off my mountain bike and fractured my clavicle and tore muscle and cartilage in both my shoulders. Not wanting to wallow too long in my new pain and suffering I went to the library to find this superb "beginners practice" DVD with my new hero Nicki Doane. After returning the library's copy I went here on [...] to purchase my own. I do the Sun Salutations A & B by following the DVD 5-6 times a week and my shoulder flexibility and strength after 5 weeks is in amazing recovery. The DVD is superbly filmed and produced on Maui on a verdant mountain spot. Nicki Doane is so clear and so confident that I look forward to my early morning sessions nearly every day. Knowing my humble origins, post surgery, I recommend this DVD for anyone who believes in the body's ability to heal itself - given the proper framework. Read more

This is NOT a DVD for novices, so I think the title is misleading. But if you have learned some yoga and are a bit flexible, this is a good guided workout to surya namaskar and some other useful forward and side bends. Nicky Doane's voice is very deadpan, rather horrible, the worst part of the DVD, she should take some voice lessons. Inflection is not a bad thing. I don't expect her to talk like Bob Barker, but the tone makes it sound as if the yoga has not impacted her interior life that much. And the chanting with harmony, that seems a bit strange to me. I guess I'm a traditionalist in that I like the melodic chanting, but throwing in Western harmonies on top of it is ... ick. But those are my only complaints about this DVD (both sound related!). The scenery behind the beautifully filmed and choreographed shots is exquisite and Ms. Doane's movement and form are near to perfect, and that's what we came for. The DVD features are pretty good (additional instruction for exercise segments) with decent navigational features. And I do like the use of the tabla + tambura as the background sound (though Hawaiian waves would've been cool too.) Read more