Friday, September 19, 2008

Jivamukti At Home


In finding more ways to develop a stronger home practice, I haven't ruled out yoga dvd's. It has been maybe a year since I practiced with a dvd (thanks Netflix!). I was very fortunate to have received some from the wonderful folks at Acacia. A dvd I had wanted to get for a while now was Transform Yourself with Jivamukti Yoga. I remember first hearing about a Jivamukti dvd coming out and not only was excited, I was curious to see how they were going to capture the vibe you get in a classroom setting and bring it into your home. The truth is they didn't, but that's ok and I'll explain in a bit.

The cover of the case says "Experienced beginners & beyond" so this is not exactly a dvd for brand spanking new yoga. But I guess you can see that just judging by the twist/balance pose on the cover. There is an introduction by David Life & Sharon Gannon, the founders of Jivamukti Yoga. They share their passion for yoga and the benefits this practice can bring to a more fruitful and happier existence. The session itself is only 60 minutes (a studio class is 1 hr 35 mins) and you can choose between instruction from David or Sharon. First I sat down and watched it, then I followed along.

Unlike other dvd's, but in Jivamukti fashion, they include chanting in the session but only briefly. The flow of the practice is fast paced where the longest you're holding a pose may be for only five breaths. They even instruct to not worry about the pace of the practice so much. If you do fall behind, you can catch up in Downward Dog. The practice includes standing, balance, twisting, backbends, forwardbends, and inversions providing modifications if you are not quite ready for the full pose. Another reason why this is for "experienced" beginners is the instruction isn't quite for newbies and at some points I noticed it was a little off but I was familiar enough with the sequencing to continue. It may not be the same for others. I think you have to be familiar with the asanas already as there is little instruction on the poses themselves. Come to think of it, they should just remove "beginner" from the title.

I know music is very important to the Jivamukti practice and the instrumental Raga music played thoughout the practice was wonderful. They had a Kirtan group playing their instruments in the room as they practiced. However, for some reason during Savasana they switch to a folky lyrical song which didn't fit at all and I ended up muting the television. Overall, it is a wonderful dvd to have to your collection.

13 comments:

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nirvana diva said...

just curious..have you ever checked out "dance of the cupcakes"-it's a cute little video over at treehousejukebox.wordpress.com...sorry , i dont yet know how to add a link in my comments...but still, i love cupcakes AND yoga!

Michele said...

Very cool blog!

Mary said...

Hey, I actually pulled out this DVD the other day! I also like the one with Franti because it's a bit more uplifting.

It was so nice to meet you and so sorry for the delay in saying something. It was all a bit of a whirlwind. It would have been nice to catch up again because first meets are usually strange LOL but it was still pretty cool :-)

Felicity Bell said...

This was a great review. I'm always look for new ideas for sequences and love trying different styles of yoga than I typically practice. DVDs can be a good source of inspiration and I'll be sure to check this one out. Thanks!

April said...

I have this DVD and I agree with most of your review - it's not bad, but really doesn't capture the class feel, but then, no DVD ever does.

Michelle said...

Thank you for the review. I was curious about this one.

xoMichelle

http://athayoganusasanam.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

very good review. keep up the work.

randel said...

excellnet

Women Lose Belly Fat said...

That is so great!

Combining the masterpiece of cupcakes and yoga is so unusual but I love it!

Good Job!

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