Customer Reviews:
Louise has managed to amaze me yet again!.......2008-03-06
I decided to buy this DVD because I wanted to have a complete set of all the DVDs that Louise Solomon has released. This DVD has two workout programs and an Instant Abs session. The Abs session is intense. The first workout is all floor/mat work and concentrates on the upper body and abs. The second body concentrates on the lower body and has standing and balance postures in it as well as floor/mat work.
The second workout does get your heart rate up, actually I think the whole DVD does actually. There are modifications shown for the beginner, or those with back or neck problems, as well as the less flexible.
With consistancy, you will see a difference in your ability to do this program, you will be better able to do the balance postures, and stretch deeper.
I really don't know how Louise does it, but she is able to put together a different routine for each DVD, and varying your practice with other programs will definitely prevent boredom. This DVD is a well rounded session, you tone the whole body, get your heart rate up, AND cultivate flexibility, along with having a 15 minute session that is just for your abs. All in all, good value for money, as I have found with all her DVDs.
I don't like this workout........2008-03-03
Very disapointing. I was so bored doing this workout.
The woman's voice is very annoying and her voice has no real flow to help with the movements. She does no counting and rarely tells you when to breathe..she just talks constantly...its annoying.
If you want a good pilates routine to loose weight, i suggest Kristen McGee's MTV pilates. Kristen is a lot easier to follow - and she has a normal voice!!
One of the most boring DVDs I've ever seen.......2008-02-27
I tried this a couple of times, not only is the woman's voice nasal and iritating but there is no background music to compensate for it, I like to use music as a rhythm for my exercise and periods of silence in the DVD don't help my workout. The two stars are for the result of the workout. It is true that you really feel the toning effects of these movements, but I just can't put up with the monotony of her voice any longer!
Great simple but effective.......2008-02-03
This was the first yogalates Dvd i bought and I liked it so much that I have now bought others.
Its divided into 2 workouts first for core toning and the second cardio enhancer. A real bonus as well is the separate quick results workout which is just 15 mins and a real killer on the abs, very effective.
Its not going to get you running around but it is great for general toning, general strength, suppleness and posture. Sicne I have been doing it I have noticed that I sit up straigher and walk better and that makes me look slimmer and feel a lot better about myself.
There is no music during the workouts, just guided through by Louise solomon. I really love it and hope others do too.
Excellent.......2008-01-29
I bought this DVD as I find I can't always be bothered to go to the gym after work, so when I read that it was both effective and relaxing, I thought it was worth a look-in. I've never done yoga or pilates before and found it pretty straightforward - it just takes a while to get hang of the breathing. This DVD is really fantastic, I like how you have the option to select one of three sections, so you don't feel forced into doing it all at once. The 'instant abs' section is perfect and easy to fit into my day, 15 minutes of gentle ab toning... you don't feel like it can be doing that much, but believe me, you really feel it the next day! After doing the DVD, all your muscles feel tighter straight away - instant slimming effect. Yes, everyone is going on about her voice, it's not as annoying as I thought it would be after reading other reviews, it's actually quite calming. One thing that does wind me up... she's Australian, which is fine, but she says 'body' in what sounds like an American accent... why does she do that?! People also seem to be confused by the front cover - looks all beachy, but it's actually filmed in a white studio. That doesn't matter though, you're not really focussing on that. All in all, a fantastic DVD, and one where you notice changes immediately! Highly reccommended!
Customer Reviews:
Easy to follow and very pleasant to participate in.......2007-06-06
I bought this DVD together with Suzanne Deason's "Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss" DVD, but with no prior experience to Pilates. As much as I raved about the other DVD, I actually preferred this one in terms of seeing very rapid results if you follow the workout on a regular basis.
It is paced well, so I found I wasn't getting bored, or getting confused by the change in positions. I really liked the fact you can either watch the two modified versions of the exercises either alongside the original position or seperately - I found it easier to focus when I had the fully modified version on its own, yet the combined version allows you to see how each modified pose relates to the original.
The workout lasts for just under an hour, and if full effort is put in then you will indeed feel pleasantly knackered, but with lots of energy. The instructions are clear and precise, yet with a gentle and friendly manner. You are advised when to inhale and exhale, and how to avoid common mistakes such as overstraining your neck.
I'm still using this DVD at the fully modified version of the exercises, so cannot fairly comment on if this DVD is relevant for those who have experience of advanced Pilates. I thoroughly reccommend this DVD for beginners or intermediate levels though.
A great DVD which I cannot reccommend enough without sounding like I was payed to review it.
Disappointing.......2007-03-01
From the positive reviews from others I was expecting something better.
My problems with this DVD are as follows:
1. There is no information on the box or on the DVD to tell you how long the various exercise sessions are. This wouldn't matter if the sessions were short, but they all see to be 45 minutes or more. I like to be able to plan how long I spend on exercising and this DVD doesn't help that.
2. The instruction sound track at the difficult level also includes the instructions on how to do the the same exercise at a lower level. This means you are being talked at a lot and you spend much of your time listening attentively only to find the instructions do not apply to you. This is not restful.
3. The camera angles are not always suitable for explaining what she is doing.
4. The terminology she uses on the sound track for the names of the various levels is not the same as that use in the written menus in the DVD screens. This is confusing.
A previous reviewer is right, it is a very calm DVD. Almost too much so for my taste. There must be better DVDs out there.
Calming and effective.......2006-12-13
I loved this DVD, very calm, perfect setting, the exercises are easy and very well explained..A definite must have for home exercisers!
Pilates made easy!.......2006-05-11
good clear instructions with extra information if required. moves easy to follow, ideal product for newcomers to Pilates. Have yet to see the weight loss though.....
Pilates - Conditioning For Weight Loss.......2006-03-25
This is a great pilates workout. It offers all levels, so beginners and advanced alike are catered for. It is a good hour long, so it is a complete workout, and works different areas of the body. The moves are referred to by their name, rather than with lengthy explanations, which for me (a more advanced pilates person), was great. Yet there is the option to pause and select an explanation for beginners too. The location is really nice, and Suzanne Deeson is not at all annoying in her instructions. Positions and movements are paced well to be effective and smooth in transition. Highly recommended.
Customer Reviews:
yoga with kisen.......2005-08-27
this is a really great video.i have bought quite a few and this one is like a proper class,with great instruction,reminders about how to syncronise the breath,and a challenging session that you can grow into.i do it everyday and have learnt so much.
i want it back!.......2005-08-10
I had this dvd a couple of years ago, and loved it! some of the poses are very challenging, and no wonder it takes 8 years to do!! but the whole flow of the dvd made it go quickly, with the wonderful corpse pose at the end to completely relax you - the best yoga dvd I owned - then I lent it out, and never got it back!!
i do beleive this dvd was the most effective muscle toner & flexibilty improving one I have tried, leaving me feeling like I have done a good work out - and his guidance is great.
now awaiting my new copy with anticipation!
Very good if a little short........2005-02-24
I bought this dvd to use inconjuction with a class that I go to. I find his manner and style encouraging and to be honest, dont really notice the setting as I am too busy concentrating on the moves. What I love about this dvd is that he spends enough time on the sun salutations and the standing postures to really create a lot of heat in the muscles and so it makes an energising and satisfying workout. The commentary is very smooth and the postures run from one to the next without interrupting the flow. I'm not that keen on the abdominal excercises, but only because I find them quite challenging and would prefer more of the first half and less of the second. Good for beginners and more experienced people, although it may not be challenging enough for those who have practice ashtanga regularly for a long time.
A comparitively simple, dynamic session.......2004-11-10
A very useful guide for practitioners who would like to build up a home based, dynamic practise. The routine is not as advanced as Ashtanga Primary Series, though neither is it as relaxed as a Barbara Currie Iyengar based beginners session.
Kisen's presentation is unpretentious compared to many similar video yogi's, he uses simple explanations, and doesn't become too irritating when you've had the tape on hundreds of times.
Not reccomended for those seeking a spiritual guide. Kisen does not refer to the Sanskrit or much of the theory behind the practise, but by calling it 'Yoga For Weight Loss', I think he is more than suggesting his aims. It inspired my practise and changed my view on yoga several years ago and I would certainly reccommend it.
Great if you have experience of yoga.......2004-03-15
I bought this video after using a beginners video for a few months. At first I was very disheartened as I found the video a bit quick paced. However, if you take the time to watch the sequences through before diving straight in, it ends up being a really good routine. I do agree with some of the comments made in an earlier review about the plough. If you have not practiced the plough before, this can be dangerous and almost impossible but Kisen does advise you to watch the sequence before attempting it. I'm definitely improving each time I use this video and think it is a video that i will continue to improve with. If you are looking for a video that will last for years to come, this is it. If you expect to master the postures within the first few attempts I'd advise you to pick a different video.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Whilst the ancient discipline of yoga is not traditionally associated with the modern desire to be slim, yoga's popularity with celebrities like Geri and Madonna have made people aware that it can be used for weight loss. But don't expect aerobic style yoga with Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss from lifestyle specialists Gaiam.
Anyone new to yoga is best off starting with the extra yoga session which provides an excellent introduction to yoga from Patricia Walden. Her advice, that it is better to practise for short periods every day (instead of one hour a week), is particularly pertinent to weight loss. Regular practice changes the mind--which in turn changes the body.
Suzanne Deason's specially designed session incorporates a 10-minute warm-up to loosen the muscles, a core segment which works out the muscles and creates awareness of the body and a toning, relaxing cool down. Though designed with four progressive levels of fitness, featuring four teachers practising simultaneously, following one's appropriate level can be confusing. Though stunning, the Sedona setting combined with the soft American voice, the meditative music and the slow pace is very New Age. It's a sound session, but for those fired up to lose weight it's not engaging or motivating enough. --Lorna V
Customer Reviews:
Great for beginners and intermediate.......2007-11-28
This DVD shows you 4 difficulty levels so you are able to use it from absolute beginner to intermediate. I found the routine challenging at first, but not so difficult that I didn't continue. Moving from the full modifications to the other levels can make a big difference in how challenging the program is for you.
I enjoy Suzanne Deason as an instructor, she's easy to listen too and not at all annoying.
Great dvd!
Easy to follow, and enjoyable to take part in.......2007-06-06
Let me start this review of by explaining that I am still pretty much a novice to yoga, though I had been attending a few yoga sessions at my local gym. My review is therefore definitely still from a beginner's perspective.
I bought this together with Suzanne Deason's "Pilates for Weight Loss" DVD (a separate review will follow shortly).
The instructor, Suzanne Deason, has a lovely calm mannerism about her, so that as she instructs you how to do each position, it is easy to follow, and you are neither patronised nor left to assume how to get into the correct pose for each position. She is very clear about exactly how you should be standing/leaning/knealing. She lets you know how to tell if the position you are in is correct (e.g. when your knee should be parallel to the ground, or leaning slightly over the little toe of the same leg). and best of all - no annoying little habits or catchphrases as I have found some instructors seem to have.
It is extremely useful to have the three different varients of each exercise carried out by seperate people. As you progress and find the full modifications easier, you can move up a stage to the next level.
The background music is appropriate - not cheesy or off putting, and the setting of where this was filmed looks amazing.
As has been pointed out in previous reviews, you will not be breaking out in a sweat as if you were doing ashtanga yoga or "hot yoga" (the latest craze in London in seems). However, if you can find the time to commit to this DVD on regular basis, not only will you start to feel the benefits in terms of toning up, you will really start to notice how flexible and strong you become. I started this workout barely able to do press-ups due to no upperbody strength - I noticed very soon into regularly using this DVD how my strength and flexibility was developing.
And as for the relaxation session at the end - please make a point of not skipping this part of the DVD - you will feel a lot more chilled out generally, but you also might find yourself using this relaxation technique at other times in the day - say if having sleeping problems at night/stressful situations in the workplace.
In a nutshell, I'd strongly reccommend this DVD to any new or intermediate yoga participant - even if your goal is not necessarily to lose weight but just to keep in shape. Those with advanced knowledge of yoga might also benefit from this DVD, though it is worth knowing that the English translation for each position, and not its traditional name, is used throughout the DVD.
The only tiny quirk/issue I had with the DVD was that the instructor didn't explain why she said "namaste" at the end of her introduction or the end of the the workout. For curious people like me it would be nice to maybe have an added extra feature which explains the spirituality and history of yoga, and why it is important that yoga instructors still display respect to the yogis that taught these skills many years ago.
Gentle workout - extreamly well designed.......2005-11-28
This is one of my favourite and most used yoga DVDs. It is one 45 minute workout of straight forward poses ( forward bends, warrior, half back bend, triangle pose and so on) each held for a long(ish) time, the four instructors showing a modified version of each pose. That’s where the good bit comes in, you can either watch all four instructors in the combined workout or, once you know your level, stay with a instructor for the whole 45 mins. The instructors are real people working at their right level of ability, rather than advanced athletes doing “beginners” poses and its so refreshing to see someone who, like me, can’t get their head onto their knees all the time! The amount of camera angles makes it very easy to see each pose, Susan Deason’s commentary then adds a little, not very much sometimes, to help you to get the pose correct.
I’m not really sure this workout would really make that much of a difference to loosing weight as its really very gentle compared to a sweat-inducing session of Ashtanga but its a wonderful introduction to yoga in a beautiful setting. What makes it stand out is how simple it is to follow and how well designed the levels are, compared to so many other yoga DVDs with their too fast instruction and impossible to see what is going on camera angles.
not for the advanced but a nice calm introduction.......2003-09-27
I bought this based on the reviews here on Amazon. And was intially impressed by the 16 page booklet included, deluxe DVD with 4 angles for various levels of progress and the personal instructor option you get when a move is too hard. You switch to the instructor and it shows a more detailed version of the move and clicks back right to where you left off in the program.
However, I have previously done Barbara Currie's '7 Secrets' DVD, her 'Power of Yoga' VHS and 'Total Body plan' DVD and after doing these for two years, this DVD seems quite basic and for beginners, even the advance level shows easier versions of postures that i already knew advanced.
However, this is set in a lovely landscape, is very tranquil and makes for wonderful relaxtion program as opposed to a more varied and challenging session. I wouldnt say this would help with weight loss, but the '7 secrets' of Barbara Currie certainly did as i have lost 5 stone in nearly two years with no major diet plan or change, just moderation and yoga.
If you are after a calming, subtle basic yoga then this is for you. A nice effort by the makers of it, just not for me personally so therefore i give it 4 stars for all of the above.
GREAT!!!.......2003-02-17
This dvd is one of the most approchable yoga session I ever tried! Everything is easy and even made with 5 different levels (thanks to the "angle position"), you can chose forehead whether you are a beginner or more advanced. Therefore, it is also very motivating as you want to go to the further level.
The landscape is beautiful and the voice of the teacher is very soft, everything is made for you to be relaxed and powerful at the end of the session.
It is so captivating that I didn't know I was at the end of the lesson till I reached the relaxation section!! And it was after 45 minutes of the lesson!! Really a must have in your collection!!
Customer Reviews:
yoga-conditioning for weight loss.......2007-11-25
The worst buy ever... even a 90 year old granny can do better than what is shown.. unbelievable rubbish, this DVD is a waste of time and money full of blabla and silly slow music and ridiculous backgrounds... forget it
One of the Best.......2007-04-27
I've got a few yoga DVDs, and this is one I go back to all the time.
Don't know about you, but I'm not terribly fit, or a stick, and that was one of the reasons I got this DVD over others. One of the best things about it is that there are four levels of workout, which one can work through depending on flexibility/ fitness/ how you feel that day. This makes it a fitness DVD with great potential to grow with you as you improve. Plus there are additional tips you can access to improve your practice throughout the DVD.
Suzanne Deason is a very good instructor, she talks through the postures with care and attention, but without being annoying or doing that terrible 'look at me and how supple and fit I am' thing that many fitness DVDs do. Nor is it simply an excuse to wear pretty yoga clothes and look at the scenery as so many are. It's practical and achievable, focusing on mind-body connection to bring well-being as as much as fitness, which is very important for those of us who see gyms, aerobics and treadmills as mechanical processes which don't help us to want to get fit. This is a practice you will want to do, because of the sense of relaxation and being in the body which it leaves one with.
Great for beginners and intermediate.......2006-08-01
This DVD shows you 4 difficulty levels so you are able to use it from absolute beginner to intermediate. I found the routine challenging at first, but not so difficult that I didn't continue. Moving from the full modifications to the other levels can make a big difference in how challenging the program is for you.
I enjoy Suzanne Deason as an instructor, she's easy to listen too and not at all annoying.
Great dvd!
Good, but... .......2006-07-07
In pure yoga terms, this is the best programme I've seen. It is 'yoga' based rather than 'exercise' based, and pays due heed to the mind/body aspect of yoga. If I have reservations, they are a) the DVD offers only one program, where others offer two or three, so boredom isn't a problem, and b) there's a slight break in the recording in one section on my DVD, which obviously spoils concentration.
For those new to the practice of yoga, this is an excellent introduction. Suzanne Deason's delivery is quiet and understated. She doesn't draw attention to herself the way other presenters do, which means you find yourself concentrating on the yoga itself, rather than any idiosyncrasies she might display.
fantastic. Try it out!.......2006-03-07
This DVD is one of my favorite. It was the first yoga practice I brought. You can choose between four different levels of workout. The full practice is done by Susan Deason herself (she is really very supple. I hope that when I have practiced for as many years as her I am half as good) and the basic level is done by another lady who modifies the poses so basically that it is suitable for all to do and still recieve great benefits. The other two levels just fit in between and are modified accordingly. I should like to point out that the only 'skinny' one is Susan herself. The other ladies doing the practice have 'problem areas' and/ or tight hips etc proving that we all start somewhere and can still be profficient at this activity even if we are not as tucked in as much as we would like.
I think that this practice would be good for anyone, not just those who wish to loose weight. Begginers would find it very useful.
Customer Reviews:
Three excellent routines for those who are short of time.......2005-03-02
The three twenty minute sessions on this DVD are loosely based on Suzanne Deason's excellent DVD "Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss". There are some extra poses and others are practised slightly differently but the same, strong theme runs through these three sessions. Whereas the full practise lasts for three quarters of an hour, these shortened versions can more easily fit into the gaps before or after a working day.
One of the sessions is billed as being for morning practise, one for evenings and the third "bonus" routine gives extra advice and practise in breathing. The first two make extensive use of props, including a belt and a foam "wedge". The latter is not really necessary, as a cushion seems to work equally well. The "bonus" session manages to leave out all props and tends to practise more extreme versions of the poses.
All three sessions are filmed entirely outside, the two main ones on the seashore in Hawaii and the bonus practise has a woodland & mountain backdrop. This natural atmosphere really seems to enhance the routines, which I can recommend unreservedly, both for beginners and those who have practised yoga for a few years. I try to do some yoga every day and find myself coming back to this DVD time after time.
UK DVD:
- Yoga On The Go Kit [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Yoga Zone: Gentle Yoga for Beginners [2003]
- Yoga Zone: Stretching For Flexibility (Beginner to Intermediate) [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Yvonne Dayan's Kabbalah Works: Bringing Down the Light [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Activate Your Luck: Feng Shui (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Ali MacGraw: Yoga, Mind and Body [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Altheatized, Vol. 3 (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- A.M. and P.M. Yoga: Conditioning For Weight Loss (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Bellydance Fitness Fusion: Pilates for Beginners - Bellydance Pilates [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Better Sex Through Yoga: 3 Disc Set [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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