Beyond Dynamic Yoga - The Power Of Ashtanga DVD > Reviews > And stretch and hold and stretch...

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Disliked it
Educational Value	Good
How good are the presenters?	Mildly irritating
How good is the content?	Average
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Advanced positions, lovely scenery
Disadvantages:	A bit boring

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I bought this DVD because it was on a "bargain bin" offer from Amazon and to be honest, I can understand why. It is a highly advanced DVD and should not be attempted by anybody who cannot wrap their legs around their head. Being Ashtanga yoga, the sequences are reasonably fast-paced, although not as fast as other DVDs I have used.
It's obvious that these two are incredible yoga masters, and they take it in turns to narrate the positions to a backdrop of an Ibizan beach and soothing music. The DVD is divided up into segments: warm-up and the Sun Salutations, standing poses, and sitting poses. After the Sun Salutations, I tend to give up, and I've been doing yoga for several years.
I doubt there are many people on this planet who can perform some of the eye-popping balancing acts as featured in the DVD, and those that can surely won't need this to show them how! When faced with such contortions as a crouching one-armed handstand, do I gamely attempt the pose and risk damaging myself, or sit back and watch enviously? There are no beginners' alternatives offered.
To top it all, these two presenters don't seem particularly excited about yoga, or keen to invite you in to their session. The man, especially, drones on in a monotonal voice, and neither of them cracks a joke or even a smile throughout the whole DVD. Surely yoga isn't that serious?? Even the beautiful summery scenery starts to look "samey" after a while and to be honest I could just flop down in dead man pose and sleep through it all.
All in all, the fun seems to be taken out of yoga, and while some people enjoy practising yoga in a serene and quiet atmosphere, sticking on a DVD sort of cancels that out anyway.
There are far better videos out there. Happy searching :)