CORE YOGA

I have been doing yoga for a few years, and consider myself an "advanced beginner" in yoga. I try new poses and new things. I recently discovered Shiva Rea, who is considered to be a "powerhouse yoga teacher" by the New York Times. This DVD is an excellent value for your money, especially if you want to work your abs.Other reviewers have pointed out that this DVD consists of three older programs, now released on one DVD. That is true. The three programs are Creative Core Yoga for abs(2006), Creative Coreand Lower body (2008) and Creative Core and Upper body (2012). They were filmed outdoors at the White Sands National Park and Kauai's Limahuli Garden. Watching a yoga DVD that has been filmed outdoors makes yoga even more relaxing and meditative to me. Because I am new to enjoying Shiva, and had not purchased many of her DVDs yet, I did not have the other workouts that these yoga workouts were in. So the fact that this is repackaged material was fine, it made it a good value for those who are new to this type of vinyasa flow yoga.The breakdown of the yoga matrix-a device central to Shiva's DVDs that lets you choose how long or little you work out-consists of the following:These are the ones from Creative Core abs:Water Core (10 minutes)Spontaneous Core ( 8 minutes)Fire Core (17 minutesThese are from Creative Core and Lower body:Creative roots (13 minutes)Creative lower body ( 9 minutes)And these are from Creative core and Upper Body:Agni Namaskar (25 minutes)Creative Core upper body (8 minutes)Then there is Shavasana at the end for 2 minutes.By far, I found Agni Namaskar the hardest workout to do. This workout is a total body salutation and is very strenous. It consists of 9 cycles of prostration pushups, and is not for the faint of heart. It also is the longest workout on the DVD by far, the others averaging under 20 minutes.My favorites were the Water Core and Spontaneous Core by far. The environment of the White Sands National Park provides an incredible backdrop for Shiva's take on yoga. These brief workouts are invigorating, really work your abs, and are ideal to add on to another yoga workout if you feel you have not completed enough ab work.Shiva is a wonderful, inspiring instructor. With her use of fluid movement and dance, she breathes new life into old yoga postures. If you have not purchased the DVDs that this one is a compilation of this workout is well worth your money.

I LOVE Shiva Rea's workout videos - I have four, including a maternity one. They have helped me become more flexible and taught me to listen to my body more and learn how to utilize it better to see new progress in fitness and flexibility.I particularly like the second two sections. I haven't been able to use the first one much. In two of the videos the emphasis seems to be less on her, and more on the extremely exuberant man hammering away on bongo drums behind her. The camera opens on him smiling gleefully and waving his arms, then continually brings focus back to him during the workout. I would rather focus on her and her movements. Something about including another participant makes me feel like I'm being watched, and besides, there's something so comical about it all that I lose concentration because I bust out laughing. I'm sure I could work through my mirth and give them a try... eventually.

I haven't done all of the segments yet, but so far I'm really enjoying this DVD. I love the "matrix" format that allows the user to create a different practice to match mood, time available, etc. This, along with her Daily Energy DVD, are my first Shiva Rea videos, and at first I wasn't sure about how I felt about them. They are completely different from Rodney Yee, Jenni Rawlings, and Travis Elliott, whose videos I have used for the past 7 years. Where they are quite structured and very clear-cut, Rea's videos are more free-flowing and have a "do what feels good to your body" mood. Her direction and cues aren't as concise as the other instructors either, so I find myself watching the screen more than I want to. I'm sure I'll get past this once I've become accustomed to her style. Another big plus is the music--the music on both is delightful. Her voice is also incredibly soothing, even though I must admit at first I wasn't a fan.One of the things I've learned through Yoga is to keep an open mind and to never discount something - or someone - based on first impressions. If you're on the fence about ordering either of these DVDs, go ahead! I think you'll be glad you did.One more thing: I think just about everyone will find some challenges in these DVDs, but I wouldn't recommend them for beginners because it is assumed that the practitioner is well-versed in the proper form of most of the poses.

When I started doing this workout, I looked like a slug stuck on my back with my appendages waving in the air. It was pitiful!! But I began to feel and see the results pretty quickly!! My husband noticed first that my "teabag butt" was gone. Heh heh. I hadn't been aware that I had a teabag butt, but I was glad it was gone!! But the strength that I gained quickly blew me away!! And even now, after 5 months, I feel as if I am rubbing someone else's legs. They feel so different!! I started taking karate after doing this for 2 months, and I am not embarrassed out there. Before, I would have flopped around on the mat and never gone back. There are 7 segments, and you can mix and match them to suit your mood and your needs. The standing pose segment killed my thighs at first, and I had to keep standing up, but now I have a solid and long-lasting saddle stance in karate. There is a 17 minute segment that covers everything, if I just have time for a short workout. This is one of those workouts where I end up breathing hard and sweating well, though I am not moving a lot. And as I progress, I find new, deeper, long-forgotten muscles that I invite to join the rest, and I am filling in the gaps in my range of motion. For me, this workout has been dynamite!!

Shiva Rea will definitely work you out. Some routines on this I never do, and some I do all the time. This DVD is divided into 3 sections, with routines focusing on core, core + lower body, and core + upper body. The core exercises are creative and effective, and the core + lower body routines have helped me with outer hip pain by helping strengthen those muscles.

I prefer traditional meditative yoga but I must admit it has helped to straighten my back.

Item Ok.

Belle sezioni di yoga! Consigliato a chi già pratica yoga da un po' di tempo! Eccezionale la possibilità di utilizzare matrici personalizzate!

Gives you a good yoga workout for your core

Very hard