I can’t be the only one who needs to tighten those abdomen muscles. And you can’t tell me that everyone likes ab crunches. Being the yoga fan that I am, I knew a yoga routine had to exist for firming the abdomen. The Yoga Zone video Yoga for Abs offers some excellent yoga postures for taking control of those abdomen muscles. This video comes in both VHS and DVD formats. I own the DVD.


DVD Video Layout

This DVD is broken into two 20-minute workout sessions with three Yoga Zone Senior Instructors demonstrating the movements (two instructors in each 20-minute segment). In the first session, Al Bingham discusses the postures while his assistant, Jennifer Monness, demonstrates the poses. In the second session, Jennifer Monness describes the yoga positions with assistant, Jean Kerner, demonstrating the postures.

Both Al Bingham and Jennifer Monness lead their sessions with excellent instruction. Al Bingham especially does a superior job of explaining the poses and goes into great detail about how to sit, stand or bend. The assistants are very flexible and clearly demonstrate how to perform each pose. This video offers a few suggestions to modify poses for those less flexible. A most helpful feature of this video is that the poses are performed “mirror style” so that it is easy to follow the movements on the television screen.

Upon starting this DVD, the screen offers these choices.

Begin
Postures
Audio Selection -- Choose to listen to the music only or the narration with music.

Selecting Begin immediately starts the video with the first session.

Selecting Postures opens a new screen with these chapter choices:

Bali Seal
Seated Poses
Twisting
Second Practice
Bali Seal Advanced
Standing Poses
Lying Poses
Final Mediation


The First 20-minute Session

Al Bingham begins the session by explaining that the yoga postures demonstrated will “tone the abdomen without interfering with balance, posture or breathing”. He then demonstrates how to properly breathe and the power in a breath. Al offers good visual descriptions of how the postures should be performed and how the body feels when in the poses.

The session opens in a standing position with a skyward stretch. Some of the postures include: Blown Palm Tree, Warrior III, Bali Seal, Plank pose, Table pose, Scale, Seated Forward Bend, Twist, Cross-legged Seat and Meditation Pose.


The Second 20-minute Session

Jennifer Monness introduces her session by saying, “We will not only build solid strength through our mid section but really understand better the connection in our abdominal muscles and our lower back.” I always feel as if I’m performing yoga with a good friend when Jennifer is on screen.

This session begins with a seated stretch. Some of the yoga poses include: two variations of the Scale pose, Table, Bali Seal, Latch pose, Forearm Plank, Sphinx pose, Extended Seal, Warrior I, Airplane, Inclined Plank, Cobra, Upward Facing Dog and Meditation pose.


My Impressions

I thoroughly enjoy both sessions on this video. The instructors are easy to understand. Their descriptions are concise and presented in a way that makes the viewer feel as if they have all the time in the world to fully experience the exercises.

For me, this video does what it claims. During many of the postures, I can feel the abdomen muscles tightening. If it were up to me to do a normal exercise routine to crunch my abs ... forget it. However, these yoga routines offer varied postures that make exercising those muscles a breeze. I don’t want to mislead you, though. Some of these poses are challenging. The video is labeled as a beginner video, and some of the poses will set the muscles in the abdomen to quivering if you are not used to exercise. One nice feature of this video is that the poses are held just long enough so that the body is stretched, but not held too long to cause serious discomfort. (As with any exercise routine, only do what you feel capable of handling. Never push yourself into injury.)

For those who are intermediate students, this video will not offer much challenge. I’m an intermediate yoga practitioner, and after performing 40 minutes of Yoga for Abs, I feel uplifted and filled with well-being. My body is well stretched without being over stressed. I can see where listening to detailed instructions of how to do the poses might grate on experienced yoga students ... but the instruction doesn’t bother me. I enjoy listening to the Senior Yoga Zone instructors and the background music.

This is not a high-power exercise video. If you are looking for a video that crunches abs, such as a body-builder might prefer, then this video is not for you. These exercises segue from one pose to another, often subtly tightening the abdomen muscles.

Both sessions end with a seated meditation pose, but there is no real meditation. Since the first session ends with the meditation pose, and the second session immediately begins, there is no time for meditation in the first session (unless the video is stopped or paused). However, one could let the video credits run at the end of the second session and continue with a personal meditation of their own.

If you are familiar with the Yoga Zone television series, then you will notice these two 20-minute sessions follow the same format. Both segments are filmed at the Grand Lido Sans Souci Resort in Jamaica. Al Bingham opens his session by saying they are outside near the duck pond. The music is non-intrusive and soothing, complimenting the yoga postures and verbal instruction. It’s energizing to see the instructors in an outdoor setting, even if I’m indoors. The video and sound quality are good. One thing that caught my eye during the second session were some obvious video editing cuts. They didn’t bother me enough to distract from the routine, but I feel they should not have been on the video.


Who Benefits From These Routines

* Anyone interested in an abdominal workout
* Beginners interested in yoga ... these are nice routines
* Those who enjoy varied yoga poses
* Beginning students who need good descriptions of each pose


Summary

Yoga for Abs is well presented with thorough instruction so that it is easy to perform the yoga postures. I always feel well exercised and stretched after these routines. My energy level is high and the sense of well-being I feel stays with me for a long time. Even though I’m an intermediate yoga student, and this video is aimed at beginners, I enjoy this video and the way I feel after my workout.

I hope you have found this review useful.

Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Additional Information

Encoding Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
Format: Color
Not Rated
ASIN #: B00005A05Z
Length: 40 minutes
Available in DVD & VHS
Price: $9.98


Please read my other reviews:

Conditioning & Stress Release (yoga video)

Evening Stress Release (yoga video)

Yoga for a Strong & Healthy Back (yoga video)

Stretching for Flexibility (yoga video)

Living Arts Yoga Mat - How to Choose the Right Yoga Mat

Yoga Essentials Strap

Living Arts Yoga Bricks

Yoga Essentials Toolkit

Longevity Through Yoga Mini Book


Copyright 2004 Dawn L. Stewart

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD