Yoga Shakti
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Internationally acclaimed vinyasa flow yoga teacher Shiva Rea revolutionizes the instructional yoga video genre with Yoga Shaktithe first user-personalized practice DVD designed to immerse practitioners in the free flow of shakti, the dynamic, creative fire of the universe.
Filmed on location in India and the Maldive Islands on stunning digital video, Yoga Shakti integrates tradition and modern innovation in a powerful new learning system that evolves with the student. Viewers simply select their favorite practices from a simple-to-use yoga menufilled with a rich variety of moving postures, meditations, and shavasana relaxationsand then press play to enjoy. To help them get started, Shiva Rea includes a complete list of suggested sequences, ranging from five-minute tune-up sessions to extended hour-long yoga immersions.
A rich soundtrack featuring traditional Indian musicians as well as contemporary ambient and underground under
With Yoga Shakti, yoga lovers of all levels are invited to infuse their home practice with joy, vitality, and spontaneityand to release shakti, the energetic essence within.
2 DVDs, 4.5 hours more info
vinyasa flow
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
great vinyasa flow. i didn’t realize that it was all the same type of yoga when i got it, so it was a little disappointing, but it is a great dvd for vinyasa flow. i haven’t used all the features, yet, but i am looking forward to it. great dvd to have on hand when you can’t make a class.
Excellent
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this DVD! The feature that lets you create your own routine is outstanding. I can match my yoga workout to the ammount of time I have and the time of day.
Still the best yoga DVD on the market
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Yoga Shakti
If you can only buy one yoga disc, this is it. It is the best all-around disc set on the market. The first disc is made up of classic, challenging yoga routines–and 4 choices of routines (beginner, 2 intermediate, and lunar) plus the yoga matrix, so that you can design your own workout. The commentary is interesting, both technical and metaphorical. You won’t out-grow this disc too fast, as she gives up to four levels in a pose. I think there are few people who can truly master all the poses on this disc, so there is always what to work toward. No one is better as a all around teacher than Shiva Rea, and this is her at her classic best. Don’t miss this disc because it costs a little more.
Disc two has some interviews, pose commentary, and other bits. I looked at it once or twice. It’s a nice extra.
Great workout, great options
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The yoga matrix, which allows you to select different chapters, is really great. The only routine I didn’t like was the Ha Kriya, where she does these weird breathing exercises and cries. The basic warmups and workout parts are excellent and her technique is impeccable.
Wonderful DVD, Great Variety
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Like most of the other reviews I love the options on this DVD. I think it’s well worth the money. If you can only buy one yoga dvd, this is a great one because of the variety of workouts. It also has a music only option and will be useful in creating your own routines. I love Shiva, but my complaint is that this particular DVD is not for totally FRESH beginners. You should know some of the basic poses already because she doesn’t explain them (in my opinion) thoroughly enough for a rookie. Great quality, and she is totally in line with what I want out of yoga. I love how she uses Sanskrit verbage. It reminds me so much of my old yoga class.
a fantastic overall Hatha collection with endless class combos
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m a recent convert to Shiva Rea, having spent most of my life studying yoga in one form or another, enjoying the works of Eric Schiffman, Bryan Kest and the Kundalini Yoga series by Ravi Singh and Ana Brett…this is a lovely discovery for me. After 10 years of focusing more on Kundalini, I was feeling like my body wanted to move and express itself in some new way, so the Fluid Power DVD really took care of that, as did Shiva’s Yoga Trance Dance, both of which I love.
This DVD compilation, filmed in the Maldives and India, is beautifully shot, wonderfully taught and meticulously plotted out so that you can create a seemingly endless array of creative, traditional and/or eclectic classes. This has everything from traditional sun salutations (Surya Namaskar a&b) to the lovely moon salutations (for those not familiar, they’re basically sun salutes with a lunge in a mild backbending motion) and Shiva’s Dancing Warrior segments (there are 4) which are just slightly different enough to either love them all or find one or two that you do. I think the first Dancing Warrior moves a bit quickly, but it is designed to create heat, to warm the body like Salutations so you can go deeper later on and open more fully…to those who get frustrated by that pacing, the Dancing Warrior sequences that follow (2-4) are a more moderate pace and the Moon Salutes are wonderful; done at a much slower pace, still in a flow, more meditative and relaxing.
There is a blissful segment that is entirely shoulder stand variations, which is absolutely delightful and she offers lots of options for modifying just about every movement/asana throughout the DVD, giving you levels to choose from depending upon your experience and just how you’re feeling that day. She reminds you often to honor your body and move at your own pace, looking for your own “intelligent edge” and I like that. It makes me feel inspired to try a little more depth or range than I might usually, but gently and with body wisdom, not ego.
Another lovely feature is the ability to choose music with instruction or music only. As beautiful as the varying musical tracks are, it’s rather hypnotic to practice silently. But if you do choose to keep her intructions with the music, her voice is always soothing, never too chatty and she always gives lovely tidbits, such as allowing your head to hang in downward facing dog “like a ripe fruit”.
You have the matrix menu option here, and so far I’ve not repeated the same “class” twice yet. I find this vastly useful, no matter what kind of day I’m having within my practice. I can use the opening meditations with gentle movements only and the supine poses for low energy days or really go to town with the variety of standing pose flow sequences, back bending sequences, etc.
The overall quality of this is amazing; it was obviously put together and created with great care and mindfulness, it shows. It seems best suited to experienced beginners and beyond, and the optional use of a block and a strap could come in handy to access new levels of depth and to progress from one level to the next (though they are not used too often, which I like).
This has rapidly become an important part of my home yoga practice. I do love to work with Fluid Power and Trance Dance, sometimes combining them all into long exploratory classes, but this will be my “go to” DVD for deep and thorough yogic practice for a long time.
Too much Hindu religion in it and too fast paced
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I wish someone had told me what I wrote below before I bought this DVD. I am going to return it and post my review below on amazon.com so others can see what goes in this DVD. I cannot do it with a clear conscience. and no matter how hard I try, I cannot erase the images of worship dancers and the huge budda images in my head when I watch this DVD.
After reading the rave reviews on amazon.com, I decided to buy this DVD, Shiva Rea Shakti yoga DVD. It is a HUGE mistake.. Today I saw the negative reviews that I didn’t see three weeks ago and I wish they were available then. I will return this DVD and buy Bryan Kest instead. I hope my review will help you make informed decisions if you are considering buying this DVD.
Things I do not like about this DVD:
1. I do not like the Hindu religion integrated throughout the DVD. There are worship dancers, drums, gongs, chanting music as well as images. When Shiva Rea does the dance like yoga flow, there is this group of worship dancers on the screen. During each transitional period for titles of sessions to show on the screen, there are Hindu dancers, images, which are highly distractive. When she does the shoulder stand flow, she is in the building with a huge budda head statue on the wall with it being focused and shown on the screen for unnecessary time. For anyone who doesn’t want to have anything with the religious part, I recommend that you not buy this DVD.
2. Some people comment that it is too-fast paced to follow. After viewing it, I find that it is so true and it is because Shiva Rea is dancing the trance dance along with the worshipers.
3. You spend too much time trying to watch the video while your head should be facing down or up in the poses. There is not enough instruction at all for me to be able to follow it without having to strain my neck to watch her. You should be able to do it with just the verbal clues.
I love doing yoga poses to relieve pain and stress and become flexible. I do not want to have anything to do with the religious part. I would like something that I will be able to do without having to watch the screen all the time after following it a couple time. I regret the money I wasted on this one.
Beyond just a home exercise workout
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am an intermediate practitioner and this DVD has helped me a lot with improving my poses and at the same time, doing challenging routines when my body is ready.
This workout not only improved my postures, but also taught me how to involve meditation, spirituality and my higher self while practicing yoga, which many workout DVDs and yoga classes dont.
Shiva, unlike many other trainers doesnt only teach you how to carry out the breathing exercises, but she teaches you the proper way of breathing and at the same time working on your spirituality, balance relaxation and important chakras at the same time too. Everyone has a different purpose of meditating and carrying out breathing exercises, she also, gives you the chance to improve your spirituality in your own way, she does that with the exercises as well.
I find most postures very challenging and at the same time, i love doing them.
I hope everyone benefits from this amazing yoga workout, however, beginners should be careful with their choices, also, if some people find her moving at a fast pace at some point, ” mainly the dancing warrior ones “, i advice them to watch the workout few times first and then move to doing them, good luck everyone.
Love this Yoga DVD !!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Would recomend it. Setting is beatiful. Very balanced yoga sequals. Pace is perfect, it is not exactly for beginners. I would recomend some yoga experience before hand.You can customize your own workout and the length of the yoga sequences you want..Gets you going.
Great work out thay keeps your attention
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I loved this workout. It has been a few weeks and I am looking leaner and more toned. It has also helped me alleviate stress. The video is set up for complete ease of the viewer. It gives the viewer options from beginners yoga to intermediate.
One of the best Yoga Dvd I have
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
You will enjoy more this Dvd if you are a medium or advanced practicioners. Any way I recomend you to mix this practice with a real Instructor that can correct and improve your posture
Great workout
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My favorite part about this DVD is the matrix of all of the different elements of the beginner, intermediate, advanced, and evening routines. If I don’t have time for one entire routine, I can pick the elements I like best. The stretches included in the evening routine are really good for I-T band tightness.
The flow component keeps your heart rate up, while still getting the strength training and resistance that yoga offers. An all around great workout.
Awesome routine
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
These DVDs are excellent; it is definitely for intermediate/advanced level. The Matrix (making your own routine) works on my lap top but did not work on my regular DVD. Best Yoga DVD I have had.
a great buy for both mastering the roots of yoga and moving onward
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this DVD as a yoga beginner, looking for something more interesting than the typical 20-30 minute “quick power workout”…because hasty tapes clearly cant grasp the heart of yoga. And while I still can’t get through some of the longer pre-made sessions this DVD offers, it has improved my basic skills and given me goals to reach for. Great music choices, helpful comments from Shiva and you can’t beat the option of putting together your own personalized workout! Worth the money!!
a great purchase
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I chose this DVD based on the large number of reviews, most of which were positive. The level of instruction on this DVD is great for people at a late beginner or intermediate stage in their yoga practice, but you can also turn off the instruction and just flow if you are more advanced. Shiva also describes/demos alternative poses that are better for beginners or for different body types and strength levels. I consider myself to be intermediate and have been learning a lot just by watching Shiva in the DVD and her yoga mastery/artistry. I love that you are getting many workouts in one purchase and the yoga matrix is fabulous. Building your own workout with just what you want can turn this product into anyone’s perfect, custom yoga DVD. One thing that I would change for myself is that many sequences contain postures that I cannot now nor will ever be able to achieve (based on my body proportions and injury sensitivities) – mostly arm balancing poses. I find that I need to fast-forward through these segments, which does interrupt my flow. I could choose to skip segments that have these poses, but in almost every case there are plenty of other poses in the segment that I do want to do, so I just deal with the fast-forwarding. I also know that if you cannot get into a posture you can just stay at the preparation stage, but I usually find that the preparation stage does not do anything for me. Clearly someone who can already do these poses or who is genuinely working toward them will not have this same complaint. Because you can choose your own workout with the matrix feature, there is a slight learning curve in maximizing this DVD to your preferences – as soon as you learn what postures are in each segment you can build your perfect workout. For instance, it is possible to select segments that end up giving you a workout full of twists (I actually love this!), or with too many back bends (my body has a limit!). This isn’t a flaw in the DVD, just something to beware of as you build your workout. Because of the matrix and because there are 4 ‘built-in’ workouts, I still feel like this DVD is new every time I use it.
Sensual, Freeing & Fun
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This CD really connects you with your energy and femininity. It is also a work out. I recommend doing it alone, so that you can unleash yourself without feeling self conscious. When I finish this CD, I feel worked out, stretched out and happy. Great music, great color, great fun. It doesn’t feel like athletic training, so if your goal is structured, strength training, choose something else (Jillian Michaels or The Workout).
Challenging Yoga
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great yoga DVD but definitely not for the very beginner. The practices are challenging but the yoga matrix is really good for slowly increasing the challenge and also adapting the yoga practice to the amount of time you have on that day.
Not for Beginners
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I recently bought this dvd because I was looking for somebody to take me further into my flexibility. I love yoga and already knew most of the poses in Shiva Rea’s sequences. After going through the dvd (I put together my own sequence), I was pleasantly sore in my arms and shoulders and I could really feel my hips and legs opening up. I thoroughly enjoy the dvd, and love putting my own routine together. It is a little hard to put together a sequence and keep it under 30 minutes and if you are that crunched for time, I recommend going to another dvd.
This is not a dvd to teach beginners… you should have familiarity with the sun salutations beforehand and have performed back bends and inversions also. If you are experienced with those poses listed above, then you will love this dvd. For people criticizing this dvd for not staying in poses long enough, this is FLOW yoga and it’s meant to be fluid and not stationary.
I recommend this dvd to anyone who likes movement with their yoga and has some experience.
Worth it
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Challenging, Intermediate level. Love the matrix that allows me to pick & choose. Only drawback – Lots of hand stand-ish poses which I find very difficult.
Verry good yoga video
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
My yoga teacher gave me this dvd and i like it so much i bought it from amazon !
Too fast for beginners
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
As stated elsewhere, you must preview this video a few times in order to understand the verbal clues Shiva is giving. You cannot watch the TV and participate in the Yoga training easily.
Good points:
Shiva gives optional poses during her routines, one for beginners, one for intermediates and one for advanced yogis. So you can grow with this video. Once you are flexible enough and know the poses so that you can move quickly from one to the other, you will have a very good workout. The 4 standard workouts are good. You have two beginner workouts; a 30 min. basic flow and an hour plus lunar flow. Plus you have the longer solar 1 and 2 workouts for intermediates.
Not so good points
The matrix is a good idea but the flow of movement and breathing from selection to selection is interrupted by the start-up music and title of the next. Production is a bit spotty, especially if you are used to Rodney Yee.
Great service
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
They mailed it immediately (even though I had requested standard mail) and I received the item within one week. Great service.
Work of Yogic Genius
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased this dvd after reading all of the reviews and I am so glad that I did. There is so much creativity in this practice, both in the poses themselves and the way that you can build your own practice through the matrix program – it allows you to pull sequences from one of several preset practices to build your own unique sequence for the day.
beautifully produced dvd!
Like a new yoga class everyday
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great DVD. With the matrix you can personalize your routine. One day do hip openers and the next time you work out stretch and flow in another area of your body. COncentrate on all areas and do it in the time you have – you can make your workout 20 minutes or over an hour – whatever you want. This is not Top 40 Yoga – this is the real deal. Shiva Rea knows what she is doing and this is about peace within yourself and working your body. Beautiful flowing postures and the filming is gorgeous. Don’t wait – immerse yourself in the flow.
My favorite Yoga DVD
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I consider myself a beginner since I only started doing yoga seriously about a month ago… I’m a fit person to begin with I think. I used to swim a mile per day until my work prevented me from doing so hence I switched to yoga. Some reviews said it is not for beginners – not necessarily. There are 4 sequences, & you can use the matrix to create your own. I watched the entire thing & was amazed at Shiva’s advanced techniques. I’ll definitely not reach that level for a long long time, if ever. But I started off doing the basic sequence with no problem. I do yoga twice a week at my gym with an instructor, which helped me get acquainted with all the pose names. The other 5 days of the week I do yoga with Shiva’s DVD. If you are true beginner, get the “Yoga Journal’s Beginner Guide” DVD first to get familiarized with the poses before doing this one. I’ve researched many other DVDs before I settled on this one & I have to say Shiva is hands down, the BEST! Her soothing voice & graceful demeanor & the beautiful backdrop & her cute outfit – I could never get tired of watching her, this is EXACTLY what yoga is to me. I’ve watched other yoga DVDs where the instructors with high pitched voice kinda barking like an aerobic instructor – that’s not what I envisioned yoga. I get a headache from those “noises” – one should be relaxed when practicing yoga. Shiva is perfect. I wonder where I can buy cute outfits like hers. ~_~