I recently reviewed a stablemate of this DVD, Yoga - Conditioning For Life, with the help of my partner. She understands more about this practice than me, and so has helped me out again here.

As with the others in this series, this DVD is set in Hawaii against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean as it breaks onto rocks nearby. This calming sort of scene is excellent, as being outdoors is the preferred venue for this type of exercise - it just happens to be impractical for most folks. We have one host only this time around, Suzanne Deason, a self-professed lifetime student of yoga. After watching her do her thang, it’s believeable too, as she has obviously been doing it for years. This having been said, she isn’t too full of her own abilities to forget about the average beginner who just picked up her DVD. She explains everything well and in easy to understand terms, and doesn’t get into any sort of ‘women’s club’ feel, although the DVD is aimed (exclusively) at women. There’s nothing erotically motivated here, either, which is a huge relief. So many of these type of things have a subtle pornography running beneath them, but this DVD was strictly channeled toward the health angle.

There is a nicely chaptered hour-long workout, which is above average in length, making this DVD good value. On top of that, there’s a bonus practice session which contains a health-improving workout to be used monthly for increased well being. This has been designed specifically for women, by women, to help with issues relating to menstruation and is an excellent bonus addition to the disc.

The clarity of vision on this disc is superb, as are interesting camera angles and moving pans to keep the eye entertained. No straight-to-camera deliveries on this one, and again this breathes fresh air into the visual description of bodily poses, keeping the viewer well informed about what should be where and when.

Sound is nice and clear, with a lilting background of waves breaking on the rocks, which is a far cry from silence or aerobic music. Overlayed is a very nice pan flute music that doesn’t sound like some cheapie cast off from a studio reuse track.

As far as extras go, there’s a 16 part Pose Modification Guide which isn’t really anything great, but would be helpful to the less flexible in getting the most from the workout. Add to that a brief Instructor Bio, the 20 minute bonus practice spoken of earlier and Gaiam’s short and bizarre ‘About Gaiam’ filler and you have a nicely rounded out package that delivers.