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      Yoga Journal's Yoga - Conditioning For Life
      Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 78 mins . E . PAL

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      With my partner’s help, a well-practiced yoga student, I sat through the 78 minutes of this DVD and actually enjoyed watching it. She has studied several and has helped me review this one.

      Ocean views in Hawaii and calming acoustic music open and we are led into a nice introduction with our host, Rodney Yee. This guy seems to know what he is talking about and by the end of this workout it is well established that he knows his stuff and isn’t just another pop-yoga supplier. With that in mind there is no overt use of scantily clad women in exotic poses, and therefore things are more credible for a start. The essence of yoga has been captured, rather than a performance by an aerobics instructor cashing in on the latest buzzword of the month.

      The live sets are a great change from the usual interior of a studio, and the unusual camerawork and three-camera angle feature allows you to focus on what you wish. As all three participants in the DVD are at different levels, this also prevents a feeling of dislocation from the teachers. It’s so boring to watch a workout with direct headshots and still cameras, and this removes that tedium perfectly.

      Another plus is the use of overdubbed instruction and not someone in a leotard trying to speak between breaths into a headset. In this regard, the guided meditation that concludes each workout is also excellent and well directed. There is no cheap, upbeat music behind everything lending it a pornographic feel either, but rather just the calming ocean breaking on the beach.

      Each guided exercise is given with a minimum of words and lets the action speak for itself. It delivers a full yoga workout and not a sports warm up/workout followed by some yoga. Each viewer can self-pace and work at their own level - be they beginner or right though to advanced students. This gives excellent value for the consumer in a world of cheap, flooded competition.

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      Video and sound quality are perfectly acceptable for the purpose of instruction. There is a little shimmer on some screen wording, but it’s fairly negligible really. Live imagery is crisp, clear and day lit, although there is a marked increase in graininess if using the zoom function. There's no widescreen necessary here, so none is given.

      The soft, ambient soundtrack suits the mood ideally and the sound comes across well in Dolby Digital, which is great news for the acoustic guitar having no audio noise between chords. Mr Yee himself though, falls into what I call the ‘Morpheus Trap’; that is, he tends to get a little bit melodramatic with his words. This is only really evident in the introduction, where he addresses the viewer directly, and you probably wouldn’t watch this bit time and again, so it won’t affect the practicality of the exercises.

      Menus are easily understood and followed to your desired workout, though there is a strange self-promoting piece entitled About Gaiam, the production company who made the program. It spouts lots of new-age cliches, but doesn’t really say anything about the corporation itself. You might expect shorts or trailers of other DVDs, but nope, just a bunch of hackneyed buzzwords. Bizarre filler at best.

      The only real extra of note is the multi-angle cameras mentioned above, which is a nice feature for watching the instructor at your individual level. Not many DVDs of this sort are so considerate.


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    •   And I quote...
      "Each guided exercise is given with a minimum of words and lets the action speak for itself. It delivers a full yoga workout."
      - Jules Faber
        Review Equipment
      • DVD Player:
            Nintaus DVD-N9901
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            Sony 51cm
      • Receiver:
            Diamond
      • Speakers:
            Diamond
      • Surrounds:
            No Name
      • Audio Cables:
            Standard Optical
      • Video Cables:
            Standard Component RCA
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