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Yoga Journal's Yoga - Balance Ball For Beginners
Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 90 mins . E . PAL

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Suzanne Deason, stalwart of yoga from the Conditioning for Women DVD (read that review here), introduces us to a rather new system of exercises. Utilising the Balance Ball™ and adapting yoga to suit it, Ms Deason has created something that’s fun, easy and low impact.

Gaiam consistently bring excellence to their DVD products, employing not only instructors who know what they’re doing, but improving on the usual studio environment. Always set amongst some of the most beautiful places on Earth, the balance of spectacular scenery and soothing, competent voices makes all the workouts seem like they matter. They’re not hastily cobbled together after a show while everyone’s still in their gear, but rather well planned and well thought out. Another nice touch is the use of ‘real’ instructors; people who have lived the life and aren’t 22 year old gym junkies wearing four layers of makeup.

The Balance Ball™ is a fun tool for yoga and not like any of the traditional boring equipment (blocks, bands etc). A very helpful tool is in the ball being see-through, as this enables the viewer to see the whole pose and thereby copy it precisely. The exercises are interesting and fluid, without the need for intense muscle use, creating a warmer and easier workout than a more traditional yoga set. This ease and the fun factor make the workouts much more appealing, particularly if someone is just starting out, and that is - of course - the major appeal of these ‘beginner’ discs.

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The workout comes to us via a decent enough 1.78:1, 16:9 enhanced transfer, and begins with a nice ambient intro that allows time for a quick personal warm-up before the real stuff begins. There are then three major stages to get through which are entitled Invigorate the Spine, Tone and Sculpt and Stretch and Relax. None of these chapters is condescending, all treating the viewer as if they have a brain, which is a big plus for a disc of this sort. Ms Deason has a very pleasant voice too, which certainly contributes to the ease of the workout.

On that subject, the sound has been handled quite well in Dolby Digital 2.0, which is better than some old movies get on DVD. It runs just fine for this sort of disc, with no static or noise behind anything and the music is very calming and restful throughout.

As far as extras go there are a couple, though with only a 46 minute workout in the main bulk of the disc you could expect something more. And so, we have Another Workout. This one runs for just under 15 minutes and is a Daily Stretch for Health that uses the Balance Ball™ with a chair. Even I had a go at this one and it was very good, particularly for people who sit in chairs a lot for work. There’s then an Interview with Suzanne Deason in which she goes into the origins of the ball and how she blended that with her traditional yoga practice. Beyond that we have a one page Biography of Ms Deason herself (that is a repeat of the same thing we saw on Yoga – Conditioning for Women. See review link above). Finally, throughout the main workout, an icon appears occasionally which is your own Personal Trainer. This works on the premise that when you see the icon, hit 'enter' and there’s anything between 15 to 60 seconds of extra tuition on a particular move. This is incredibly helpful to absolute beginners and is an important safety feature as well. When you add these into the total length, the first workout nearly doubles in length.

So, all up this is yet another magnificent DVD from Gaiam. Ms Deason isn’t some brainless aerobics model reading the cue cards, she’s actually developed this workout and demonstrates it herself. As far as credibility goes, that’s a big bonus for the viewer. The whole workout is cleverly arranged so as to maximise potential and energy so we ease into it rather than falling into the deep end, as it were. That makes for a good re-useable workout that will continue to give benefits with each repeated viewing. They sure do nice work at Gaiam and this disc is no exception.


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  •   And I quote...
    "Yet another bang-up job from the Gaiam people. Can they do no wrong?"
    - Jules Faber
      Review Equipment
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