In this yoga DVD, Richard Freeman
goes through a flow of standing and sitting positions that involve deep
stretches.  The whole program lasts
about 75 minutes.  Freeman is an assured
guide to the positions, and unlike most other yoga DVDs, he demonstrates on his
own, with only occasional background music. 
It could be a useful resource for those who are already comfortable with
yoga and have experience doing a number of positions.  It is not appropriate for complete novices.

On all the exercise and yoga DVDs I
have seen, there is a standard warning at the beginning about being careful in
practicing what the DVD shows.  This Introduction
to Ashtanga also says that it will take a few weeks to master the poses
shown, but this seems an optimistic estimate. 
The poses and movements Freeman demonstrates will be challenging to
people who are not already very flexible, and my guess is that it will take
more than a few weeks to master the flow. 
Indeed, many people will never be able to completely copy what Freeman
is able to do, because he is both very flexible and very strong.  He sits cross-legged on the floor and lifts
up his body on his two arms, his legs lifts high from the floor, and then
swings back to extend his legs behind this. 
Watching him to this, it seems like a straightforward movement until you
sit down and try to do the same, and realize it is enormously difficult.  Never does Freeman provide any suggestions
about ways to build up this movement, or what alternatives might be available
to those who cannot do it.  Occasionally
he suggests alternatives to the movements he demonstrates, such as using yoga
blocks to prop oneself up when one cannot reach down to the floor, but he does
not demonstrate them at all.  In
explaining a number of positions, he leaves out vital information.  For example, in several triangle and warrior
poses, which are done from a standing position with legs separated, he gives little
guidance about how far to separate the legs, and whether to keep them as far
apart as possible or to have them just slightly spread.  This makes a major difference, it would help
very much to know what to do.  For many
other positions, viewers will not be able to do as he does, and so they need to
know what compromises to make.  For
example, he demonstrates a relatively simple position where one raises one’s
arms above one’s head placing hands together, and then, looking up, slowly
crouches down towards a sitting position. 
He makes this look easy, but most people of average or low flexibility
will discover that it is impossible to keep one’s arms straight doing this, and
indeed, it is hard to keep one’s balance as one moves down.  He gives no advice about whether one should
focus on keeping one’s arms straight or on crouching down, and if one finds it
impossible to do both, one wants to know which one to prioritize. 

So in using this DVD, one has to be
ready to experiment with different approaches and see what works.  Inevitably one will find some of the
positions and movements impossible, at least at first, and one has to decide
what to do instead.  Sometimes Freeman
gives instructions that are a little confusing — I was unsure how to lift the
wings of my kidneys, for instance.  He
also uses some somewhat technical terms in referring to body parts, and one
might need to refer to a dictionary or medical encyclopedia to remind oneself
where one’s coccyx is, for example. 

The exercises are demanding and
should certainly be performed carefully, because there is a real danger of
straining one’s muscles or injuring one’s toes, for example, in the frequent
moving from upward dog to downward dog or in moving one’s feet forward from
downward dog.  Freeman could have
provided some useful advice in telling practitioners how to build up toe
strength and flexibility to reduce the risk of injury. 

Yet for all its flaws, this DVD
does provide a strong satisfying flow of positions, and Freeman does give
consistent instruction about how to control one’s breathing while following
along.  It could help achieve greater
strength and flexibility, and could help to achieve greater poise of mind that
comes with consistent yoga practice. 

© 2005 Christian Perring. All
rights reserved.

Link: Sounds True Catalog

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is
Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island, and editor
of Metapsychology Online Review.  His main research is on
philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and psychology.

Categories: Movies, General