Ali MacGraw - Yoga Mind & Body

Sun salutations comprise the next 10 minutes of the practice. You will begin with simple breathing and forward bends before adding lunges to the sequence. After practicing tree pose for balance, you will continue with another 10 minutes of standing poses performed in steady flow; postures in this segment include warrior, triangle, and side angle. The next 14 minutes of the workout involves floor work. You will begin on your stomach for cobra and bow, then switch to your back for leg extensions, lying twists, and bridge. The only seated posture is a single seated forward bend, and then you will return to your back for a relaxing 1/2 bridge pose. The practice ends with approximatley 4 minutes in shavasana for a total of 45 minutes.

Although others have complained about the background music, it didn't bother me--when I even noticed it, it seemed to fit nicely with the postures, as it varied from being upbeat to more soothing. One minor criticism I have of this video is that although the scenery is beautiful, the cameras sometimes focused too much on scenic views when I wanted to see close-ups of the poses being performed; similarly, there was a bit too much shifting between cameras for my liking. However, this issue did not detract from the fact that this is an excellent yoga practice which I will enjoy for a long time to come.


Beautiful and inspiring   July 15, 1999
59 out of 59 found this review helpful

I did a yoga class over 5 years ago and loved it. I bought AM/PM Yoga and have been doing it daily, finding it deceptively simply but very effective for my upper back and neck pain, and my posture. I am one of those people who find my shoulders up around my ears in times of stress. At the same time I ordered this tape, based on the reviews, thinking I would have it when I was ready to move on to a little more challenge and a longer "workout" than either AM/PM offers. I watched it through completely and felt daunted, but it was so beautiful, and I knew that when I was a little more flexible I would try it. Today I tried it for the first time and it's so amazing. Not as hard as I thought, especially if you are easy on yourself and do what you can do gently, as the instructor advices. By the time we got to the meditation/relaxtion at the end I couldn't believe the time had passed so quickly. I also experienced a powerful energy in my chest area, and understood what is meant by yoga being for your soul as well as your body. That was completely unexpected for me, as I was really only initially interested in feeling better, more toned and flexible physically. Like many of the other reviewers, I would love if they or Eric Schiffer would please do another video. The guidance through is wonderful, the music and scenery as well. This is a beautiful tape that I feel would be hard to tire of.


WHERE IS THIS TAPED?   August 14, 2000
53 out of 53 found this review helpful

What a beautifully done video! The scenery is so calming and relaxing. I would love to go to this white sand desert and watch the sun set!

And now for the video. It is not for beginners, unless you are already very flexible or you can develop your own modifications. I took yoga a long time ago, so I am familiar with the breathing and how to modify the asanas, so it was OK for me and actually provided something to aspire to. This video is pretty new for me, and there are still many poses I cannot do fully, but I find it to be an effective workout anyway. Bending a knee here and there, touching my calves instead of the floor, or holding onto something for balance has helped me to get through this video while also feeling calm, relaxed, and like I am doing something!

All of the yoga students are wonderful. Ali McGraw is beautiful and an inspiration. She is graceful and serene at all times. Eric Schiffman is a wonderful teacher. His voice is soothing and his directions are clear. I'm also glad that they don't show him doing all of the poses because he is so advanced and it's hard to aspire to be like him because I just look at him and think that it will be years before I am that good! But he really is fantastic! Also, the cinamatography is done well.