So I've spent some more time with Rachel Brice's Serpentine DVD. As I mentioned before, it's a ton of material so it is taking a while to wade through it all. Rachel has posted sample practice schedules to help tackle the material and develop a structured practice that makes sense.

Anyway, this review is supposed to be about the drilling, so let's move on.

Shimmy Drill. You'd think shimmying for thirteen minutes straight would be boring and tiring, but no. It's all fun all the time. Lots of work with layers over standard big shimmies, but also 3/4 on the up and on the down, vibrations, and choo-choos.

Leg Strengthening Drills. Like the Shimmy Drill, this is a great full-body warm-up. There are simple, easy to follow movements that build upon each other to create a short combination, followed by some deep level changes.

Isolations. Honestly, I was underwhelmed by this portion of the DVD. I don't think the drills are long enough to be particularly beneficial. And I say that as someon who has an extremely short attention span when it comes to drilling! However, I did like the use of multiple foot patterns with each isolation. I just wish it was longer because it takes a while for my brain to shut up so my body can just do what it's supposed to.
There's not much explanation on how to execute the movements, which I suppose is fine for more experienced dancers, except that even I was confused by nuances such as the two "different" kind of chest lifts. Also, having two troupemates dealing with shoulder/upper body alignment made me hesitant to go full-force into the big shoulder isolations.

In conclusion:
Overall, I am a huge fan of Serpentine. I have a pretty strong personal practice of yoga and dance, but I do still like to use DVDs, especially if I'm in a creative rut or if there is something particular I want to work on. I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of this one because it has so much content but they are in segments short enough to insert into a longer practice. I am crazy about the shimmy drill. I've used the yoga as a warm up and as a cool down several times already. Seriously, this is probably the safest yoga practice I've seen on any DVD (including the yoga DVDs I've seen!) and it is a really nice pace for any part of the practice.

I would not recommend it to an absolute beginner because there is just not enough detailed instruction on how to execute basic moves safely and effectively. For someone who has some experience and body awareness, I think this DVD set is an excellent resource.

I just watched Yoga, Inc. for free online, and you can too! Just click on the little widget at the end of this post!

I was really impressed with the quality of this documentary. There were lots of informed yogis that shared their perspectives on the history of yoga in the US as well as speculations for the future. There are two camps of people on the commercialization of yoga: there's the "YAY! Let's go! It's the American way to make money on everything!" and there's the "Yoga is an ancient spiritual practice not to be sullied by the dirtiness of money!" This film did a good job of giving each camp equal voice, as well as some balanced perspectives from realist yogis.

There was extra focus on the YogaWorks guys (who also founded AskJeeves.com, back in the day. Who knew?!) and my favorite yoga don, Bikram Chowdury. The filmmaker and some of the interviewees seemed concerned that Bikram and YogaWorks are paving the way for other McYogas that will kill all the independent yoga studios. I don't think that will ever happen, unless there is some widespread regulation of yoga teachers, beyond what the Yoga Alliance is already doing. Anyway, it would be a long time.

Personally, I'm not that worried about it. I get a thrill out of Bikram, I love the abundance of chic yoga wear available to me, and it doesn't bother me that yoga is super commercialized. If any of this brings people to the practice, good can come out of it. People come to yoga for all sorts of reasons, and because there is such diversity in instructors and teachings, there will always be room for everyone.

Your thoughts?

Last year, one of my favorite yoga bloggers interviewed Kate Churchill about her documentary, Enlighten Up!, which follows a newbie yoga student in a six month quest for enlightenment. At that time, she had just finished the film and it was just being submitted at film festivals. It made it's way to DC and I finally got to see it!

Her subject, Nick, is a total skeptic, and expects no transformation of any kind. He's a journalist by profession and asks many great questions about the practice of such yoga superstars as Sri Pattabhi Jois, Dharma Mittra, BKS Iyengar, Sharon Gannon and David Life, to name a few.

I don't want to give many details away, lest I spoil the film for anyone. I will say that I think it's a well made film that yogis of any level would enjoy. I think many questions that Nick and the director ask are common ones. How do you find happiness? What does asana have to do with spiritual practice? Can I do yoga and not be religious? What does it mean to be enlightened? How long does it take to get there? I must admit that it was delightful and inpsiring to see so many great teachers generously delivering insight after insight all in one small film, but if you think this film will answer those questions for you, it won't!

It was obvious that the gurus featured in the film had attained personal contentment and spiritual fulfillment. It was also apparent that they had all come to this place by individual routes, colored by their own personal experiences. Perhaps this also explains the fractured nature of yoga in the west... there is a brand of yoga for everything! The film touches on this theory, as Nick tries to puzzle out how so many different teachers can have entirely different practices and still call them all "yoga."

Watching this film as a teacher reminds me that I have to pay such careful attention to my students to meet their individual needs. Not everyone is going to take the same path. I would say that we are all seeking something greater than ourselves, but sometimes that isn't true, either. In that case, the best I can offer is a solid physical practice with the hopes that it builds the foundation for even greater growth.

Check out Cody's interview with Kate Churchill. (no spoilers!)

So after mentioning the MTV Yoga DVD in my previous review, I figured I should revisit it and give it a review of its own.

I used to practice to this DVD nearly every day when I wasn't able to take yoga classes. It's a well-balanced vinyasa based practice. Kristin McGee has an encouraging, personable teaching voice and it's a fun, invigorating workout. I recommend it for intermediate yogis. There are some poses in there that are pretty advanced that don't include much instruction, so if you're not familiar with basic standing poses, Danurasana (bow), and Padangustasana (hand to big toe), this DVD probably isn't for you.

It has a soundtrack that is by techno-dude, BT, which I'm sure was REALLY AWESOME in 2002 when this DVD came out and is "hosted" by Lori, from some incarnation of the Real World.

There is also a brief breakdown of some of the asanas at the end of the DVD. It's good for a refresher, but Kristin McGee does some hands-on adjustments that I'm sure were helpful to Lori but don't translate well to DVD. Also, Lori comes out of the poses any old way which is a huge yoga no-no! That's the #1 cause of yoga injuries. So pretend you didn't see that and come out of your poses as mindfully and carefully as you came into them.

I'm sure there are plenty of more exciting DVDs out by the latest Yoga Superstars but this is still a favorite practice of mine! If you're comfortable in your yoga foundations, give it a shot!

I've recently decided to take advantage of my Netflix membership to check out some Yoga DVDs. First on the list is Yoga Mind and Body with Ali McGraw and Erich Schiffman. I'll tell you up front: I'm a huge fan of Erich Schiffman. He's like what would happen if you fused Patanjali with The Dude from The Big Lebowski. This DVD did not disappoint. I can't believe I haven't seen it until now- it was originally released in 1994!

It's a moderate practice, clocking in at about 50 minutes. The pacing is perfect, and it's a nice potpourri of poses that is great for beginners who want to supplement their class as well as advanced practitioners who want to focus on alignment or playing the edge in basic poses. I love the standing pose flow which goes from Trikonasana to Ardha Chandrasana to Uttitha Parsvakonasana to Parsvatanasana, to Prasarita Padottanasana. Whew that was a lot of sanskrit right there!

Also I have to mention I love the MTV-esque editing* and the Dead Can Dance soundtrack.

Of course this only prompted me to dig deeper into the Netflix Yoga vault and thus the next installment of yoga reviews will feature Yoga for Indie Rockers. Stay tuned! Also feel free to add your favorite yoga resources or request reviews in the comments!

*True story: my first and favorite yoga DVD is MTV Yoga. Perhaps I should be embarrassed to admit that, but I promise it's actually a decent instructional DVD!