Yoga Breathing and Relaxation

I've had Freeman's Yoga for Breathing and Relaxation VHS, now reissued on dvd and VHS with the more descriptive title "Intro to Ashtanga" collecting dust on my shelf for at least 2 years. When I first watched it I fell asleep, and have never been able to shake the idea that it was impossibly slow moving.

My respect for Freeman's Yoga Matrix CDs (philosophy) and his Yoga Breathing CD set (pranayama) finally mounted to the point that I tried is the VHS again

I loved it. Its a detailed introduction to the Asthtanga Primary Series. His alignment and form are unparalleled and his instruction very precise. The practice itself is a little over an hour. Its just what I've been looking for - a safe, but not milktoast or watered down intro to Ashtanga.

Richard's website is here:

http://www.yogaworkshop.com/index.html

His cds/dvds/vhs are available here:

http://www.yogaworkshop.com/store.html

You might think from the title of this that it’s, well, breathing and relaxation, but it’s not. It’s an Ashtanga workout (modified to one hour), and Richard does emphasize proper breathing, but don’t expect to be sitting around taking breathing lessons or relaxing in corpse pose. It’s a good, intermediate-level yoga workout and I would also call it a good beginner-level Ashtanga workout (for those experienced with yoga, but just starting Ashtanga). Richard Freeman instructs well and gives a lot of form pointers. This workout isn’t as hard as David Swenson’s Primary Series or Short Forms, but still challenging.

This is the video from a very established authority in Ashtanga yoga. First of all, don't be deceived by the title (even though title says breathin and relaxation), this video is not easy by any standards. I would consider this video to be an intermediate level.

I think since it was produced in 1997 it has an average production quality. Richard style remind me of combination of ashtanga yoga and Iyengar yoga. He pays attention to a very minute details in performing poses. When he demonstrates every pose he gives a hindu name to every pose. The best thing about this tape is the variety of different poses. But be beware, some poses require a lot of flexibility and strength ( I was disappointed though that he did not include the shoulderstand in this tape).

The negative thing is this video is about 70 minutes long (and with Richard monotonous voice ) it can be boring. I still plan to include this video in my rotation ( I like the variety of different poses). Moreover, I noticed since I started doing this video my flexibility really improved. Overall I would give it a B.