Yoga 4 Teens

Disclaimer: I received this video as a free download from iHanuman.com.

Christy Brock's Yoga for Teens is designed for teenagers who want to learn yoga, but their parents and others who are young at heart may be drawn to the video as well. The main body of this video is a 56.5-minute Instructional Class in which Christy leads a group of four teenagers through a live yoga session. As she introduces each posture, the name of the pose appears on screen (both in English and in Sanskrit) plus also a brief list of benefits associated with the pose. Christy sometimes practices along with the teenagers, sometimes moves around the class providing more detailed instruction and assistance to her students. There are also occasional added voiceover segments which offer modifications and alternates for some of the postures. The Instructional Class is broken down into the following segments: 1) Beginning (hero, child's pose, standing forward bend, mountain), 2) Sun Salutations, 3) Hip Openers (low lunge, lunge on forearms, pigeon), 4) Standing Poses (warrior 2, side angle, tree, forward bend, warrior 1, wide-leg forward bend, triangle, and half-moon, with little hops added between some of the postures), 5) Abdominals (full boat, down dog, squat, crane), 6) Back Bends (locust, bow, camel, spinal wave), 7) Sitting Poses (cross leg twist, cobbler), and 8) Relaxation (half-bridge w/block, reclined twist, legs-up-the wall pose--with queen's pose, a supported backbend, offered as an alternate, particularly for during menstruation--and finally, savasana, concluding w/seated meditation and mudras).

An added component to this video is the 31.5-minute Practice Class session. Here Christy participates with two of her teenaged students, this time with the assistance of voiceover instruction. The Practice Class is basically a slightly abbreviated, faster moving version of the Instructional Class: there is no on-screen information, no modifications are shown, and some of the poses are performed in more flowing series (such as locust to bow to down dog to camel and repeat). In addition, Christy inserts a number of more advanced postures into this session, including handstand, warrior 3, headstand, and dropback into full wheel. It seems that she is relying on the idea that even teenagers who are new to yoga are likely to have the strength and flexibility to be able to access these more challenging postures eventually, which may or may not be the case. The 3-minute A Closer Look segment consists of individual interviews with Christy and her young participants in which they discuss their yoga practice. Finally, the short Do's and Dont's segment offers some general on-screen tips for practicing yoga. Overall, this is a well-done video that is likely to appeal to its target audience (although it's mainly intended for already fit teens); it would also be perfect for adult practitioners looking to share their love of yoga with their children.