Yoga Groove

I received a review copy of this dvd from the instructor. From the dvd cover, "Yoga Groove was created to unite the practice of yoga with the freedom of dance." This is a 2 dvd set with the following menus:

Disc 1:

Meditation: teaching the Ujayi breath (6 minutes)

Yoga poses: (48 minutes). Detailed instructions of all of the poses in the flow.

Dance warm-ups: Brief demonstrations of the dance warm-ups.

Disc 2:

45 minute yoga/dance flow

Menu to choose separate segments (7)

4 Dances of about 5 minutes each.

Since I am an experienced yogini and dancer, I looked at disc 1 but did not do it. This disc is good for absolute beginners because Karen spends a good deal of time on proper alignment.

The 45 minute yoga flow is the meat of the program. It is a well choreographed yoga dance to music which incorporates basic yoga poses with basic dance moves such as tendues, batments, windmills, isolations and arm exercises. Sun salutations are interspersed for extra strength work. Also included are simple back bends and a very dancey floor routine. I wish that she had added some more advanced poses. Since she didn't, anyone can do this routine and get a good workout. The music is instrumental and unobtrusive. I enjoyed this flow immensely.

I wish I had the same joyous experience with the dance segments. As I said there are four of them. She teaches the routine and then repeats it about 4 times. Fire, a disco routine; Wind, a lyrical jazz routine with too few steps; Earth, a pseudo African dance routine. Again too few steps; Water, not really a routine, but a choreographed yoga dance with no instruction and by far the best of the dance segments and lastly Air which is a free dance with no choreography, just music and Karen's voice. I skipped it.

I didn't enjoy the dance segments because I didn't like the music or the simple, easy choreography. I'm strange in that I can't dance to music I don't like. This music was made especially for this dvd and it just wasn't my cup of tea. Some of it was inspirational rap music. Not a fan of rap music of any kind. Also, the dances were too simple. By the second repetition, I was bored and I fast forwarded to the next segment. The best dance segment was the Water routine which was designed for the viewer to look at Karen and her dancers perform a yoga routine. It would have been so much better, if this flow was part of the original flow for intermediate students. Some of the poses were half moon, camel, shoulderstand, and upward facing bow. I tried to follow along but it's hard to do without cues.

Who is this dvd for? Absolute beginners in yoga and dance.

Pros: Good instruction on alignment for beginners. Great flow that moves at a moderate pace and feels like a dance class. Karen counts beats in between the poses.

Cons: The music for the dances. The sparse choreography.

Overall: A nice class to do on slow days. I broke a sweat and felt stretched out afterwards.

You can purchase this dvd set at www. Yogagrooveent.com