Yoga with Linda Arkin
Teacher: Linda Arkin
Location: Woodland in Washington State.
Time: 3 sessions of 45 minutes each
Level: Beginner to Intermediate

This disk includes three complete sessions: Yoga for Relaxation and Rejuvination, Yoga for Flexibiity and Yoga for Strength. Each is a complete routine in itself and each concentrates on different aspects of yoga. Yoga for Relaxation and Rejuvination focusses on the breath as a means to relax, without any pulling or strain. All the postures are readily attainable by the beginner. Instruction is given partly during the practise and partly as a talk-over, dubbed on afterwards. Linda Arkin emphasises the importance of eliminating the extreme goal. She advises us to "stay right where you are, stay with your body, stay with that feeling of limitation that you may have at the moment, then just breath and feel your body open to the pose".

Yoga for Flexibiity, which also features Linda Arkin's friend Linda Hiller, begins with a ten minute illustration of good posture. It continues with two sequences of sitting postures followed by ten minutes of standing positions and a seated breathing session at the end. Many of the postures are repeated with different instruction and emphasis. We are guided into each using a talk-over commentary, with further guidance on technique and benefits once in each pose. The postures are slightly more challenging than those of the relaxation session and Linda Arkin demonstrates some modifications, .

Yoga for Strength begins with a five minute instructional session on body allignment, in preparation for the postures that follow. There is then a ten minute, predominantly seated sequence, followed by a more vigourous set of lunges. The next session is performed on the stomach, with locust varations. The final active session is performed standing, with some balances. In each session, poses are repeated and developed, with Linda Arkin showing some simple modifications while Linda Hiler demonstrates the full posture.

Overall, these are three lovely sessions, in which Linda Arkin's wholesome, fresh approach describes and demonstrates some important themes of yoga. Although Linda Arkin's voice is gentle and flowing, she does use a lot of words and this could become irritating after a while. On the other hand, her instruction is well directed and clearly benefits from her 20 years experience of teaching the subject. All three sessions are beautifully filmed at woodland locations in America's Pacific Northwest.

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