Yoga for Beginners II
Teacher: Patricia Walden
Location: Hawaian Coast.
Time: 1 hour
Level: Beginner

The prelude is one of the most inspiring of any yoga video, examining the spirituality of yoga, which Patricia Walden describes as "the path inwards". Explaining that the word "Yoga" means union, she describes yoga as "our vehicle for going inwards, to connect with oneself, for uniting and opening our body, heart and mind. This programme offers you a map inward, giving instructions and principals to guide you". She advises: "in the beginning, focus on taking small steps".

The instruction begins gently with "centering", eight minutes of seated and lying postures, some performed against a wall. The active phase of the programme begins with standing poses, including triangle, side angle bend and warrior. In each case, Patricia Walden moves slowly and deliberately, taking time with arms and legs extended before moving into position. The next part of the video repeats these or simialr postures, with many performed against the wall of a varandah area, where this first half was filmed.

The second half of the video starts with a demonstration of seated postures, in a garden, with the ocean as a backdrop. Staff pose moves into forward bend, repeated with each knee bent and then with straight legs. This is done using a strap at first, bending further to hold the feet as flexibility increases. Wide leg forward bend is followed by a series of twists. The fifteen minutes of deep relaxation take place on the varandah, starting with a reclining bound angle pose, which uses a strap to maintain legs in a bent position while relaxing back on to a bolster. Different positions of the strap and bolster allow us to relax into different postures and the wall is used for supported shoulder stand.

Although this is entitled "Yoga for Beginners II", it is really no more challenging that the previous, "Yoga for Beginners" video. The outside location is more pleasant than the studio used in the earlier work and this production covers many more postures, including the long seated sequence that is poorly represented in the older video. The relaxation section is particularly nice, as the use of the bolster and strap produce a novel and pleasant way to relax. There is considerably less explanation in this video, which allows more to be covered in the time and is less irritating during subsequent practise. Some may find the use of the wall limiting, if they have no convenient wall at home. Many of the positions can be performed without the wall but using a bolster (or a rolled blanket) definately improves the practise. Overall, this is a lovely video that can be used again and again.

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