Tibetan Yoga of Movement: Perfect Rhythm of Life - LEVEL ONE

I had no idea what to expect-lately I’ve been trying out different types of yoga-many of the yoga DVDs I tried in the past were so boring that they usually sat on the shelf.I really found this enjoyable and I was able to keep up for the most part,with a few modifications due to my lack of flexibility.I did find the very last segment moved way too fast and I was afraid I’d injure myself-I’ll try to go back and try to watch the moves a few times before trying to do them.Overall,I’m glad I took a chance on this!

A beautiful yoga DVD from an ancient tradition - it still gets the blood flowing - even though it's Level 1. I am an experienced Ashtangha practitioner, a Svaroopa Style yoga instructor, and have been practicing various styles of yoga since I was 11... if you love yoga, you will find asanas and practices here that you won't find anywhere else! The cover of this DVD is deceiving as this practice really does get the blood flowing... It starts with warm-ups that are perfect for right after you wake up, especially for neck and head, and proceeds in stages toward more difficult asanas, while still being very accessible for all levels (my 66 year old mother did most of the DVD with me the first time we tried it together :). I do the whole hour-long DVD in the morning before I practice meditation, and it feels really wonderful! By the end, I am full of energy, and simultaneously still and peaceful of mind. The fact that the yogas in this DVD were developed over many hundreds of years by an unbroken line of yogis and yoginis in Tibet and Nepal who were masters of human psychology and somatic awareness, and who devoted their lives completely and one-pointedly to the attainment of spiritual and mental mastery, shows very clearly. You experience the sequential coordination of breath, body movements, and stillness moving you in a progression toward peaceful invigoration. It is set to very simple, non-distracting, relaxing music. When it's beneficial, you hear the coordinated breath of the yogis and yoginis in the video.This isn't like modern "trendy" yoga, in which I have witnessed many people injure themselves. In most modern yoga the sequencing is not usually coordinated in such a way that people wake up various parts of their bodies in an order that was tried and practiced by generations of yogis and yoginis... people who have less subtlety are therefore making the calls on what movements to do when, based upon "fun-ess", and not upon fascial alignment and neuro-muscular repatterning. I also see people injure themselves in modern yoga because they don't know their own limits, push themselves too hard, and most of the time this is at least somewhat related to the coordination of their movements not being in synch with timing with their own, natural, individual breathing pattern (and innate rhythm(s). I encourage people who use this DVD to try coordinating the movements with their own natural timing of their own breath (a remote control can be helpful for this so you can pause if you have a naturally slow breath like mine!)... I hope you get a lot out of this self-exploration and experimentation if you decide to get into using your own home yoga lab!Also, if you like this DVD, there's a second one and a lovely Yantra Yoga book by the same authors. The book is great for elaboration on the subtleties of the asanas and the different kinds of breath and holds. The 2nd DVD gets more advanced, similar to Ashtangha Primary Series mixed with some Secondary series... but again totally unique (and I find it to be more beneficial than Ashtangha for most people, as it is really easy for many people to blow or pull their rotator cuffs in Ashtanga, doing so many ill-aligned chaturangas and up dogs).Finally, my other favorite is Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's book and DVD "Awakening the Sacred Body" for deeper guidance into the meditative aspects (with breath coordination and movement) of this amazing Tibetan tradition.

I'm trained as a hatha yoga teacher and I really like this practice because of the strong coordination of breath and movement, incorporation of breath hold in the movement, and the movement itself. I believe in ancient lineage and the blessing contained in it from the many enlightened masters who did it in the past to help their practice. The DVD is made very well with one DVD containing explanation and another DVD containing the practice. I recommend this practice for both beginner or advanced yoga practitioners. For more advanced poses you can get the Level Two DVD. But start with Level One to do all the preliminary practice and energetic alignment before you do the movement in Level Two. Happy practicing! :)

This is an awesome video and is accessible to most of us. The shoulder-stand an plow poses near the end really make it interesting and the breathing exercises are lovely. I notice I can relieve my mild sciatica by using this video regularly. The music is kinds cheesy, but I'm really glad I bought it.

I have the same frustration with this video that I did with the other by Mr Andrico, which is: if you are attempting to do the movement, the voice over instructions do not contemplate that you are not watching the screen. You'd have to be familiar first with this style of yoga, and then it becomes an excellent supplement for a personal practice. If you attended a retreat or a workshop it would serve to refresh your memory. Alas for me, I live very far from where this fine teacher is teaching.I find this style of yoga fascinating and would love to be able to execute the movements with the same lithe grace as the participants. If you watch the video enough times I think you could get to a point where this plus his other video would enable you to build a practice. I sincerely hope a more user friendly dvd is filmed soon

Very different but I really like this

Systematic and clear. Not everything (the pranayama) what is in the book is shown here. Also more variations for people who are not able to do the full range exercise would be better, only a few are shown. Also explanations about what is actually the essence of the specific exercise regarding breathing and not only movement explanations or naming the holds. That would make it easier to adapt to your personal abilities.

This dvd is in a class of its own. Well done production that is easy to follow and interesting to watch even if you cannot do all the movements. The practices incorporate many yoga poses from the Indian Hatha Yoga Tradition, but the sequencing is completely unique, and has a very 'zen' feel to it. It makes me feel like I am doing a martial art form wherein I am invoking something within myself on a deeper level than the physical. Love it!