Introduction Movie Reviews

First off - Vol. 1 is not strictly for beginners, it's for all levels. Yes, it won't make you sweat up a storm like Vol. 2 is designed to do. However anyone familiar with kundalini energy knows you can get super effective results by doing even simple moves. The breathwork and moves on Vol. 1 are designed to balance your chakras. She also adds wonderful exercises in the last part to clean the energy field surrounding your body, to help you get rid of emotional muck you've picked up from negative environments. Wow. That alone makes this worthwhile, (but I loved all the moves on these dvds). I first did Vol. 1 one night after work when my work environment had left me feeling drained and depleted. After the workout I felt fantastic. All that heaviness had been lifted away (literally).

They're fun routines. The music is terrific and the outdoor setting by the water is beautiful. Mantra Girl's music is the best I've heard yet on any kundalini yoga video or dvd. It'll make you want to move your body. I'm seriously considering getting her CD now so I can listen to it at work. The instructor is very good too. She says enough to guide you, but doesn't talk too much like other instructors. Instead, she lets you focus on the yoga and your body.

I have 8 other kundalini yoga videos, which I thought were pretty good (not fantastic, but good) until I saw Mantra Girl's. But now I'm moving those other videos to the back of the shelf. I'm sticking with both this and "Advanced Kundalini Yoga for the Spiritual Warrior". They're too much fun to not do.

On Vol. 2 you will definitely work harder. If you're a true lover of kundalini yoga (whatever your level) you will probably want to get both volumes. Vol. 1 is more laid back but very effective, Vol. 2 is a great one to grow into (even if you're not there yet). They're quite different from each other but compliment each other really well. When you look at the cost of yoga classes, the price of these two dvds is more than worth it.

One other great thing about the dvd is that it's easier to skip around than on the video to repeat moves that you need to practice more than once.

Personal favorite? In the EPK, where they do the...well, DANCE with Makes no Diffrence in the backround. And also, the In Too Deep and Fat Lip outtakes.

The instructor's voice is very soothing and relaxing, and the poses are challenging but definitely not unattainable for the beginner. What's more, there's always room to grow. When I started to feel like I really had a pose down and might feel bored by that section of the video, instead I started really examining the pose to see how I felt, or noticing that I could be relaxing a particular part of my body more, or breathing better. Someone else in these reviews mentioned that they felt bored during the explanations if they'd done the video a while -- what I've begun to do is simply start doing the pose while he's explaining. I get more workout that way and I'm growing in my ability to do it.

I highly recommend this video for any beginner interested in yoga.

I also liked Alan Finger's instruction. His voice is very calming and he spends a lot of time describing how poses should feel and encouraging students not to strain themselves. I like that he emphasizes that not everyone's going to be perfect at first and to just do your best. I especially liked when one of the students in the video fell over during stork pose! Made me feel a lot better. I also liked that there were four models/students, each showing different variations of the poses, from beginner to advanced.

The only drawback I've found to this video is that as I learned the poses, I started to feel that the video moved a little slowly as the instructor spent a lot of time introducing and explaining each pose. However, that's why I'm now looking for a more intermediate video. I still love this video and highly recommend it to all beginners in yoga.

Negative: Camera work focuses on her face or her breasts or crotch area, not the body part where the particular movement she teaches is located.

Negative: When the camera finally focuses on the correct area, her beautiful costumes get in the way of seeing the movement.

Negative: She is way too fast in many of her movements and counts for the beginning bellydancer.

Negative: The camera angle shows the movement from only one point of view, the front. It is almost impossible to tell where the weight distribution should be or how to do the movement properly from this perspective.

Negative: She gives wrong directions at times for different movements. She does the movement correctly, but does not tell the viewer how to do the movement correctly.