Kathy Smith:New Yoga Basics

While I've been practicing daily for 7 years and have been fortunate to be blessed with a wonderful and gifted teacher (whose classes I wish I could attend daily), I rely heavily on my home practice due to my schedule.

I find that VHS/DVD's are a really great way to keep a home practice from getting stale and I like to alternate between lots of programs for variety as well as different levels of intensity. Even though I have been doing Yoga for a relatively long time I still enjoy working with "beginners" programs on days when I don't want to push really hard but still want a well rounded practice.

I found this program to be a real joy to practice with and have been pleasently surprised by the two Yoga Programs of Kathy Smith's that I've gotten to practice with so far. In fact I'll be trying out her intermediate DVD tomorrow and from what I've seen so far I have great expectations. In fact I plan on ordering the 3 DVD set.

I think it's admirable that while Kathy Smith is the featured teacher in this program, she was wise enough to have collaborated with Rod Stryker (who not only developed the routine but also was a co-producer on the video if I'm not mistaken). Rod is the real deal, he's as reputable a teacher of yoga as one might find anywhere so this program is extremely sound and well structured.

I feel that Kathy does a great job of leading you through the program, she paces the program well, has clear and concise instruction and is an inspiring model.

I can see how some might feel there are some poses (particularly those in lunge positions as well as Downward facing dog) that might be a bit too much for a brand new beginner, but if these weren't included the tape would become pretty useless very quickly. The key is just to do what you can and rest when you need to, you will eventually build up strength incrementally.

Another positive thing about this program is that it is not filled with "too much" verbal instruction and therefore maintains a flow which makes it very "practice friendly". There are other very good introductory programs out there but often those become hard to practice with because they can get too bogged down with details and therefore are cumbersome to practice with.

Anyway, I highly recommend this program for beginners or even those more advanced who (like me on this particular morning) want to have a gentle yoga program to practice with to alternate with more intense programs.

Namaste