Wai Lana Yoga: Wake Up Body

For some reason, I had always assumed that Wai Lana taught yoga at a beginning level, but now that I've tried my second video of hers, I'm convinced that this is not the case. Wake Up Body is a stimulating, invigorating practice that includes several challenging postures, and I definitely would not recommend it for anyone below an intermediate level.

The asana practice is approximately 34 minutes long, and it begins with a series of reclined leg stretches. The first move, which involves lying on your back and "walking" the feet over your head (similar to plow pose) is difficult and requires quite a bit of core strength. Next comes side kicks and a single leg stretch, and then Wai Lana moves into plow--a posture that many find relaxing but that I find challenging. Following plow, it's on to your stomach for a 1-legged bow variation.

In some poses, Wai Lana builds up to the more advanced version by starting with easier options: for example, a sort of mini boat pose, a dynamic down dog, and a headstand prep with legs at a 90-degree angle up a wall. She also does several variations of a standing backbend (or standing camel), beginning with hands on hips, moving to hands on thighs, and finally, hands on ankles (which I was unable to do). The practice ends with an additional 6-minutes of Wai Lana's quite unique singing and dancing. Although this seemed a bit silly to me, I gave it a try, and I have to admit that I found it both fun and relaxing.

One thing I really like about Wai Lana's videos is that each asana is like a stand-alone practice: the posture is held for an extended period (sometimes incorporating dynamic movement), and then a brief relaxation follows. Because there are pauses between every pose segment, when you use the video, you can perform as many or as few poses as you choose, simply picking up where you left off the next time.

On the other hand, I find Wai Lana's frequent outfit changes, gaudy appearance, and heavy accent a bit difficult to get used to. In addition, she does not suggest modifications for poses, which is why the practice demands an intermediate level of expertise. However, she provides very good instruction and non-mirrored cueing, plus she is quite encouraging and offers a good bit of information about the benefits of each pose. The Wai Lana series is definitely worth checking out if you have been practicing yoga for awhile and are looking for a departure from mainstream yoga videos.

I've been doing yoga over 4 years starting with Rodney Yee who helped to get yoga more mainstream years ago with Oprah. I started with him & now have more then 30 dvds, with liking Wai Lana, Rodney Yee, Rainbeau Mars, Kunalini yoga w/Gurutej Kaur or Gurmukh, Better Sex w/yoga, Firm's Power yoga w/Kristen, Seane Corn or YogicArts the most. With their help, I went from unable to each touch my feet to doing full splits by only doing 20-30 min a day 1-3x/week.

I agree her makeup & clothing are way too gaudy, but you know that wasn't her idea, it was the production & director's ideas so I try to not let things like that influence how I feel about the content, style & instructor's teaching & intent which is the most important.

Her beginning DVDs are not easy for those who are very out of shape, but she gives modifications. She's one of the only ones who tells you the benefits & what conditions it helps you treat as you do the poses to keep you inspired. I wish more of them did that to keep you going & not be bored & reminded why you're doing it. After each pose/exercise, I really felt the stretch & the energy/blood circulation after, I always feel lighter & more graceful & more aware. She also does poses that most don't do that really feel awesome. Some may be considered Kundalini yoga style such as shoulder rolls, leg lifts in some of Wai Lana's workouts, but they really help you stretch more. Others have a definite ring of Qi gong on it. Any moving exercises are done slow so you feel the joints losening up. Most yoga DVDs I've gotten have been the same exact poses in almost the same sequence (so many sun salutations!), but she's totally different.
I have all 3 of her easy series. :-D

In the extras menu option, there is a guidelines option to get more detailed infomation about each asana, with her demonstrating, how to do it & what to watch out for to avoid injury. Also you can Customize your workout by deciding how many & which asnanas to do for your workout.

There are great pictures of her in poses on her site wailana

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars