Studio: Gaiam Americas Release Date: 02/12/2007

A.M. Yoga for Beginners
"The morning is a precious time," says the narrator of A.M. Yoga for Beginners. "Just as the sun rises and falls, so do our natural rhythms. The morning is perfect time to open our bodies and center our minds." This 20-minute yoga practice with supple instructor Rodney Yee is the perfect way to start your day by energizing your body and calming your mind. Filmed on the beach at Maui at sunrise, the video starts with a 4-minute Conscious Relaxation focusing on breathing, then glides into a 14-minute series of yoga poses that are simultaneously relaxing and energizing. It ends with a 2-minute seated Guided Meditation to center your body and mind. Yee's instruction is detailed and gentle. The video is beautifully filmed: you watch the waves roll in as Yee demonstrates yoga poses on a sandy beach. The yoga practice awakens and stretches your muscles gently, leaving you balanced and focused. "Yoga is the foundation of my day," says Yee. "A few minutes in the morning will help give meaning to your day." --Joan Price

P.M. Yoga for Beginners
"The evening is the perfect time to calmly transition between being active and being quiet," says Patricia Walden, instructor of P.M. Yoga for Beginners. "One of the greatest gifts yoga has to offer is deep relaxation." This 20-minute program is designed to balance, calm, and revitalize you at the end of the day. It starts with centering poses: gentle stretches bringing awareness and quiet to your senses. Next are standing poses to release tension, increase circulation, expand the lungs, and help you breathe more deeply. Next, forward bends cool the body and bring quiet to the nervous system. The final restorative poses are so relaxing that you may fall asleep. Walden tells you not only how to do the poses, but what you should feel, and how to quiet your body and your mind. Instruction is soothing and explicit. Although this video is aimed at beginners, seldom are modifications given for the less flexible novice, so if any pose causes discomfort or seems impossible, don't push beyond your personal comfort level. The video was filmed on the windswept sands of Death Valley. --Joan Price