videos: a beginner's impressions

[Guest guest]

my wife and i have both started ashtanga practice

in the last few months. we ordered most of the

videos and books that others have recommended here in

prior posts. for the primary series, i would definitely

get the david swenson, the richard freeman and /or

the yoga works video of KBJ guiding richard freeman,

chuck miller, tim miller and other leading teachers

through the entire primary series.<br>that latter video

is not one to try and follow at home with your own

practice -- the students are so good at what they are

doing they seem to virtually fly through the series,

even though they are moving at a measured, smooth

pace. in fact, the video explicitly states it is not

for use in practice. it does, however, provide an

invaluable demonstration of the correct practice of the

asanas and vinyasas by more than one person. i found it

very helpful to see some of the differences in

technique some of these highly skilled practicioners have.

the students doing the series comprise a reasonably

wide spectrum of body types and builds, (there are

tall, long limbed people, short limbed people, fairly

muscular, built people, but no "typical overweight" people

doing the video) so you get an idea how a given asana

might be done by different people. they all did the

vinyasas a little differently. it was also nice to see

that even these experts had their little wobbles and

wavers, episodes of momentary hesitation and even getting

the occasional correction from KBJ. i would

definitely get the yoga works video to view but not to

follow. perhaps the best to try and follow along with may

be richard freeman's. i personally like david

swenson's the best but some have commented that the pace on

that video is a little to quick for normal, unexpert

practitioners. i haven't tried to do the series at home yet, so

i can't say. for some reason, i didn't get any book

with freeman's video. i did order swenson's book

seperately. i think that is an invaluable resource as well.

<br>the sewell archive videos are interesting but but if

you're at all susceptible to motion sickness, beware.

for the first time in my life i got motion sickness

from watching his second series video in maui with tim

miller leading. the camera moves around a lot with the

person walking up and down the rows of people doing

their asanas. the content of the video itself was

great, but the side effects just sort of snuck up on me.

it was amazing to see the people in the class, of

very diverse body types and ability levels, do the

second series. the video begins with the salutations and

standing series. i was certain i must have been given a

"primary series" video by accident, because i thought,

"there's no way some of these people are going to be able

to do the second series postures." but they kept

right on and damned if they didn't pull off the series.

there's this really tight older guy just nailing the 7

headstands, an older, heavier-set guy getting through some

very tough postures, adjusting to alternative

positions where he had too, but getting through the entire

series. some people probably in their sixties looking

every bit as expert and limber as the younger, harder,

skinnier bodies. very inspiring to hackers like

myself.<br>if anyone has an opinion on the lino miele video,

let me know.

[Guest guest]

I have David Swenson's short forms and use the 45

minute routine frequently. At times I stop it and add a

few postures on my own. I have Richard Freeman's and

Swenson's Primary series tapes. I like Swenson's a lot

more. He explains modifications to the asanas, and it

seems to be a little slower which I like. I still

cannot do the vinyasa in between poses from one side to

the other.