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The other things to love about this DVD are the fact that the flows are so beautifully done. You will move all around your mat in a circular fashion, doing lots of downward dogs, chatarungas & updogs. Depending on the flow, you’ll throw in some warriors, yogic squats, lunges, side angles & triangles too. It’s really a comprehensive program. And the fact that it comes with several pre-programmed sessions is great, but you can create your own with the yoga matrix. That’s what I love to do, so I can match my practice to my mood.

You’ve got to buy this!!! (I love Shiva’s Yoga Shakti too, but this one is even better in my humble opinion.)

Namaste, & Happy Yoga to you.

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The whole concept of adding of circular and fluid wave motion took each vinyasa to a whole new level. The sometimes abstract flow was a delightful departure from normal asana movement and i was thrilled at how easily I could release the creativity I have within. I haven’t done every sequence combination yet, but already I’m a huge fan of the Mandala Namaskar, the Dancing Warrior and the Mandala variation of Upward Bow (PLEASE, PLEASE, approach these poses with gentle respect for your limitations…these will fall away with precious time)

Ooooh, one thing i preferred with “Fluid Power” over “Yoga Shakti” was that in the Yoga Matrix (like the best DVD feature EVER!)you can navigate back and forth, up AND down – with “Yoga Shakti”, I could only go back and forth, which was a little frustrating at times)

Very challenging sequences at times, like the handstand practice, which I’m new to, but see as a great guide as I evolve.

This DVD, even more than “Yoga Shakti”, is NOT for the neophyte – Shiva explains this in the attached handout (priceless for customising your practice) and again in the introduction Shiva exhorts you to watch the flows at least once through before you “dive in”. Much Sanskrit is used for pose names and the Backbending sequences are quite challenging, from “the splits” to Natarajasana or ‘cosmic dancer’. I’m someone who gets bored easily, but i don’t think it’s possible with this DVD, what with the level of focus needed and the vast possibility of practice combinations, limited only by you, the practitioner.

A beautiful, thoroughly enjoyable way to develop a home practice.

Another “gift” from Shiva.

Wonderful stuff, I can’t wait to see what else Shiva develops

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There are 20 segments here, enough to challenge us all, 6 pre-set practices, some 30-40 minutes and the longest being 108 minutes, this one may be a problem for the time constrained but it is a thorough, liberating workout. I know many people will criticize this DVD as being too difficult for beginners just as they did with Yoga Shakti but Shiva clearly states in the booklet that came with the set that there are many yoga DVDs out there for beginners so she made this one for beginner-advanced to more intermediate practitioners. In this particular situation, I would say “beginner-advanced” does not mean someone who has dragged their yoga mat to class a couple of times a week for a year but instead someone who has had a devoted, daily or at least several times weekly yoga practice for at least a year. Some of the arm balances and knee workouts are intense so I would recommend healthy knees and some upper body strength for the intermediate pre-set practices called “Backbend Flow”, “Hip Opening Flow” and “Creative Flow”. The only criticism I would bring to this workout DVD is that some of these sequences are rather complex and full of new material that most of us have never tried in a yoga pose and so may be a little confusing to some people ~ therefore I would recommend that you watch first before trying them. (This is really a minor gripe and not enough to take away a star)

A few of these sequences can be found on the Yoga Trance Dance DVD and the Creative Core Abs DVD but don’t worry, they blend beautifully and there is plenty of new stuff here to keep us all interested.

Thank you again, Shiva for all you do to make our lives rich and beautiful

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An Ashtanga-style workout presents a series of postures that produce intense internal heat and purifying sweat to detoxify the organs and muscles. You will feel the improved circulation and no one will have to tell you to “breathe deeply” You will breathe deeply because you need to.

This is definitely an advanced workout because it moves so fast, there is really no time to actually learn the moves. You have to know what the poses are and move very quickly from one to the other. This is an outdoor workout in Phoenix, Arizona. This is quite the colorful workout. Not only are you outdoors with greenery in the background, there are red flowers, large red mats and blue/purple yoga mats.

Some of the exercises you will be doing include:

Sun Salutations

Downward Facing Dog

Awkward Chair (chair pose)

Rotating Triangle

Plank Push-Up

Forward Bend

Warrior Stretches

Standing Stretches

On all Fours Series

Seated Stretches & Forward Bends

Backward Bend

Twists – Enter new levels of making yourself into a pretzel.

Final Relaxation

Pilates for Abs

There were quite a few poses that were highly creative and that I’ve never seen in any yoga video before.

The Special Features Section includes:

1. Position Breakdowns for half moon, eagle pose, dancing shiva, half wheel, full wheel.

2. Instructor Biographies – Nice to see Jess is now certified as a yoga instructor. I was very inspired by his level of practice in the first MTV Yoga workout.

3. Instructor Only Audio – this seems to be a unique feature on MTV yoga workouts.. You can then play your own music for variety.

4. Blue Six Music Video – Nice to play while you are flat on your back after this workout. Maybe you could say: “Ahhhhh” a few times and get in a few minutes of meditation. That is what I ended up doing. This workout is pretty strenuous and therefore the word: power.

The only problem with the special features and bio section was the back tracking you have to do to get back to the main menu. They should have had “main menu” on all those other pages. It wasn’t that difficult to back track, but requires an added level of patience. Maybe that is part of this routine.

If you are new to Yoga and Pilates, I can highly recommend the first MTV Yoga DVD to learn the poses. Then, try the Winsor Pilates videos. If you can make it through Accelerated Body Sculpting then the Pilates section at the end of this workout will not be that much of a challenge. It is a short section to tone and tighten, but the instructor expects you to know how to do all the Pilates moves and fairly quickly.

While the cover says: “We incorporate beginner, intermediate and advanced versions in one routine,” the problem for beginners is going to be the frustration they feel at trying to not only learn the correct position, but keep balance and follow the “poses” in a fast sequence. Speed is going to be the problem. Yes, there are instructors for each level, but the speed is all the same for every level. I think it would have been amazing if they had taken this routine and made it more accessible to all levels. Say, have three different speeds, beginner, intermediate and advanced speed.

Also, you don’t hold poses like “warrior” for longer than a second. I would have liked to have spent more time on each pose, but if that is also your preference, then you will love the first MTV Yoga workout. This workout seems to be more about stamina and getting the body warmed up and burning calories.

There are also some pretty intense balancing poses (dancing shiva) and strength poses (half and full wheel, imagine being on all fours upside down) that will give intermediate and advanced students some great challenges.

For those who are advanced, this will be yoga heaven. I’m probably less than intermediate and I made it all the way to the end. I just was not doing all the poses to their full extent and many of the poses might take a year to learn properly. Yoga requires a lot of flexibility and this takes time.

What I did notice was that I was stretching further than I’ve ever stretched before and this might have been due to the excellent warm-up sun salutation routine at the start.

I look forward to future MTV workouts because I like the music they choose and the instruction is inspirational and the workout really gives you the results you are looking for. I’d love to see Kristin make a MTV Pilates workout and maybe even a stretching DVD.

For this workout, you will need:

Yoga Mat (no other yoga tools/blocks, etc. are needed)

Comfortable tight fitting yoga outfit that sticks to you like glue, otherwise any loose clothing will get in the way of your speed. Jockey Activewear has some silky soft outfits that are perfect for this type of workout.

Enjoy! This is a great challenge and the results are a calm mind, strong body and a powerful sense of accomplishment.

You might also enjoy:

Yoga Zone Flexibility & Stress Release

Crunch Pick Your Spot Pilates

The Method Dynamic Toning

The Method Dynamic Firming & Flexing

Ali MacGraw Yoga Mind & Body

Living Arts Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss

Pilates Conditioning for Weight Loss

~The Rebecca Review