I don't understand the negative reviews of this dvd. I used this dvd when I first became interested in the practice of yoga. I now teach yoga & this is the dvd I recommend to new students who want to practice at home but don't know what to do. Patricia Walden gives excellent direction to move you safely into and out of the postures. Walden is Iyengar trained, so she pays attention to alignment & offers different ways to explore postures. And, yes, there are a few props used. Maybe the people who wrote the negative reviews aren't interested in proper alignment or learning to "walk before running". Sometimes people want to "jump into" more challenging postures before they've explored the foundation postures. This can lead to injury.

Boring, boring, boring. Don't waste your time or money. This is a snooze, couldn't even get through it. Try Rodney Yee for something worthwhile and inspiring.

I studied yoga at the New York Iyengar yoga center for several years, and I love going back to basics. I have advanced arthritis in my neck and also have recently corrected a scoliosis curve in my spine. My sister, who is trained in yoga instruction and who has traveled extensively studying Iyengar yoga, recommended Patricia Walden to me. I am SO GLAD she did! There are sequences of just poses and no instruction, and plenty of slow instruction on each pose so thorough that you do not need to look at the video (just like an Iyengar class!). Also, her technique is gorgeous. Watching her the way they filmed her, you can see her spine moving, her muscles adjusting, so you get the reinforcement of always shifting in the poses, to increase your body awareness and your understanding as you relearn and master each pose, each day. The reviewers who don't like how it was filmed obviously didn't realize that was clearly the purpose. Also, her voice is slow and hypnotic, not fake at all. Just controlled. The reviewers who were negative on her voice maybe haven't experienced the Iyengar style which is to constantly remind us of what we need to be paying attention to when we're in the pose, so we don't get lazy in any of the postures.

The disk was for beginners which I am at the present, however, I am very familiar with yoga. The pace was too slow and I found the routine boring. Don' t waste your money.

With this DVD, all you need is a mat and a mirror, and you are on your way to a firm foundation in yoga. On the other hand, if you have experience in yoga, this is not the DVD for you.

Walden slowly and systematically gets the student into each of the poses, focusing on correct form. I have since taken several "in person" classes, and can honestly say that I learned more from Walden, who is not afraid to take her time (and comes with a pause button) than from any of the live instructors who are trying to focus on a variety of experience levels.

Once you have mastered the poses in this session, you will be ready to move on to "beginner" programs that move a little faster, OR to put the given poses together into your own flowing combinations.