Deep Stretch/ Yin Yoga with Mimi Solaire

I'm writing this review for other active 20somethings. This DVD had very high reviews, but I wasn't sure about it. All of the reviewers seemed to be grandparents or inactive adults, and I worried that this DVD would be too easy. I'm also generally anti-yoga, and was looking for a stretch dvd not a yoga dvd.So, why did I buy this DVD? I have a full time job, a part time job, a mortgage, and I'm a year into a two-year executive MBA program. I feel tense most of the time, and I was looking for an outlet for all of that stress.I felt different after just one session with Mimi. I'll tell you now that you might not feel like you're doing anything while you go through the DVD (I didn't), but you WILL see and feel results. I'm a former figure skater (15 years) and dancer, and now I run. I honesty don't know how I lived my life before Mimi.Mimi is calm and encouraging, and while I was initially skeptical, I now completely trust her. Her program allows you to relax completely and deeply. It's a time to take inventory of both your body and mind. Many of us have very busy schedules, and the only time we stop moving is when we're asleep. I've found this DVD to be both a physical and emotional experience. If you have stress in your life, unacknowledged emotions you need to work through, or if you're just looking for some peace and self reflection, buy this DVD. You will not be sorry.

I've been wanting to do yoga for a long time, and have tried many yoga DVD's, but have found them hard to keep up with. I'm sixty two and found that, with most yoga dvd's, before I was finished getting into one pose, the instructor was already onto another. I'm pretty limber, but with back pain, and pain from fibromyalgia I'm a little slow. Thus, my search continued for a yoga dvd that I could handle. My search ended when I found Deep Stretch/Yin Yoga With Mimi Solaire. I can keep up, I can do the poses, and best of all the stretches are easing my back and fibro pain! I do the whole hour every morning before breakfast, and afterward I feel great. I know that exercise is supposed to cause your body to release endorphins that make you feel good. Truthfully, I used to go to a gym and work out. I never felt anything but tired and sore. For the first time, with this DVD, I have actually experienced what that release of endorphins feels like. I've been doing this DVD for about 6 months now, and plan to continue. Maybe in time I'll advance to Paul Grilley's DVD's. Oh yes, I also just purchased Mimi Solaire's other DVD, back in Shape. Maybe I'll do this one every evening.

So, this week I went on travel for business and I wanted to have an easy yoga routine that I could do in the evenings without a lot of space or special equipment. I found this video and decided to rent it, to try it out on my Kindle Fire.Well, it was exactly what I wanted. Each evening, I laid out a sheet on the floor (a yoga mat would have been better, but it wasn't critical for these poses), took a hot bath to loosen up, then did perhaps 20-30 minutes of the video to unwind before going to sleep. It was wonderful!Ms. Solaire's voice is very soothing, and so is the music, and I found the timing and instruction to be perfect! I've found some videos to be lacking in the timing department, perhaps because the instructor is focused on production or ??? With this video, I felt like I was in a room with an instructor and I always consider it to be a compliment to a teacher when I can do most of the poses without looking...but it was very nice to have the video when I needed that feedback.I would highly recommend this for those of you who like gentle yoga. I am going to buy the video, or perhaps the DVD, maybe even both. It's a nice repertoire that I won't get tired of.

As much as I love this stretch video, I wish there were some kind of guide posted for those who download or steam the video. You begin on the floor and the title of this is "Back Stretches". Then at 19min 45sec, it goes to "Hips and Legs", and you're still on the floor. You'll use a strap with that segment. The last segment is at 39min 55sec for "Neck and Shoulders" and you'll use a rolled up towel to support your neck. Oh, there is a Bonus super Stretch Segment at 1hr 17seconds that she refers to as "more challenging", and it is! Here you'll see the old downward facing dog standard and more.Personally I was looking for deep stretches while standing. I work at a desk for most of the day and I wanted something to do on breaks. The music is soothing and quite familiar, I listened to this exact music by Liquid Mind as a student while I studied for exams (listen to it on Pandora!).

The yin yoga I am familiar with uses bolsters and props and gets people into a position and has them hold them for a very long time like 5+ min until they have facial or connective tissue lengthening or opening.While this video was very relaxing and Ms. Solaire describes the set up and action well, my understanding of yin yoga is not simply holding selected Vinyasa/Ashtanga poses for longer then normal so I think calling it deep stretch is fine but calling it Yin Yoga is not.I got it specifically for some yin yoga instruction and here is where the content and technique fall short.