Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice--First Series With David Swenson

I've practiced yoga for many years and Ashtanga yoga, specifically, for about two years. I still go to class at a studio once or twice per week, as a DVD cannot substitute for an actual teacher. However, classes are pricey, so I purchased this DVD to motivate myself and friends to do the practice at home. This DVD has been perfect.The beauty of this DVD is that you don't have to be familiar with the Ashtanga practice to follow it. Prior yoga practice is recommended, however. A friend participated who had never practiced yoga, and he joined in and followed through the entire primary series. However, he thought it was difficult and would have preferred starting out at an easier level. That said though, you can watch the intro which explains the poses before doing the practice itself, which is a separate video on this same DVD.Also, beginners and advanced Ashtanga practitioners can practice TOGETHER using this DVD since advanced and beginning poses are cued throughout the practice. This is wonderful because my friends and I are all at different levels but can follow the DVD together each week at my house. I LOVE THIS!! Typically, this is not possible in a class; I notice that when new students show up for class, the teacher tones the class way down, leaves out poses, etc. Now the option to do beginning and advanced versions of each pose is available.One reviewer mentioned that this DVD gets hard at the end. Yes, the primary series is a difficult practice. But, the great thing is that you can do just the sun salutations at the beginning and consider that a full practice as long as you follow it up with corpse pose. So don't be intimated! Just stop the DVD and fast forward to the finishing sequences if you get to the point where the practice is too difficult. This is how Ashtanga is traditionally taught - you begin by adding one or two poses in the sequence at a time until you've memorized it and are able to do it.. then move on. So this DVD lets you do that, too.In addition, the instructor is very encouraging and doesn't push the student beyond his/her limits. Alternative poses are always offered and he encourages you to sit out the vinyasas if you become tired, etc., not intimidating or making you feel bad at all if you are not in tip top shape or at top performance that day.I highly recommend this for beginner and advanced ashtanga folks. This has really allowed me to deepen my practice without having to spend a ton of money at the studio.

I've been using this daily for about three months now and made tremendous progress. Follow the directions as iterated by Swenson on the dvd: Do what you can!Don't worry about how far you go, or what other people are doing - just do as much as you can as well as you can. If you're not sure how to do a pose, pause for a moment and watch. Don't try look at the screen at the same time you're doing this. How then can it be done? Well, if you've never done yoga before it would be pretty dull to watch the video through without trying, I suggest learning the basics from a live teacher. But if you know how to do a sun salute and the basic poses: triangle, forward fold etc., use this video to transform your practice into a moving meditation.This style does not use music, so if you are yogi who needs music you may not like it. My preference however is doing yoga without distractions. I could of course, not use a video at all - - but I think this sequence as written by Patabi Jois is well paced, challenging and worth practicing until I have it memorized.Swenson has a calm voice over that is both encouraging and soothing. Pacing was too fast for me at first, although his pacing is normal to the style. I took a break and built up strength via other yoga and running, picked up the dvd again and find I love this sequence for it's twisting and lengthening effects. Revolved triangle shows up very early on, within the first 15 or 20 minutes so if this is a difficult pose for you, you've been warned lol

I am blown away - the quality of instruction is excellent! I was immediately impressed with the careful consideration and thought he has brought to this DVD. The Modification Section is invaluable and must be watched first, along with the Intro. There is a way for most everyone to do these poses through the use of modifications - and he goes into extensive instruction showing various modifications of the more difficult poses, in a separate section of its own. The DVD is broken up into its main 4 sections, so you can work on sections without having to fast forward, and then within master sections, you can Fast FWD by Chapter. It does not take long to move around, which is a plus when you need to watch the modifications again, then continue on with the workout. At any time, whenever you are ready to stop, you can move onto the Closing Section to finish. There is no fluffy wording, no distracting background or other people, just a Master Teacher doing a fantastic job. The picture is crystal clear and looks fantastic on my high def wide screen TV. He tells you with every move whether you should be breathing in or breathing out, so it is easy to get back on track. He has a gentle and calm voice which really helps set the tone. His attitude is encouraging and peaceful. I have only worked my way through the first 60 minutes (with lots of modifications!), but I can say that I leave the mat feeling invigorated and calm, not exhausted and trembling with the effort. Highly recommended!

A fabulous DVD for the more experienced Ashtanga practitioner, if you're new to Ashtanga Yoga I would highly recommend David Swensons Ashtanga Short Forum DVD to start you off or if you don't have much time to spare the short forum DVD is split into 15, 30 and 45 mins sessions with an option of a deep relaxation session. He also demos and gives teaching advice on the short forum DVD. Once you feel you are ready, go to Ashtanga classes and learn the other postures before attempting David Swenson First Series - The Practice DVD. I tend to use the DVD for days I can't get to my regular Ashtanga classes.

I understand in some way the other two reviews but I think they are unfare. The quality is fine, the sound is fine. Of course, it could be better in this days of HD and so on but, and this is a BIG but: Why do you care so much about the picture quality in a Yoga DVD? The sound is ok, the picture quality is fine, so I don't see any problem here.The most important thing is the instructor quality and I can say for my years experience in yoga that this is far THE BEST dvd of Ashtanga Yoga in the Market. The instructions are clear, he is an EXCELLENT teacher and for me this is what matters.

I wasn't expecting much from this video having read some of the reviews but it was more than adequate to learn from. I viewed it on a large TV screen in 4:3 rather than 16:9 and found it to be much clearer. The introduction is very useful and the instruction good. However, complete beginners may find it overwhelming and may find a class better in the early stages.Having done Ashtanga Yoga some years ago, I enjoyed the DVD and there are plenty of poses to work towards

Clear astanga practise broken down into the separate sections ( so you can do the salutations then go straight into the sitting sequence if you choose). A good rhythmic count and mimics what I learnt in class. Probably not the best one for the absolute beginner, but if you've done an astanga introductory course and can pretty much remember the poses when you're reminded of them, then this is a brilliant cd. Just what I wanted.

Brilliant DVD to watch but too old, so can't hear his voice even when volume is really high but then unable to do the workout because it crackles It's been sitting on my shelf for a very long time. Difficult to watch and then try moves. Definitely need an updated recording. For that reason 1 star.