Yoga Booty Ballet Live: Body Sculpting Bollywood Style

This is another video from the Yoga Booty Ballet Live series; each workout in this series contains dancey cardio, a toning segment, and some yoga-inspired stretches/breathing/meditation. Instructors Gillian and Teigh teach live in front of a large studio class, leading in a tag team style, and Ravi the live drummer is ever-present. The entire workout clocks in at about 34 minutes.

As with the other YBB Live videos, Bollywood begins in a seated position for some breathing work and setting your intention for the practice. I particularly liked that you start the warm-ups in this position, using flowing arm movements to loosen your chest and shoulders. You then do a little stylized turn to move to a standing position and continue with the same types of flowing movements; you'll also preview some of the moves featured in the cardio portion.

As the name of the video implies, the cardio here is bellydance-inspired, although I didn't recognize much from the bellydance videos I have used. In general, I found the movements to be nicely flowing and fun to do, but the choreography was more difficult for me to follow than in the other YBBs I've tried (Hip Hop Abs, Go Go). Gillian and Teigh do perform extra repetitions to help you learn the movements, but there are some tricky, quick transitions that just make the routine a bit hard to follow. Another issue I had is that several of the movements have a left-side focus (eg, the stomp and hip drop), and they are repeatedly performed on that side of the body only, which left me feeling uneven. Despite these issues, I did actually enjoy the cardio routine, but I was disappointed that my heart rate never got into my target zone even though I felt I was putting a lot of effort into the workout.

Gillian and Teigh have a habit of stopping the cardio portion abruptly mid-way through the routine (about 15 minutes total), and Bollywood is no exception. They then tell you to get a band and a yoga mat (you don't really need the latter though) for the sculpting portion, which consists of about 6 minutes of standing work. They use the band to add upper body work to lower body exercises such as squats and lunges and also to isolate muscles such as the biceps and tricpes; this section was okay, but I'm not sure how much I got out of it. The final 4 minutes of the workout feature stretches performed on the floor, first with the band and then without, which provided a nice little end to the workout.

Although I found this video to be somewhat enjoyable, I didn't feel very worked out by the end, so I'm not sure how much use I will get out of it. It could be that there is a "learning curve" to the routine, so I will give it another try; I could see keeping this in reserve for when I don't feel like doing anything else. If you like the YBB Live series and are looking for a fun, light workout, this may be for you.

A wonderful description of this dvd has already been posted, so I will add my individual impressions.

This was the hardest of the Lives for me to learn. It took me quite a few times of doing it to get it down. I also got it, tried it and put it away for a little while, because I didn't want to deal with learning the moves. Cardio-wise it is the easiest for me and I liked to do this one early in the morning before work. Once you get the choreography down, it is one of the more fun Lives. (They are all fun, though!)

Only one complaint: They overteach a few spots and as a result, you never get to do the whole routine through without the teaching. It would be fun to do it a couple times through without the teaching.

*These are TIFFT, so if you don't like that style, you will not like these.

Workout Time: 34:23

Equipment: Body band, mat

Bollywood is filmed in a clean, bright setting of polished wood floors and a brick background draped with white scarves.

Bollywood is YBB's Bellydance-themed workout.

Warm Up and Cardio: Teigh and Gillian begin the workout seated in Sukasana (easy pose) on the floor. After Ujjayi breathing (deep nasal inhale and exhale)in Anjali Mudra, they move on to an energizing Kriya using Surya Mudra, with the index finger and thumb touching. This is a Mudra of communication designed to clear your mind and raise energy, health and intuition. (A Mudra is a symbolic gesture of the hands in order to redirect energies).

From there, the cardio begins. Using lots of hip movements, Teigh and Gillian take the class through such moves as Stomps, Playing the Harp, Bird of Paradise, Flowing Waters, Candlestick and Snake Arms, and Hip Bumps. There is also a move where you are supposed to "unfurl your silk" and spin, a very elegant and senuous move! The entire sequence is repeated several times through.

Strength: The strength portion starts with plies and step squats, using the band to work your arms at the same time. Next are some side leg lifts using the band as resistance, more squats, a Dance of Shiva move using the band for your arms, and more arm work, including bicep curls, chest presses and tricep work.

Cooldown: The workout ends with some band stretches, cat and cow stretches and a happiness Mudra Gillian calls a "5,000 year old peace sign" for happiness and bliss.

I've never done any type of bellydance workouts, and some of these moves required practice on my part, as I am very choreographically challenged, but when I got them I felt very mysterious and feminine doing the workout.

This workout - as with all the YBB Lives - is appropriate for any workout level. It can be used as an add-on to a longer workout, or as is.

Grade: A