Pursuit of Happy Hips

I got this specifically for pain in my left hip area. I usually do Easy Street. It is very effective. I feel pain free the day after. Different background yogis show different levels of flexibility, which is nice.

This DVD is instructed by Canadian yogi and self-described "Blissogist" Eoin Finn. It offers four vinyasa flow yoga practices of varying lengths, all with a strong focus on stretching the hips. On this DVD, Finn is joined not only by his wife, Insiya, but also by a group of Winter Olympic Athletics, each of whom is performs a slightly different variation in each pose. They are practicing in beautiful outdoor settings, and Finn instructs via voiceover.

The Main Menu of the DVD offers the opportunity to preview each of the four practices, which are as follows: Easy Street, World Champions Hips, All Downhill, and Hot Chocolate. Finn's Blissology web site offers a PDF listing all of the poses included each of these practices, but I have provided a simple overview of each below.

EASY STREET (51 minutes)

As the title suggests, this is likely the easiest practice. It begins in a seated meditation pose and goes through only one sun salutation round. Standing postures including a warrior series, and once on the floor, you'll do pigeon, seated forward bends, twists, and a nice relaxation.

WORLD CHAMPION'S HIPS (79 minutes)

This challenging routine includes Finn's "Ultra Yang" sun salutations (which involve extra push-ups), the same warrior series, additional standing postures focused on the hips, standing and arm balance work, splints, backbends (or "front body stretches," as Finn calls them), and more involved forward bends/twists.

ALL DOWNHILL (43 minutes)

Although the title and length of this practice would suggest an easy routine, Finn actually includes some challenging postures here. After a single sun salutation flow and the warrior series, he includes the same standing and arm balance work as in the previous practice as well as a backbending series. A forward bend series, reclined pigeon, and relaxation conclude this practice.

HOT CHOCOLATE (57 minutes)

This practice also includes Finn's challenging Ultra Yang sun salutations. There are more unique postures weaved in here, from forearm plank to dolphin to crow to an abs series. Forward bending, backbends, and supine work is included as well. Finn shares the instructor duties this DVD with Insiya and what sounded like one other voice; I found this both distracting and unnecessary.

In addition to the four main practices, this DVD offers an Extras menu with features such as Athlete's Visualization, information Knee Safety, and a preview of Finn's then-upcoming Blissology Project DVD set (at that time, Blissology was called "Yoga for Every Day"). I have Finn's Blissology set as well, and I find that I prefer the practices on those DVDs to Pursuit of Happy Hips (PoHH). I greatly appreciate that Blissology offers shorter practice options (25-35 minutes) for each day, whereas the shortest practice on PoHH is OVER 40 minutes long. Furthermore, I prefer Finn's live instruction in Blissology as well as his slightly more relaxed vibe--as opposed to PoHH, which seems more athletic.

This is definitely a well-done DVD with four very nice strength-based practices. Personally, I prefer Finn's Blissology, but others may may appreciate the variety and additional challenge that Pursuit of Happy Hips brings to their yoga collection.

Excellent!! The dvd has 4 premixes. My husband and I like the easy street premix which is 51 minutes long. It starts with sun salutations but ends with a ton of hip openers which feel great. Eoinn has a great relaxing voice to listen to. The scenery is beautiful (even though I dont get to enjoy it as much due to doing yoga with eyes closed). Eoinn is a little more spiritual than athletic in his cueing of yoga, but not so much that you will be cringeing. I find his cueing really helps you engage into the pose. I absolutely love his meditations (like the ones on blissology project too). Definitely worth the investment, and a dvd that is in my no trade list.

This DVD has 4 routines. On most DVDs one of the routines is the "whole" workout and the rest are premixed subsets. However, on this DVD each routine, while it shares footage with the rest also has unique footage. For the complete pose sequence in each routine, use this link:

http://www.blissology.com/THE_PURSUIT_OF_HAPPY_HIPS_ROUTINES.pdf

I have done the longest routine "World Champion Hips". The sequence starts of with a very short sun salutation before getting down to a blend of hip openers and body strengtheners. I have yet to try the other three. In my opinion the PDF in the link above does not do the routine justice. This is my first Eoin Finn DVD and I am very impressed. The pace is luxurious and deliberate. You get enough time to really work into the correct alignment on each pose with great cues from Eoin. You also get the full benefit of great stretch or burn (frequently both!) from holding the pose. I'd heard of Eoin's woo-woo-ness, but I found him fine. He did refer to "pools of honey" or some such thing that I could find in my hips in a stretch, but I did not find him over the top. His follow on team of "elite athletes" is a bunch of yogis who show various levels of flexibility while still maintaining great alignment. He has a quirky sense of humor that is not outright goofy but will draw an occasional smile. The production values are outstanding. I finished the workout with a great sense of satisfaction, feeling deeply stretched and energised.

I bought the DVD before I realised that each routine is available as a download for just $3 at Eoin's Blissology site. One of the best yoga bardgains!