Power Yoga for Happiness

I haven't done the long workouts (I try to only do 45 minutes max), but I love the 30 minute and 40 minute practices on this! I just felt good and destressed by the end. Definitely not for newbies, as he assumes you knows the postures; but fine for beginner/intermediate level. I like that the 30 minute session is not all sun salutations, and has a savasana at the end.

I feel like this one will get tons of use out of my collection. Especially as an alternative to other power yoga I have that is more intense. Even my husband liked it.

I’m reviewing this workout after doing all of the routines at least once and most of them multiple times in the couple of years I’ve had this.

General workout breakdown: This power yoga video contains 5 routines, 4 of which (The Quickie, 30 min.; Daily Dose of Bliss, 40 min.; Magically Hips, 55 min.; and Strong, Free and Happy, 53 min.) are premixes of the full routine (Total Happiness, 80 min.). Although at one point Eoin says, “In Iyengar yoga we call this…”, he teaches a vinyasa-style yoga (i.e. poses are built into flowing sequences, there are chaturanga-up dog-down dogs between poses or flows, etc.) that’s a hair slower than most power yoga routines.

To give you an idea of the asanas included, here are the chapter points: centering (standing forward bend, mountain), sun salutation “eh,” sun salutation B, standing forward bends (including padangusthasana, where you grab your big toes, and padahastasana, where you put your hands under your feet), standing flow 1 (building off of sun salutation B into warrior 2, side angle, lunge with twist, triangle), hip flexor love (deep standing lunge, kneeling crescent lunge, hanumanasana = front-back split), standing flow 2 (beginning with one-legged down dog, warrior 1 into 3, “standing big toe pose” = balance with leg extended, dancer’s pose, crow), pigeon pose (with several upper body positions), standing pigeon, tree / standing half lotus, side plank, seated forward bend, janu sirsasana, seated pigeon / half lotus, “Dear Abby” (i.e. abs: head & heels held off of floor at several heights, crunch w/ legs vertical, legs to the side, alternating leg lifts to opposite hands, knees to chest, boat), simple back bends (chaturanga series into cobra, bow), twist & double pigeon, butterfly / wide leg forward bend, turtle, supine pigeon, half or full backbends (bridge or wheel), supine leg stretches, and savasana.

Level: I’d recommend this to experienced beginner through intermediate+ yogi(ni)s. I would not recommend this to newbies to yogi (especially if you’re new to exercise); you’d be better off with something that has more basic form instruction and fewer advanced poses (perhaps Eoin’s Pure & Simple Yoga?). True yoga intermediates and those even more advanced may enjoy exploring some of the most advanced moves I’ve seen in a yoga video intended for the mass market, although Jane’s correct in pointing out that there are no inversions, as well as only a few backbends.

Class: 1 man and 5 women join Eoin. Two always show beginner modifications, one shows intermediate, and the rest perform the routine at a more advanced level. Eoin instructs via voiceover.

Music: pleasant instrumental music that suits the workout well and fades into the background when needed.

Set: outdoors in a wooded park.

Production: good quality picture and sound. I find that I need to turn the volume up in comparison to most of my videos, however. The camera angles are more helpful than not, showing all levels of an exercise in some way at some time. While most of the time the video focuses on the group in the park, there are shots of Eoin or one of the class members alone demonstrating the full pose for several of the asanas, but these come after Eoin gets you started in the pose.

The editing of the premixes is seamless, both in terms of the picture and sound. Eoin’s voice never changes drastically in tone or volume, and the music never feels like it has been suddenly cut. In fact, I didn’t realize the shorter routines were premixes until I had done three of them and realized there were just too many similarities for Eoin to have filmed variations of the same routine five different times!

Equipment: sticky mat (or equivalent). All participants are barefoot.

Space Requirements: enough room to perform a full sun salutation without bumping into things and lie on the floor with limbs extended.

DVD Notes: This actually has 2 DVDs: one with the 30, 40, and 55 min. routines, and the other with the 53 and 80 min. routines. The full routine on the long DVD is chaptered (see my general breakdown again; the simple backbends is out of order on the chapter list); the premixes are not chaptered.

Comments: I’m surprised there aren’t more reviews for PY4H, which seems to be one of the most used, enjoyed, and recommended yoga videos at VF. And with good reason! For me there’s just something yummy about the flows, the pace, even Eoin. I finally decided I might as well try this guy during a Hip Opening Challenge, and I’m so thankful I did. The disc with the three shorter routines may be my most used yoga video. The 30- and 40-min. routines are perfect for a time-crunched person like myself, and the Magically Hips routine is just divine. It has done wonders for my lower body flexibility, something that’s important and exciting to me not just because I’m especially inflexible there but also because I spend most of my day sitting. I don’t know what I’d do if all copies of this DVD spontaneously exploded; my hips and I would be very, very upset!

As has been mentioned, Eoin’s power yoga isn’t lightning fast or super rigorous, in comparison to something like Mark Blanchard’s Sedona Foundations, for example. I have to modify chaturangas due to an elbow issue; I find that I have just enough time to do so.

While this practice isn’t overly spiritual, Eoin does try to bring out the meditative and bliss-inducing qualities of the practice. He does include a number of the Sanskrit names, although he uses both Sanskrit and English interchangeably for common poses like down dog. Those who are especially modest may not be comfortable with some of Eoin’s phrases (“It should feel like ice cream getting licked off your hips”) and the view of thongs through and over the top of a few of the women’s pants.

Since this is a power yoga video, you spend a good deal of time on your wrists in chaturanga, up dog, and down dog. However, there are not a lot of additional asanas using the wrists if you follow some of the modifications, skip crow, etc.

Eoin comes across as a genuinely warm, caring individual. He makes lots of comments about respecting the earth and spreading love but not in an overbearing or preachy way. His voiceover is calm and soothing and sprinkled with gentle humor. He's encouraging to beginners and sometimes explains modifications, but not enough for the true newcomer.

Eoin's on my wavelength. The bliss factor might not be as potent for others, but I felt pretty darn groovy during and after Y4H's 80 minute "Full Happiness" routine. And now I'm spreading the happy vibe.

some background for the uninitiated. This is Vancouver yoga instructor Eoin Finn's second release. The first, Power Yoga, is available from Amazon.com or http://www.vancouveryoga.com and has been a big VF favorite with the Videofitness.com yogis. Power Yoga is taped in a beautiful mountain shore setting. Eoin walks around his class, instructing. Power Yoga has 2 routines - a 45 minute and, I think, a 70 minute.

Eoin talked *alot* during Power Yoga which is fine by me but others complained. From my perspective, unlike say, Rainbeau Mars, or Bryan Kest - both of whom I like but can also find grating (Rainbeau too sloppy and overreaching in her metaphors, Bryan too barky), there's *nothin* Eoin Finn says that I'm not ok with. I'm completely charmed by him and find his instruction helpful and motivating.

Power Yoga for Happiness differs from Power Yoga in a number of ways. First - its a 2 DVD set with, I believe - 5 different routines - something for every time schedule. I've only done the full 80 minute routine and can't comment on the other segments, but geeze, at CAN $24.99/USD $19.95 for the 2 DVD set - how can you go wrong?

Y4H is in a woodsy setting. The class is slightly smaller. Spikey, the dog is more prominently featured and has his own sticky mat. Eoin asks us to do "Upward Facing Spikey" at one point.

Eoin instructs in voice over and actually participates in the class as a student. He is *not* as loquacious as he was during Power Yoga. He's calmer. There are insets where Eoin, and the other instructors, are seen doing certain asanas solo in different, very pretty settings.

The 80 minute routine on Y4H is more advanced, in an athletic sense - than anything on Power Yoga. He shows some very advanced postures - full turtle for instance, but makes an effort to make the class all levels - he shows alternative poses and uses a ski trail analogy - there's a green trail, a black diamond trail, etc.

I liked the original music just fine - more than fine, actually. It changes in the course of the routine - there's a long segment with acoustic guitar that's a bit reminiscent of Hillary Burnett's music on her Power Mat tapes - a compliment. The program, overall, has an absolutely terrific vibe. *what* can I say?

I think that Eoin and I want the same thing out of our yoga practice - a lighter, freer body, vitality. He gets into some loftier methaphors - freedom, love - I'm good with those things too. He described his hip openers as keeping the body young - I like that very much, and I think he's right. Alot of what's drawn me back to yoga is a desire for more openness and flexibility - youthful qualities.

The 80 minute routine is very thorough, but did not have ANY inversions - that bummed me out. He does some self massage, which is nice, and something you don't see in videos. He starts with standing forward bends, then sun salutations, standing work, balance poses, side planks, lots and lots of hip openers and forward bends, some abdominal work (the instruction could be a little better with the ab stuff - i had some concerns about a newbie doing that section), back bends, and a real savasana.

Y4H has its own website:

http://www.headwatersdesign.com/poweryoga.html

The workout itself is a lot of fun. It's been reviewed in detail already, and I only did one of the workouts on DVD 1.

The workouts on DVD 1 all seemed a subset of the longest workout (does that make sense? What i'm trying to say is you don't get distinct workouts, but rather parts of a larger whole).

He does a good amount of chaturangas, which I really like.