|
| |  |
| | Home | | | | | | | Description: | | The flow (pun intended) of excellent yoga DVDs from Shiva Rea continues with Radiant Heart. With a total running time of about 30 minutes, this is the shortest of the California-based yogini's offerings; and with just a single section devoted to asana, there's no need for the "yoga matrix," a programmable feature that highlights Rea's other videos (including Yoga Shakti, inarguably one of the finest yoga DVDs on the market). Still, that one section, a 20-minute sequence called "Hridaya Namaskar" or "Heart Salutation," is, as Shiva Rea fans have come to expect, innovative and skillfully put together. Focusing less on the strengthening aspects of yoga than on relaxing, stretching, and invigorating, it combines a variety of lunges, backbends (ranging from the relatively elementary sphinx pose to more challenging positions like cobra, camel, and bow), twists, and more, all presented with the kind of flowing, undulating movements typical of Rea's style. The Heart Salutation is bookended by two meditation sections (the eight-minute "Prayer Wheel" and the three-minute "Energizing Heart Movement Meditation"), both of which, as their names imply, involve considerably more activity than is found in more traditional meditation sequences. Whether the combination of these elements will in fact promote the development of "an intelligent heart center which communicates, alerts, balances, and harmonizes" the body will end up being a personal matter for each user, but there's no doubting the quality of both the content and presentation of this inspiring teacher's work. Bonus features include sample bits from two other Rea DVDs, Yoga Trance Dance and Fluid Power Yoga. --Sam Graham | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Shiva Rea | | Director:
| James Wvinner | | Format:
| Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Acacia | | Run Time:
| 35 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| November 13, 2007 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 12 reviews |
| | | You may also like ... | |  | | Perfect Pushup - Original | | The Perfect Pushup puts a new spin on one of the oldest exercises, the pushup. Invented by someone who knows a lot about pushups, former U.S. Navy SEAL, Alden Mills, the Perfect Pushup's rotating handles allow your arms to rotate naturally when you d ... | | $39.95 | |  |
|
| |  | | Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar | | Pro Fit Iron Gym
The amazing new Iron Gym by Pro Fit is the perfect workout solution for your home, office, or dorm room! With the single unit, you can work your chest, arms, shoulders, back, abs, and more!
You can do pull ups and chinups, situps, ... | | $29.99 | | |
|
| | | |  | | Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer | | The OMRON HJ112 Premium Pedometer is a fun and useful way to quantify all that great "burn" you're feeling. Great for use while jogging! 1 mfg. year warranty | | $24.99 | | |
|
| | | |  | | Everlast Multi Function Chinning Bar | | For working out pecs, biceps, abs, and obliques. Chin-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups. Multiple comfort grip positions. Adjusts to fit doorways up to 32". Portable. Quick simple assembly. No screws needed. | | $34.76 | | |
|
|
| |
| | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 I Like It!Sep 28, 2008
I was pleasantly surprised by Radiant Heart. I knew it was only 30 min. and figured it would be something I could fit into my busy schedule at least once a week, I really liked that it feels a bit more accessible than many of Shiva's longer DVDs and I like its relaxing but energetic vibe.
The practice consists of a calming movement meditation, 20 min. yoga flow practice, and then a very short and dynamic movement meditation. I recommend doing the final meditation only in the morning so you are not to energized to sleep. The segment which had yoga poses had a feel something like her other flowy work but even more accessible. The program seems to have a backbend focus which I usually dread but I was pleasantly surprised with this one because she builds you up gradually. If you have never tried Shiva but been curious this is a great one to start with.
A wonderful grounding and peaceful workoutJul 20, 2008
This video offers a wonderful opportunity to open one's heart to the universe. The excercises bring about a sense of peace and openness of heart that is often difficult to access. The end result is a strong sense of grounding in a world that is frequently chaotic. I strongly recommend this workout.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Delightful - hope Shiva gives us more brief, chakra oriented practices like this!May 17, 2008
My only mistake was holding off buying this DVD until 2008 and missing out on an exquisite little gem. It's a perfect early morning practice, with gentle music and a Prayer Wheel warmup as the sun rises behind clouds ... a brief period of arm circles and Ohm chants, a heart chakra "massage," then the Prayer Wheel which consists of gently rocking forward and back in a staggered stance, while circling the arms to stimulate the chi. This section alone is better than the strongest morning coffee!
The next segment, Hridaya Namaskar (heart salutation) is complete in 20 minutes, perfect to set the tone for your day. It features gentle kneeling stretches to warm and open the spine and graduates to gentle/moderate backbends as the sun continues to rise, the most vigorous being Ustrasana (camel). Backbends are appropriately countered with forward bends and side stretches. You are bathed in nurturing! Rather than lying Savasana, the practice ends with a seated meditation followed by prana mudra arm/breathing movements, which you might enjoy better than lying still again after sleeping.
The closing Energizing Heart Movement Meditation will launch you into your day with a vibrant attitude, in three closing minutes. The music picks up apace as Shiva leads through a standing "ha" kriya with arm movements to open the ribcage and release any last stagnant air, and prepare your spine to uphold the stresses of the day. If you wish to stimulate your morning further, the Twisting Kriya from Yoga Trance Dance and Jala Namaskar from Fluid Power are both included in the bonus chapters.
Though my review is geared toward a morning practice, this would also make an uplifting refresher after your day, before moving into nightly chores. I only ask - Shiva, can we have more chakra centered practices? How delightful would a similar brief compilation be for the head centers, root chakra, throat ...
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Enjoyable, but with camera flawsApr 30, 2008
I would give this a full five star rating if the camera work, while pretty, was not a source of deep confusion and vexation the first few times I did the work out. Occasionally Shiva will instruct you to do something--say, "bring your left knee up to your side" but because she's shot in shadows, you can't actually SEE what it was she just did and only figure it out a few moments later when she progresses into the full movement. Where exactly is her knee? Where should I put my knee? Oh shoot. She's doing something else now! Wait. How did we get on our backs?...we were on our stomachs a second ago, right?...This isn't a problem when you've got the asana flow basically figured out, but initially it can throw a wrench of confusion into what was otherwise a very smooth practice.
Such flaws aside, I otherwise very much enjoyed this practice. It is very calming and invigorating (so funny how it can be both, but it is). I think this practice is suitable for beginners as long as they aren't totally new to practice. I'm a fairly recent beginner and only moderately flexible for the most part (and I have the tightest hamstrings ON THE PLANET) and am just establishing a regular yoga practice, and I could do this work out with relatively little difficulty once I'd run through it a few times and gotten over my camera woes.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Not quite for true beginnersMar 21, 2008
Overall, glad to have this in my collection. I have done yoga off and on being mostly off right now I was looking for something to ease back in to practice. Let me say if you are very low on flexibility or yoga experience then these poses will be challanging and there is a chance you may do them wrong (even a slight chance for injury) because instructions are as if you have done these before. Perhaps this is true if you own other Shiva Rea discs, I do not.
The pace seems to go fast, could be a more mindful, gentler pace and be just as much benefit. In the additional bonus features you can see 7 minute previews of 2 other of Rea's Dvd's. I must say that I'm glad to see them because I can tell her style isn't what I'm looking for. It is very fast and alot of quick twists of the spine (adding elements of kundalini I suppose, some tai chi in the 3rd segment) I am just not at that level of flexibility and want a more breath focused yoga.
Again, not bad to have in a collection of dvd's but not a main source of yoga for me. The scenery was beautiful and her poses flawless and lovely to watch.
| | |
|
