Yoga Journal’s Yoga for Meditation

Great for Meditative Practice or Relaxation
Majestic images of Yosemite, serene music, calming narration: with these tools Rodney Yee presents five sessions aimed at preparing the individual for meditation by offering practice in breath awareness, posture, position, and flexibility to assume meditative poses. The last session is a guided meditation. Although the video lists seven props necessary to the video, only three are used: a chair, two blankets, and a block, and the last two are optional depending on your flexibility. MOUNTAIN offers a transition from standing activity to the floor, starting with mountain pose, then flowing through standing forward bend to downward dog to the ground. GARDEN presents chair exercises that stretch the inner thighs and groin in preparation for the seated meditative poses shown in TREE. In TREE, Rodney demonstrates four traditional meditative poses–cobbler, lotus, sage, and hero, including the use of blocks and blankets to make the asanas more comfortable. WIND is a session in supine focusing on the breath, and SKY is eight minutes of meditation guided by Rodney. I found the video relaxing and peaceful. Most poses are easy and well within the scope of a beginner, although GARDEN may prove challenging for individuals without much flexibility in the hips. Even if much of the video is not meditation per se, it still affords an opportunity to quiet mental chatter and relax the body. For me, this tape *is* Yoga for Relaxation!

Excellent for stretching and relaxing
This is broken up into several different parts so you can do one or all of them. I like to do all of them. It helps to stretch me back and hips so that I am more limber through my day as I have trouble with both areas. It is gentle and easy to do with beautiful scenery. Rodneys voice is very soothing. I often find at the end that I fall asleep as I am so relaxed. I personally do not use it for meditation, but it would work well for that if you wanted to do that. My only complaint is that the only way you can get this is on vhs.

WORTHWHILE ANY DAY
Only done the practice a few times so far, but it has been a very relaxing journey. Just need more undivided attention on my part. So far, the gentle joga exercises also have been easy to take in and don’t stress me out before I even begin the meditations. I am very excited to have chosen this DVD, but then again, I have never been disappointed in Rodney Yee.

Absolute Perfection!
Fighting the beast, Cancer. This DVD is absolute perfection. Slow, steady, calming, beautiful. There are not enough words in the English language for me to convey how much I love it.

I’m going to share a rather radical opinion now, that of my guru. He was not interested in anything but full throttle actions to achieve the ultimate goal. As a result of this, he derided yoga as for those who wish to pander to their bodies. I did warn you! I have the utmost respect and love for him and I know that he was the genuine article. I do not wish to dissuade anyone from doing yoga – after all, I practice it myself after a fashion- but I am about to come to my point.The one and only place that he had very positive enthusiasm for yoga was as a preparation for yoga/meditation/union with God. He encouraged us to learn how to sit in correct asanas for meditation which are designed to support the activity. Correct postures, he said, would assist the dedicated sadhaka or spiritual aspirant.He did so much for me and I have wished to carry out his suggestions for many, many years. I have asked various yoga teachers, if they could help me with the necessary instruction but they could not. At last, I’ve stuck my neck out and bought this without any recommendations.I am here to report back that this DVD is exactly what I was looking for.Not only that, this DVD format is universal, which means, I presume that it will play on anything. It certainly plays on my DVD palyer where many do not. Why don’t more companies use universal discs?So what is it that I’ve been looking for? The format of the disc is sound, as you would expect from Rodney Yee.First of all there is an interview followed by introduction from him which explains why one would meditate and what he personally gets from such.He explains how the DVD works, section by section, namely:Mountain: A quiet flow series that calms the mindGarden: A gentle hip-opening series that prepares the body for sitting meditationTree: An introduction to four traditional postures for meditationWind: A guided exploration of the breathSky: A seated meditation that soothes the body-mind and returns us to stillness.The DVD is made with exceptional production values on site at Yosemite National Park. The setting is exquisite and peaceful.I have one important note to make for those who are considering this DVD but do not like the term ‘God’. I can think of no time during the DVD where Mr. Yee mentions the name or any time where he is not 100% mindful of the need to use universal terms. I’ve used the word several times in this review, I’m sure, but that’s me and not him. I hope that helps. The bent is, however, spiritual. I would not wish to aggravate anyone but this language is comfortable for me.Whether or not you agree with Rodney Yee about the purposes of mediation, that’s not what I bought this for anyway, it is impossible to deny the clarity and beautiful intention of this yoga master in bringing this DVD onto the market. If you have been looking for something like this, I can say that I think this DVD is well worth a look at. The price was ok for me at the time of writing and the DVD came from USA very fast (4 days?) and without the need to pay additional taxes (which happens on some purchases I’ve made from there, not not DVD’s).If you decide to give this a go, I’d be interested to know what you think of it.Om shanti, shanti, shanti!

Take time. Enjoy. I must say that this sequence is insightful, relaxing, and a key tool already for my yoga journey. Cannot recommend highly enough. One note – Hero’s Pose is not for everyone, and a block and chair are required for the whole practice. Its in 5 parts, originally produced (with great production values) for Yoga Journal magazine. The key is to work from where you are right now. Amazing.

good videa