Yoga Pose Encyclopedia

Maybe an encyclopedia of any sort doesn't sound very exciting, but have you ever come across an encyclopedia that wasn't extremely useful? I recently spent some time with the Yoga Journal Pose Encyclopedia and I was simply thrilled with it. I can't imagine many yogis who wouldn't benefit from it. No matter what your level of yoga, it would be hard not to gleam some sort of new insight from this useful DVD. Granted this is not the sort of video that you would watch over and over again, like many of your favorite yoga routines. This one is meant as a reference. You can use it to refresh all the important aspects of a pose, learn some of the small pose pointers that you might not have ever realized, or in my case, gain some valuable insight into the little, but ever-so-important hints and reminders to use when teaching a yoga class. I just loved it and after only watching it once, it greatly helped my very next class. I learned a great new breathing technique and had a wealth of new hints to share with my students.

The best part about the video was the camera angles. This is always a challenge when taking a yoga class, or watching a class on a video. You can never seem to get a view of the instructor in the exact angle you need, especially if you are also trying to perform the pose. But this DVD is meant to be watched as you sit at your computer, not on your mat. The female yogi performs each pose as the camera circles around her in a complete 360 degree rotation. The voice-overs give you every possible important fact about the pose. You not only learn how to do the poses correctly and safely, but it gives you a deeper understanding of each posture.

You can navigate your way around the DVD by picking the different groups of poses and then each individual pose. There are 35 poses all together and now that I've viewed them all, I'm hungry for more. I wonder if Yoga Journal has any plans to expand the volumes of encyclopedias they will offer. I sure hope so.

Check this DVD out for yourself on the Yoga Journal website.

Are My Limbs Too Long For Yoga?

During my yoga routine this morning I couldn't help but wonder if my limbs are simply too long to achieve some proper poses. For instance, I can not sit in staff pose without having bent elbows or raised shoulders. It just doesn't work. When I force my shoulders down and my elbows straight I end up with my butt in the air! If my arms are longer than my torso I just don't see how this pose can work properly for me.

Now you would think those long arms would help when I have to grab my big toe and stretch my leg. The longer the arms the easier the stretch, right? Well, that would work if my legs weren't even longer. So if the leg is freakishly long compared to the arm where does that leave you, besides with a bent knee. Sigh. I have come to the conclusion that some body types are perfectly proportioned for yoga while others are not. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm perfectly proportioned to do. Yoga and buying clothing are certainly not it.