I’ve already posted (December 14, 2011) a piece about Paul Grilley and his Anatomy DVD. This post reviews his 2 DVD set, on Theory and Practice.
One of the models used in this DVD is Suzie Grilley, Paul’s wife, partner and co-teacher. I’ll let the Amazon reviewers voice their praise and opinion regarding this DVD. I own it, I watch it once a year, and I always learn something.
With all due respect to Paul Grilley, the most breath-halting clips are those of Suzie doing a partner yang series with him. Suzie, a dancer by training, is mesmerizing to watch. In this slow, Tai-Chi like series, she moves with strength and grace beyond any skill I could hope for. It’s worth buying the set, just to see her. (Well, OK, the information is great and you get a grasp of his YIN style, but . . . she’s incredible!)
Here are two reviews of this DVD set from Amazon. I’ll give you the negative one first. It’s the only one-star review.
I saw all the great reviews on this and decided to buy it. I thought I was going to get a yoga DVD that was soft and peaceful. Wow, was I wrong. First of all the instructor does not stop talking through every pose. He doesn’t even allow you to experience the moves for yourself. He keeps on giving his “wisdom” throughout each pose. His voice is neither soothing nor relaxing, its simply irriating. I will say I am not an expert on Yinyoga, but I don’t think this was it, unless Paul Grilley is the one who invented it. I could be wrong here. The poses were difficult which is not a problem, but there was no real attention to proper body alignment. The instructor simple told the participants to move in a way that was ideal for their body. Well many inexperienced participants will simply do this and end up in the wrong position, and possibly hurt themselves.
I am so tired of self expressed “experts” on yoga who simply make up a style of yoga, give it a name and sell it to us. While this style of yoga included some of the ancient asanas, they were not qued properly and therefore their true benefits could not shine through. Oh and did I mention the instructor is so annonying and strange.
The following review was one of 36 (of 40) reviews giving the DVD set five stars. Please note that this review was written in 2005 when I bought the set; the price has gone down considerably.
This may seem like a lot to spend on a yoga DVD, but you get so much for your money. It’s well worth it. It’s a 2-set DVD.
The first DVD is lecture on theory on Yin Yoga, learning the yang sequences, and special features including biographies, demonstration performances, and more. Paul Grilley is an excellent presenter. He explains in a very clear, complete, and sometimes humorous way the theory behind Yin Yoga. Yin yoga works on your connective tissue and not so much muscular stretching like other yogas.
The second DVD includes the practice and has three one-hour Yin practices: hip series, spine series, and infanct series. All practice is done on the floor and you hold the postures for up to five minutes to work on your connective tissues. It is a much different practice than traditional yoga. You will feel your body and bones open up. I love these practices and Yin yoga is a great way to balance out vinyasa or bikram yoga practices (Yang). For each of these 3 practices you have two choices of audio: either indepth instruction or just queues. What a great idea! Once you know the practices you won’t normally want to listen over and over to the detailed instructions and this option allows you to do that. Paul leads the instruction in a very pleasant and complete manner.
Also included on the practice DVD are three Yang practices running about 2 minutes each. These are a beautifual mix on vinyasa style yoga and tai chi. You have the options to loop each one individually or sequence-repeat in any order you like. This is a lovely way to customize your workout to whatever your energy level is for any given day.
The final practice on the DVD is four routines with still photos and queues. Again you can mix and match how you want. This is lovely way to make your own practice without distraction of a class room setting.
My acupuncturist recommended this style of yoga and I was so happy to find this DVD. It has balanced out my home practice and my Bikram yoga practice. The producers of this DVD have done a fabulous job of designing the interactive screens. I only wish they would have added some light music in the background, but you can always have a CD player at hand to add your own. Paul Grilley instructions are very clear and soothing and his students demonstrate for both beginning, intermediate, and advanced practice. Suzee Grilley demonstrates the advanced postures and she radiates them beautifully.
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Grilley also has meditation and chakra DVDs but I have never watched them.
