Alicethenics

In a short introduction, Alice Saland says she is offering this video program as a gift to women recovering from breast cancer and surgery, thanking God and her guardian angels for turning her own nightmare bout with the illness into the dream of bringing her knowledge as a personal fitness trainer, aerobics instructor, and fitness columnist to other cancer survivors. Concentrating on flexibility and range of motion after breast surgery, Saland takes viewers through a short warm-up, followed by stretching routines involving chair, floor mat and wall exercises, with special attention given to upper body mobility, rounding out the program with a cool-down/meditation segment. A soft-spoken amiable instructor, Saland ably demonstrates each pose, describes the healing benefit and lymphatic flow of selected movements, and motivates participants to continue exercising for increased freedom of movement. Although the production values were only fair, the accompanying music selection composed by Michael Hoppe, and performed on keyboards and alto flute, seemed especially well-matched to the program. Recommended. Aud: P. (N. Plympton).