Meta-Fitness; Positively Yoga

"Your feet represent your understanding of yourself, of life, of others," is just one of the more interesting and little-known pieces of gibberish you'll learn in the space-case aerobics program Meta-Fitness. Self-help author Louise L. Hay provides the occasionally moronic commentary, while popular fitness expert Suzy Prudden (whose exercise records and tapes long been a staple in public library AV collections) guides viewers through a thorough basic aerobics warmup, exercise, and cool down session. Some of the exercises are repeated (and in slow-motion, too) at the end of the program, to no apparent purpose, while Hay's subliminal "affirmations" are running on the soundtrack (i.e. "My shoulders are beautiful," "I have perfect thighs," etc.) The second program Positively Yoga, also produced by Hay House, provides an introduction to hatha-yoga while, at the same time, making viewers feel as if they've gained insight into the torture techniques of the Gestapo. After instructing the audience to "encourage your inner child to ride your breath inside," instructor James Gagner, along with a pair models, demonstrates the basic hatha-yoga positions. With names like "Squeeze and Soak" pose, "Corpse" pose, and instructions to do the "cat" and "dog" positions, the ambience of the starkly decorated studio has a bit of an S & M feel to it. And the positions look exactly like they sound--painful. It doesn't help that the man and woman performing the demonstrations never crack a smile--they don't look like a pair of happy units; and that's not especially encouraging for the audience. There are far better exercise and yoga videos on the market; these are not recommended. (See CONVERSATIONS ON LIVING LECTURE SERIES: RECEIVING PROSPERITY for availability.)