Yoga for Inflexible People

True story: this past winter, my wife Anne and I signed up for a beginning yoga course, but were transferred to an advanced class, where we would just "follow along" until we got up to speed. What this basically meant was putting our left shoulders under our right kneecaps and straining toward the dubious goal--if you'll pardon my French--of kissing our own derrieres. Of course, I'm far too inflexible, physiologically speaking, to make the personal acquaintance of the back side of my lower thigh, let alone my actual backside, so I was spared the vaguely canine indignity of sniffing around my own nether parts. Still, there's hope, thanks to a new DVD that practically has my name written all over it: Yoga for Inflexible People, a truly interactive and customizable Iyengar yoga course modeled by yoga practitioner Tara Cary, with detailed voiceover instruction by yoga teacher Judi Rice. Taking advantage of the digital video disc's branching capabilities, the DVD presents over 35 different workouts (we're talking hours and hours worth--the 120 minute running time is purely an estimate of the original clips, which are recycled throughout many of the workouts), ranging from general workouts to sessions targeting shoulders, hips and back, legs, or devoted to "quieting" or "energizing" the body. Within each of these aforementioned areas are some five-to-seven additional specialized workouts comprised of sitting and standing poses and stretches (there's even a section specifically designed for menstruating women). Absolutely living up to its tag line ("your needs change everyday, so should your yoga video!"), Yoga for Inflexible People is an excellent showcase for the DVD format's capabilities, as well as a comprehensive and varied yoga workout. Highly recommended. [Note: also available at the same price are Yoga For Every Body and Yoga for Athletes, using the same innovative branching format.] Aud: P. (R. Pitman)