Yoga for Stress Relief

A few days ago I got my DVD order for Barbara Benagh: Yoga for Stress Relief.The DVD shows the same lovely beach in Half Moon Bay as in her Beginners Yoga DVD, but in this one, there is also very soft, gentle guitar in the background. You can barely hear it and it does not drown out the sound of the waves. So that is nicely done.Barbara also has a rather longish interview where she talks about modern life being overloaded, and how yoga will help slow things down. And about how hard it is to slow down at first. Tell me about it! :)The interview on meditation by the Dalai Lama contains great information and HH's soft, gentle humor. It is hard at times to understand what he is saying and one requires a slight bit of patience to understand some of this section.This DVD has such a wealth of options in it, and all for helping with mental and physical conditions: headaches, shoulder/neck tension, opening your heart, digestive ailments, lower back pain, hip pain, anxiety, some AM and PM routines, an insomnia set, mood uplift, serenity work...So far I tried these sections:Easing Neck Tension, passive variation (20 mins) - Soft Spanish guitar music, everything lying down, mainly body twisting. Very sweet and restful.Restorative Poses for Relaxation (15 mins) - soft new Agey music, three supportive poses: cobblers, heart opener and legs up the wall. Pretty much the same set as on Barbara's Yoga for Beginners DVD (the rejuvenate one) but without the centering/breathing part. Also, this one suggests more uses of the blankets and having an eye bag. As I got an eye bag as a gift, I was prepared. But you only really need three blankets/pillows for this section.Lower Back Tension (35 min): This was the best one yet. With my period cramps it was incredibly soothing to my lower back/stomach area. We used a blanket, strap and eye pillow for this set. A bit more active than the two I tried above, this has locus pose and a great let stretch with the strap.Hip Pain section(35 min): Essentially the same routine as the Lower Back Tension, but with two changes. One was the reclined half lotus and the other was something where you sit on your knees, then spread the hips wide, and lean your head forward to the floor. These were very nice poses for my menstrual cramping and this session took away the lingering pain I had.Other than that, the footage is just sliced from the back pain one, with the same modified down dog, locust, hamstring stretch with strap.We used a strap, and eye bag in this one, but no blanket was needed.New Agey music, very gentle, as in the back pain one. You can still hear the ocean and even some birds.Serenity in Stillness (35 min) - lovely section that really opens the sacrum and relaxes the entire body. There was quite a bit of repeats from the back pain and hip pain segments, including the reclining half lotus, but it all came together well. The supported backbend at the end requires a yoga brick. I really enjoyed this pose. New Agey music with a vaguely Hawaiian theme.So many choices in this great DVD - it will be hard to get to them all! It's all all presented in a lovely beach setting and accompanied by Barbara's soothing, healing voice.Highly recommended for yoga practitioners to use (as needed) for various physical/mental ailments. There are also a few AM/PM type routines in this disc, as a bonus for anyone wishing to add this DVD to their regular yoga rotation.

I love this DVD. It is by far the best overall relaxing yoga sessions you can find. The segments are pieced together and are repeated in different sequences depending on your need. They are very Yin Yoga like / very gentle yoga sessions. Barbara Benagh leads you through the sessions and has a calm, soothing voice. She reminds you to breath, slow and steady. You get a total of 20sessions on the DVD. It is beautifully filmed at Half Moon Bay Resort in Antigua (much better than a boring yoga studio!). My only critic is that I would have liked to have a matrix where I could create my own sequencing from all the individual segments (like Shiva Rea's DVDs). Also, they should have published a booklet describing each session with the DVD, so here's my version ;o) Print this out and keep with your DVD. I highly recommend this DVD, it is well worth the money.***BEGINNING & ENDING YOUR DAY***Beginning Your Day Slowly (25 min.)On your back in reclining cobbler's pose.Lying back , wave breathing.Modified downward dog.Standing at the head of your mat, standing forward bend, sun salute movement.Sitting, Shoulder stretch series (great!).Sitting in cobbler's pose, forward bending.Sitting cross legged, breathing.Wake Up (60 min)Lying back, wave breathing.Sit on heals, then wide leg child pose.Standing at the head of your mat, full sun salutation.Standing, tree pose.Standing, wide legs, triangle pose.Standing, wide legs, side angle pose.Standing, wide leg, twistsSit in cobbler's pose, forward bending.Seated wide angle pose.One leg, revolved head to knee pose.¼ dog pose (kneeling on all fours & on forearms).Sitting cross legged, breathing.Evening Revival (40 min.)Sitting on heals, then wide leg child pose.Standing, wide legs, twists with arms outstretchingStanding, wide legs, triangle pose.Standing, wide legs, side angle pose.Standing, wide legs, hinge over twits, then hang down.Sitting, Shoulder stretch series (great!).Lie face down, cobra series, 4 times (great!)Revolving head to knee pose.Sit cross legged, breathing.Letting Go of the Day (40 min)Lying on floor with feet on floor, knees bent, tune-in, breating.Reclining cobbler's pose.Sit on heals, wide leg child pose.Cobbler's pose, then 1 leg forward bend (head to knee pose).Cross legged, seated twist.Knees bend, seated twist.SavasanaInsomnia Issues (35 min)Standing, wide legs, inversionModified downward dogCobbler's pose, then 1 leg forward bend (head to knee pose).Supported resting cobbler's pose.Supported child pose.Legs up the wall pose.Complete yoga rest.***EASING NECK AND SHOULDER TENSION***Easing Neck & Shoulder Tension, Passive (20 min.)Bolster across neck & shoulders, prayer on forehead.Lay on back, knees bend, 1 arm under back stretch.Arm across chest twist, lying on back (on your side)Easing Neck & Shoulder Tension, Active, Extended (30 min.)Sit or stand, side neck stretching.Sitting, Shoulder stretch series (great!).Lie face down, cobra series, 4 times (great!)Standing, wide legs, twists with arms outstretching.Standing, wide legs, hinge over twits, then hand down.Legs up the wall pose.Lower Back Tension (35 min.)Reclining cobbler's pose.Wave breathing.Reclining leg stretch.Lying face down, crocodile & locus.Upper back bolster.Quarter dog pose.SavasanaHip Pain, SI Joint (35 min.)Reclining cobbler's pose.Wave breathing.Reclining leg stretch.Sit cross legged, open ½ lotus pose (aka square pose).Lying face down, crocodile & locus.Sit on heals, wide leg child pose.Modified downward dog.Savasana.Tension Headaches (45 min.)Lying on floor with feet on floor, knees bent, tune-in, breating.Bolster across neck & shoulders, prayer on forehead.Lay on back, knees bend, 1 arm under back stretch.Arm across chest twist, lying on back (on your side).Supported child pose.Legs up the wall pose.Complete yoga rest.***EASING YOUR MIND***Breathing Exercises to Calm the Mind (15 min)Lying on back< knees bent, breathing.Lying on back, knees bend, tune into breathing.Lying on back, twisting with breath.Wave breathing.Restorative Poses for Relaxation (15 min.)Supportive resting cobbler's pose.Supported heart opener.Legs up the wall pose.Deep Rest (20 min.)Lying on back, knees bend, breathing.Complete yoga rest.Mood Uplift (30 min)Wave breathingStanding at the head of your mat, standing forward bend, sun salute movement.Standing, wide leg, twistsStanding, side leg, warrior 1Standing, hanging forward bend.Supported bridge shoulder stand (with block).Supported heart opener.Complete yoga breath.Serentify in StillnessFold blandket in 3rd and half roll at the end. Lie face down with roll in abdominal. Massage belly.Reclining cobbler's pose.Reclining leg stretch.Open ½ lotus pose (reclining).Sit on heals, then wide leg child pose.Arm across chest twist.Supported bridge shoulder stand (with block).Sit cross legged, breathing.Anxiety Relief (50 min)Lying back, wave breathwork.Lying back, 1st lift breathwork.Lying back, segmented exhalation breathwork.Lying back, extended pause breathwork.Lying face down, crocodile pose, breathwork.Arm across chest twist.Supported child pose.Sit in cobbler's pose, then 1 leg forward bend (head to knee pose).Sit cross legged, breathing.***STOMACH & DIGESTIVE ISSUES***Constipation (25 min)Fold blandket in 3rd and half roll at the end. Lie face down with roll in abdominal. Massage belly.Child pose exploration.Inversion, standing wide angle pose.Modifed downward dog.Sit upright, cross-legged, seated twists.Lying on back, Savasana rest.Improved Digestion (30 min)Stand at head of mat, standing, sun salute movement.Standing feet wide, twistsSit upright, cross-legged, seated twists.Half shoulder stand.IBS (30 min) Irritated Bowel SyndromeLay on back, knees bent, breathwork.Lay on back, reclining cobbler's pose, unraveling.Sit upright, cobbler's pose, forward bending.Seated wide angle pose.Half shoulder stand.Legs up the wall pose.Diarrhea & IndigestionLaying on back, reclining cobbler's pose, unraveling.Supported heart opener.Upper back bolster opener.Supported bridge shoulder stand.Legs up the wall pose.