Yoga for the Rest of Us by Peggy Cappy is a DVD that can help beginners of all ages and fitness levels discover the benefits of yoga. If you think you are too old, too out of shape, or not flexible enough to try yoga, the students in this DVD demonstrate otherwise.
Cappy, a New Hampshire based yoga teacher with over 20 years experience offers gentle senior yoga classes where many of the participants are 70+. You may have seen her on PBS.
In Yoga for the Rest of Us, she leads 4 of her students of varying ages and abilities through a one hour session that can done all at once or divided into three 20-minute segments, that include Warm-Ups, Standing Poses, and a Flowing Series of modified sun salutations that concludes with a nice long relaxation.
The DVD begins with Cappy’s introduction, where she discusses the many benefits of yoga, her purpose for producing the DVD, as well as a review of what to expect and how to proceed. Her delivery in the introduction and throughout Yoga for the Rest of Us is warm, sincere, and engaging. The pacing slow and deliberate.
Part I, the warm-up stretches, are all done seated in a chair and begins with an exercise in learning to tune into your breathing and noticing the sensations you are feeling in your body. It provides a good transition out of the busyness of your day, and into your yoga practice. She then leads you through a series of gentle stretches beginning with your neck, and then moving down your body to your shoulders, torso, wrists, hands, feet, and legs.
Part 2, is dedicated to standing poses that are designed to build leg strength and improve balance. The poses are all demonstrated with several modifications and variations to accommodate different levels of ability. Those who are less steady use a chair for support.
Basic yoga poses such as mountain pose, tree pose, warrior pose, triangle, and downward facing dog are performed slowly and methodically with detailed alignment instructions. Cappy, encourages you to make the adjustments necessary to accommodate your specific needs, something that I think is extremely important for staying safe as you begin to practice yoga.
Part 3 of Yoga for the Rest of Us begins with modified sun salutations, a flowing series of poses that are demonstrated both with a chair for support and without. She encourages you to only do as much as feels right as you begin.
The DVD concludes with a few gentle compensation poses for your back and a nice long guided relaxation – the restorative reward for your earlier yoga practice.
If you are looking for a gentle yoga DVD that can help you increase your flexibility, strength and balance, Yoga for the Rest of Us is worth a closer look.
Highly Recommended
Pick up your own DVD today: Yoga for the Rest of Us
with Peggy Cappy
