Yoga for Stress Reduction: Simple Techniques to Manage and Release Stress with Hala Khouri, M.A.

in Yoga for Stress Reduction with Hala Khouri, Hala does several of the basic postures of yoga and then some but it is her commentary during the yoga demonstrations that is darn insightful. Hala Hhouri talks about the true nature of breathing in yoga and in life. she gives an understanding of breath, movement and stillness that is truly helpful in that it opens up a kind of wisdom - alleviates fear and gives peace of heart. and all this no matter what you look like - big, small, - you don't have to look like a barbie doll (or ken doll).also there is one sequence, the "Free Movement" or "Shaking it off" part of the dvd (13 minutes) that is a kind of dancing around - the rest of the dvd, yoga positions and commentary (56 minutes) is not. the "dancing around" can be for some people a great way of relieving tension and fun to do and afterwards you feel relaxed - as the dvd states; "Shaking it off", that is the "stress". its a small part of the dvd that the viewer can skip. there is also the two yoga meditations of the instruction that i liked (13 minutes together).now there is one thing i think she should have addressed - she mentions over and over about being grounded and resourced in your own body (Somatic Therapy) - well, if you have a physical condition such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, your not going to be feeling that - then you might have to find (for the time being) your resource beyond the physical to more of a metaphysical faith/resource. it's like someone saying; "just be in the NOW" - so a friend of mine said; "but what if your NOW is hurting?". yeah, tell me about it. and there are many therapies such as massage therapy or EFT/tapping or even using crystals and other sundry treatments besides the Somatic Therapy form of body-mind approach to self-healing. just a heads up here.bottom line; yoga has freed me of some old wounds and conflicts - giving me a new center of awareness - an unassuming new strength, living life just a little closer to being at peace with me. yoga can be a very good endeavor, not just striking a pose! THIS yoga dvd has proven that to me. but the heart and mind (not just the body) must be in it.

This is by far the best Yoga DVD I've ever bought. It really does help with stress reduction. I'm in constant pain from my back, neck and shoulders and I have arthritis in my knee. Before I started doing this DVD I used to have pain in my hips also. This DVD has helped my pain tremendously, my back and neck literally feel 10x better after doing this, than it does after getting a 45 minute massage from my husband! I no longer have pain in my hips and my knee only bothers me occasionally now, but gets better again if I do this DVD. I like to do it before going to bed, because it really relaxes me and helps me fall asleep easier. I don't find the poses to be difficult, it might be challenging for some at first, but if you stick with it, it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. I don't have a lot of Yoga experience, I've never taken Yoga classes, and I feel that this DVD would be good for people of all ages and fitness levels. It flows perfectly, and the voice over is full of wonderful advice and encouragement, you can forget about whatever worries or stress you might be having in your daily life and lose yourself in this practice. I recommend doing the entire DVD together, I think it is most beneficial that way. It starts out with a warm up, then a standing pose section, and a section called "shaking it off" which is really fun and spontaneous, and then a cool down. There are also 2 different meditation sections at the end. The stretches in the warm up and cool down sections are amazing, my body feels so much lighter and looser after doing this DVD and my mind is clearer. I really can't recommend this DVD enough, the instructor really knows her stuff, she's been doing Yoga for over 20 years.

I'm happy I purchased this DVD in spite of the reviews about the weird free flow chapter and I would recommend giving this chapter and all chapters a try for yourself. This Dvd does perfectly what it promises in the title and that is stress relief ,a blend of traditional yoga poses combined with Halas dialogue keeping you mindful of using your body, breathing and mind as a resource to ground yourself in stressful times. I found the postures flow beautifully even though she was talking her voice was calming and the words were soothing and strengthening they didn't distract or irritate me.The free flow chapter can be skipped but it also has a great set she calls the self tenderising sequence where you stimulate pressure points in the body eg for immunity kidneys,adrenals etc. The meditation at the end is beautiful they are short mindfulness based meditations again teaching techniques that can easily adapt off the mat when you are anxious or facing crisis.Try it for atleast 30 days in a row and you will find the stress relief techniques taught here will come naturally giving relief ,grounding and peace when needed as well as helping you listen to your body and recognising when you are clenching and holding stress in your body and muscles so you can release these patterns and improve your health.