Kundalini recommendations?

[Mopsy]

I want to like this. I enjoy yoga in general, and at the suggestion of a friend of mine (and fellow VF-er), I traded for a couple of Ravi & Ana's. I like the movement (although the breath of fire makes me a little queasy) but I didn't really click with "Raviana". Who else should I try?

[Patti S.]

Maybe the Maya Fiennes De-tox and De-Stress....it's very good.

[Sarah-lara]

After this previous thread, I got several titles. The Maya one is by far my favorite.

[eam531]

It really depends on what you're looking for. This list is very subjective--what one person likes another does not--but pretty thorough. You never know what will grab someone. The vast majority of these DVDs can be found on Amazon and at least on Netflix (Maya Fiennes)

Gurmukh--one of the most well-regarded kundalini yoga teachers around. Her DVD (Kundalini Yoga with Gurmukh) is the most like a 'live' class of all the ones I have seen. She has been teaching for decades and really knows her stuff. The DVD has good production values and Gurmukh does a really great deep relaxation with the gong.

Nirvair Singh Khalsa--mellow, gentle teacher. Another old-timer like Gurmukh. His DVDs don't have a lot of bells and whistles in terms of production values, use of music, chaptering, and so on, but he is the real deal and you're in very safe hands with him. His vibe is reminiscent of Erich Schiffmann, at least to me. Nirvair's DVDs are done in voice over--he cues and someone else (usually his daughter) demos the postures. His two latest DVDs (Walk Tall with Kundalini Yoga and Grace and Prosperity with Kundalini Yoga) have the best production values. His Kundalini Yoga for Athletes can be pretty challenging depending on your strength and flexibility. You can get his DVDs from his website--the selection is bigger than what is on Amazon.

Carol Carlson--her DVD (Kundalini Yoga with Grace and Strength) is available from Netflix. It appears to be available only on VHS from Amazon. This is a real old-school kundalini yoga set. Carol isn't exactly Miss Personality, but her form is excellent and I like the yoga set a lot.

Donna Davidge--Donna has three DVDs out. I had one of them--Flexibility and the Spine. It's another old-school kundalini yoga set. The set itself is quite good, but I got rid of the DVD--the music is just atrocious, and in my opinion Carol's cuing is not good enough.

Mantra Girl--Lots of folks like her DVDs--she has two, and one of them has the warrior workout, which is quite vigorous. I don't like her DVDs because her form is lousy. However, she's popular and many people really like her music.

Maya Fiennes--many people like her DVD (Kundalini Yoga to Detox and Destress). Her music is quite good and the DVD has excellent production values--marrying into the Fiennes acting family didn't hurt.

Gurutej Kaur Khalsa--her stuff is more like filmed workshops. I had one and got rid of it ASAP.

Carolyn Cowan--she is a kundalini yoga teacher from the UK. Her stuff is available from her website. I have never tried her DVDs, but from the clips she appears to have a strong presence.

Gabrielle Pelicci--she put out a couple of DVDs recently. I tried one (Healthy Sexy Beautiful Kundalini Yoga) and got rid of it pronto. Gabrielle's cuing and form left much to be desired. It has very nice production values and actually is a whole lot like those exercise DVDs by Cindy Crawford in terms of the look and feel.

Sat Jivan Singh Khalsa--he has a DVD out (Peace of Mind in Stressful Times). He's another old-timer like Gurmukh and Nirvair. I don't have this one but I recently ordered it, as I liked his vibe (there are clips on YouTube).

April Bernardi is another teacher whose DVD I have not tried (Transformation through Kundalini Yoga). It's available on Amazon and I just checked the reviews, which are quite good, so I just ordered it. (As a teacher, my interest in kundalini yoga DVDs is to look for tips I can use while I'm teaching.)

As you can see, there are lots and lots of kundalini yoga DVDs besides Ravi and Ana's. I'm sure you'll find something that clicks with you.

[Mopsy]

Thanks all. I had feeling this wasn't going to be easy. I didn't realize there were so many!

I would like something 20-45 minutes (chapters and premixes are fine), good instruction, maybe with a nice combination of straightforward cuing and new-agey visualization. The other yoga dvd's I like are from Rodney Yee and Suzanne Deason, so I guess a Kundalini version of them would be nice

I will research these suggestions!

[eam531]

Almost all of the DVDs I suggested have practices that are much longer than 20-45 minutes; the whole premix thing is not common in kundalini yoga because the yoga set is an integrated whole. The idea of slicing and dicing yoga sets was unheard of before Ravi and Ana's 'innovations' in that regard.

Of the DVDs I described, I would agree with other people that probably Maya Fiennes would be one to look at. It's on Netflix so you can try it out before making a decision.

[Demeris]

Betsy

Thank you for your marvelous annotations--thoughtful and thorough.

[Castella]

Betsy (eam531),

I really appreciate your list!

I was on Amazon last night and was wondering if you've had a chance to preview or do the April Bernardi dvd?

(not that I'm looking for any enabling or anything)

[eam531]

I ended up getting the April Bernardi DVD and did it once. The Amazon reviews were quite interesting which is why I got it. I would agree with one of the Amazon reviewers that it is quite a tough practice. April is not Miss Personality, but I did like the yoga set. I should do it again, actually, to refresh my memory. I don't think it would appeal to lots of people here, given that it is rather stark and there aren't premixes and so on.

The most recent kundalini yoga DVD I got was 'Peace of mind in stressful times' taught by Sat Jivan Singh Khalsa. Wonderful is the word! The set that he teaches is one called 'Stress set for the adrenals and kidneys', which is in our teacher training manual and a yoga set that I really like. He is a gentle guy with a really nice vibe and he makes really good comments and observations (why you are doing a specific exercise, and the benefits). He teaches in voice-over, with 3 'students' doing the postures (one of whom is his daughter and another of whom is rather heavy--it's nice to see yoga DVDs that include people of various shapes and sizes). The deep relaxation is done to a gong, which I love!! There are about 3 meditations that you can choose from, too, and I believe that there might be pranayama instructions as well--these are chaptered separately from the yoga set. The production values are quite good and the music is by Snatam Kaur. I e-mailed Sat J. and begged him to make more DVDs and he said that he was planning to. Sat J. is an old-timer like Nirvair and Gurmukh; I tend to gravitate towards teachers of their generation. Given that I'm over 50 myself, perhaps it is natural, but also, I have always gotten a lot out of teachers who have been at it for decades. This isn't to say that people who have been teaching for a shorter time don't have lots to offer, of course, but I notice that the DVDs I use most tend to be taught by people who have been teaching for a long time (be it yoga or exercise).

[Castella]

Thanks so much!

I see that fitnessorganica has a clip of the Peace of Mind dvd...the set does look really nice (especially those rugs!). I am too much of a beginner in yoga to pursue anything that rates as a tough practice (as always, had to learn the hard way).