Yoga Journal's Yoga-Basics (Gaiam) (2000)

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General		Extras
Category	Yoga	Interviews-Cast-Patricia Walden Featurette-Yoga Class with Patricia
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	63:18
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Ted Landon
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Patricia Walden
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$24.95	Music	Benjamin Davis

    This is an instructional DVD, designed to introduce yoga newbies (like me) to yoga. As such, it does a great job, and the program is very well made and very stylishly presented.

    This instructional DVD is hosted by the extremely flexible and well-toned Patricia Walden. Walden is a great poster-girl for yoga. It is very hard to pick her age, as she has the body of a (very fit) woman in her 30s, and the face of a woman in her 40s, but she refers to yoga classes she attended (as an adult) in the 1960s. Walden has an infectious enthusiasm for yoga, and her joy in teaching is obvious.

    I have never attended a yoga class in my life, and know very little (okay nothing) about it. I was curious, however, as a few friends of mine have attended classes, and sung yoga's praises. Yoga appears to be a series of stretches wrapped up with meditation exercises, designed to relax the mind and body. There is a good introduction to the philosophy of yoga on this DVD. As the title suggests, this is basic yoga, and the class has three main sections: Centring, Active Stretching and Deep Relaxation. I found following the positions and the stretches fairly easy, and very relaxing.

    This DVD has very good production values. The content was shot on beautiful Maui Island, and many lush and exotic locations are utilised. This is part of a series of yoga DVDs - more information can be found at www.gaiam.com

Video

    Interestingly, this is one DVD during which the 'viewer' spends most of their time with their eyes closed.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, full frame.

    The sharpness, black level, and shadow detail are all good. There is no low level noise.

    The colour is excellent, and it does justice to the lush and beautiful surroundings of Maui. The fleshtones are accurate.

    MPEG artefacts were not a problem, but if I was to be very, very picky, I might mention the extremely slightly pixelated image throughout, the extremely slight macro blocking on some of the background walls and columns, such as at 49:37, and the slight posterization at 4:03. Film-to-video artefacts and film artefacts were never a problem.

    There are no subtitles on this DVD.

    This is an RSDL disc, but I did not spot the layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only one audio option on this DVD, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track.

    The vast majority of the content is narrated, and the dialogue quality was always good. The brief moments of direct-to-camera speaking showed no problems with audio sync.

    The music is credited to Benjamin Davis, and it is very relaxing music, specifically designed not to draw attention to itself.

    As a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track, there is no surround presence and activity, and no subwoofer action.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are a good selection of extras, which, unless stated otherwise, are all presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Menu

   A simple menu, it is static and silent.

Interview With Patricia (8:46)

    A short interview with Patricia Walden, in which she discusses yoga and her background in it.

Yoga Class With Patricia (31:55)

    This is an extra class for those that have mastered the main feature.

Individual Poses

    A little like a scene-selection menu, a number of poses appear on-screen. When you select one, it takes you to the relevant part of the DVD.

    This title was released in Region 1 in November 2001. It appears to be the same as the local release.

    For those willing to give yoga a go, this might be a good place to start, or alternatively, it might complement attending beginner's lessons very nicely.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is also good.

    The extras are genuine and useful.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall