“the intent of this blog is to incrementally build a body of thought that works toward integrating various topics, yoga, fitness, and the arts – it’s a process…”

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DVD Review – “Body by Bethenny” – Bethenny Frankel

Please Note: this post updated 092619
Originally published 021911

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i recently won a free dvd from acacia via a tweeter contest-alert from them

while i wasn’t expecting to, as the dvd cover promises 😉 “unleash [my] your skinnygirl!” – i also wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as i did

for what it’s worth, my wife [1] previewed it with me and says she enjoyed it also

also, the review is our own, ie, it hasn’t been previewed by acacia or anyone associated with them, and is our honest first impression as best we can express it

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things we liked:

* playfulness between bethenny and the instructor, kristin mcgee

* the surprisingly challenging curve of poses that started from very basic ones

* good range of simple to moderate to more challenging poses

* nice array of clear stop & start instructions, yet kept a narrative flow

* that the “student” contributed movements that kristin supportively recognized, with reasons as to why

* yoga workout not too long, not too short (approx 40 min)

* captions for muscle groups being used (only a few very girl-centric)

* good alignment cues

* modifications abounded, especially creative bethenny-co-contributed ones

* short bonus workouts, recipes, bio info

* clear video, clear audio

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Adan’s Reviews

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things we would’ve liked:

* sub-titles – this is a common gripe for us older folk 😉

* captions for muscle groups sometimes not on-air enough time to catch

* emphasis on “skinny girl” as much a distraction, as touting “being-heavy” [2]

closing thoughts:

i felt, since i am studying to be certified as a personal trainer, that it was really useful for myself, even as a guy 😉 to see how a one-to-one session could be handled

the humor, well grounded knowledge, and interactive awareness with the “client” was to my liking, much like i would like to do things beyond a group classroom setting

mild concern if, after a number of viewings, maybe 3-5? , the enjoyable interaction and instructional cues might become tedious; possible solution: optional soundtrack change to simple cueing, similar to yoga journal’s various audio options in their 3 vol set, “step-by-step 3 pack“

but to be fair, that same concern has not become an issue in one of my wife and mine’s favorite dvd’s, anne pringle’s stronger seniors chair yoga dvd so, who knows 😉

all in all, sheila and i liked the dvd 😉

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My Related Blog Posts

Newer

• SilverSneakers Yoga – Update 2+ Months Later, My First Class Since My Surgery
• Aging Gracefully – When Yoga Breathing Paid Off In the ER

Older

• Teaching Yoga – Preparing a Class (my beginner’s view) (yoga-adan.com)
• DVD Review – “Jazzercise Core” (yoga-adan.com)
• DVDs vs Live Instruction, a Comment (yoga-adan.com)

namaste – con dios – god be with you

Sincerely,

Adan Lerma
My Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/2ncLj1O 

dvd review series

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footnotes

[1] sheila, like myself, is AFAA group fitness instructor certified, plus is also licensed for Zumba and Zumba Gold; in addition she’s taken SilverSneaker instructor courses for MSROM (muscle strength, range of motion) and Cardio Ciruit

we’re both scheduled to take silversneakers’ yoga instructor course soon

[2] while recognizing the marketing value, sheila feels the skinnygirl emphasis is distracting, that it may send the message that being skinny is the goal, whereas, good health is the real goal; and she feels the same way about the opposite extreme where being heavy is touted the same way

thus, while accepting ourselves as we are is good and necessary, recognizing how we may improve ourselves for our own benefit, is just as good, and needed

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Please Note: this post updated 092619