Sacred Yoga Practice with Rainbeau Mars - Vinyasa Flow: Pure Sweat [DVD]

I am a teenage girl who suffers from body dysmorphic disorder. When I bought this, I bought it for one purpose only: I was determined to loose weight.My entire life, I have hated my body. My mom knew something was wrong when at nine years old, in Disney World, I refused to put on a bathing suit and go swimming with the rest of my family. A few doctors and therapists later, we knew the truth.It has been hard living this way. My family are the only people that know, so I feel uncomfortable in lots of situations. Going to the beach with friends terrifies me. In my mind, they will see how grossly ugly I am and immediately hate me. My body probably is fine, but I can't see it. Instead, I've spent my life feeling trapped in this disgusting prison that is my body.Anyway, back to the video (have I been rambling, sorry). I originally bought it to cure my fat ugliness once and for all. But, it did something entirely different for me.You would think that looking at Rainbeau's amazingly perfect body, it would make me feel even uglier and fatter. Well, at first, it did. But I continued the video, with an open mind, and it was amazing.No, the video isn't the incredibly challenging, intense workout that I was looking for. It's only like 30 minutes, and it causes me to merely break a light sweat. But I don't care about that anymore. Somehow, perhaps it was the breathing, or the calmness, or the poses, or Rainbeau's words, somehow, at the end of it, I felt beautiful.After completing the video I looked down and my legs and smiled. This was shocking and amazing to me. I truly felt beautiful with my body exactly the way it was. The feeling is almost impossible to describe, I felt free and happy and just content with my body for the first time in a very, very long time.No, its not a permanent fix to my disorder, the feeling doesn't last all day long (I did it on Monday, didn't do it on Tuesday, and then did it just now on Wednesday). But for me, this video is worth it.I recommend buying this video. Not for just your body, but for your mind. It helped me with my biggest fear/problem in life, so maybe it can help other people. Just give it an honest, open try. You will not be disappointed.

I have been doing yoga for about 15 years and have over 20 yoga dvds. I've owned this video for at least five years. I've done it hundreds of times and never get sick of it. That's a big compliment because yoga videos can get too groovy and annoying, even for me. I love this Tranquility video especially when I am too tired to stand up, when I feel stiff and sore all over. It is the yoga I do when I am too tired to do yoga. My favorite instructors are usually Baron Baptiste, Rodney Yee, and Gurmukh. I like John Friend and Anna/Ravi and Bryan Kest, but they can get on my nerves if I am in a bad mood or feeling cynical. This is Rainbeau's best video because it is basic body relief, nothing fancy. It gives basic reminders to pay attention. The sentiment to pay attention to the breath never gets old. I've given this video as a gift to many non-yogini friends because it is basic stretching, nothing gimmicky or off-putting. It really helps me keep going.

I bought this because people said it felt relaxing, and I was trying to find some variety from the AM and Stress yoga programs we usually use. But we didn't feel relaxed from it at all. Yes, it was all on the floor, but it was all sitting up in a cross-legged position for 30 minutes. My back hurt so much I couldn't even do it without moving around to try to find different, more comfortable, positions from which I could work.There is simply no variety. It was definitely a good stretch, and "Pure Flexibility" would be a more appropriate name, but even at that, it didn't stretch *all* parts of the body, like the AM and Stress programs do.Aside from that, it seemed a little unprofessional. Not that this was a big thing, if I had liked the program, I could overlook it, but the dialog doesn't match the video all the time -- sometimes you have to wait to see what you're suppose to do -- and sometimes she starts to smile or laugh which, for me, kind of takes me out of the mode to see she's not centered.But the absolute *worst* part of it is that, after the routine is over, where most yoga dvds will give you music or nat sound to relax to, this one does that for only a very short time and then pops to an extraordinarily annoying advertisement. I don't want to have to think about searching for the remote to turn that annoyance off when I'm trying to center. Very tacky. I guess I wouldn't feel quite as bad about it if it hadn't have been one of the more expensive yoga DVDs I had looked at. I feel like I wasted my money.

If you are not new to yoga and consider yourself intermediate to advanced, you will be wasting your money if you purchase this DVD. Although the view is perfect and the crashing waves are serene and soothing, for the more experienced yogi, this workout DOES NOT make you sweat. Additionally, this DVD does not showcase true vinyasa flow yoga. Rainbeau does not flow, but rather fidgets into, throughout and out of every single pose. Her voice is also quite annoying, and it definitely does not leave you in a calm and peaceful state of mind after completion. I did not find this DVD to be challenging, a workout or pure sweat. If you would like to sweat, build muscle, increase cardiovascular endurance and flexibility, and lose weight/keep in shape then this DVD is not for you. Instead try ashtanga yoga - that is definitely a weight reducing, sweat producing, muscle building type of yoga.

This DVD is fantastic! It is for beginners but it is so great to have when you dont have alot of time and need to get in your yoga practice. You can modify the practice to make it more challanging! The music, setting and her soothing voice make it SO fantastic!!! Rainbow Mars is very centered, calm and knows her stuff and you can tell she is truly committed to yoga!

beautiful practice by one of my favorite yoga teachers. This one is wonderful to do before bed, or after stressful day. great for relieving upper body tension, mind tension esp. I adore Rainbow's helpful guidance. Her voice is soothing and energizing.

ゆ～っくりとした太陽礼拝を中心に、ゆ～っくりとしたプッシュアップ、ランジ、スクワット、肩甲骨を締めるなど、おもだった筋肉を動かすポーズがちりばめられていて、半日たつと来ます、筋肉痛が・・・。長さは２５分ぐらいで、これとウオーキングをセットにしたら健康にも美容にもすごく良さそう。それに、イントラの女性らしいプロポーションを見ると励みになります（笑）。ちなみにパッケージの表裏の写真のようなハンドスタンドのポーズはありません。

That's what Rainbeau Mars reminds us throughout this inspirational and invigorating 35 minute workout. I enjoyed PURE SWEAT however it didn't actually make me sweat. It was however somewhat challenging especially in the lower body and hips and I wouldn't recommend this to beginners because of the difficulty level and lack of detailed instruction. A problem for me was that Rainbeau doesn't always tell you which leg to move foreword she just says "other leg" and I often forgot which leg I had already done. The length of this program was just right for me to be able to fit into my schedule and the windy Hawaiian beach, gorgeous. The entire practice has dubbed in cuing and Rainbeau does tend to talk a lot but I enjoyed her spiritual motivation.15 minute gradually building Sun Salutations15 minute Standing series5 minute Savasana including cool downBeginning in Chair pose Rainbeau leads us through 15 minutes of gradually building Sun Salutations (Down dog, Push up, Cobra) before putting them all together into a nice flow. We then start the 15 minute standing pose section which includes; Warrior 2, Side Angle, a very difficult 3-legged Dog pose (which is also done to the side) Standing prayer twists, ending in Childs pose, some brief stretching and a delicious 5 minute Savasana. All the standing poses are interspaced with Vinyasas and I definitely felt this in my legs and hips.A Short yet challenging workout with beautiful scenery and inspiration, Namaste

I loved this Yoga DVD. It is primarily based around getting into a relaxed state prior to meditation. However, I am not really interested in the meditation side of things, so just use this as a general Yoga DVD. The DVD is about half an hour long and runs through 4 stages - breathing, arm and chest stretches, leg stretches and relaxation. All the stages run back to back so it is perfect for a slow paced 1/2 hour yoga session. The movements are predominantely stretches, which you hold for a good length of time, and Rainbeau Mars (!) talks you through your breathing, so each stretch is combined with the correct breathing technique. At the end of the DVD, I feel totally relaxed, whilst feeling I have given my muscles some good twisting and stretching. I can't recommend this DVD enough for Yoga beginners / intermediates and those who wish to use it for the purpose it was intended - relaxation prior to meditation.

I thought that this video was a complete waste of money. The workout wasn't very long and she never got up off the floor. That's not much of a flow. The 15 min. bonus meditation was laughable. She just sat there meditating to some music. I don't know why I'd want to sit and watch somebody else meditate. I've received another DVD by a different instructor and am hopeful that I will have something that I can get some real benefit from.

Rainbeau Mars is an easy yoga instructor to follow. The instruction is straight forward and clear, I really felt I was able to hit each move. Perfect length of time for a busy mom to fit some relaxation in at the end of a day -- pure tranquility!