Dixie Carter
I generally avoid celebrity tapes like the plague but
it was in the discount bin and it just looked
so deliciously goofy and sure enough, it was. This has
got to be the goofiest yoga tape ever, and yet, it was
strangely refreshing. The tape has two twenty minute
sessions for morning and evening, and a 10-minure
relaxation section. Dixie makes no bones about her
relative lack of yoga experience, and it was nice to
see a normal, untrained person with average
flexibility trying some of these poses. The first
section was relatively easy, with lots of flowy
movement and standing stretches. The second section
had some more challenging (and at times, unsafe) floor
poses.
Dixie at several points reminds the viewers to "please
don't mind my silliness." She is very relaxed and
loose during the workout, and will at times
spontaneously break into song (a little improv which
goes "hamstrings, hamstrings, where you been" being
the most memorable instance. I kid you not). Other
times, the humour comes in her poking fun at her own
abilities, or lack of, as with: "this is my weak side,
so if I plunge to my death, don't mind me, just keep
going." and "slowly and without desperation, release
your arms from their misery." At one point during the
guided breathing that closes out round 1, she starts
talking about showering like a fountain, and the
screen shifts to an image of a moving waterfall. As I
said, goofy.
By far the funniest moment (worth the price of
admission just for this!) is in part 2, just before
she concludes her opening ramble on sleep, the
"raveling sleeve of care." She lights a candle, and
asks "was your day perfect? I hope it was. But just in
case it wasn't, why don't you get down on the floor
with me." Uh, okay.
Dixie is definitely a yoga amateur here. Her clothes
are loose and forgiving, but she pauses several times
to adjust them. And she's wearing jewelry. But
somehow, I don't think people who are looking for
smooth, professional and methodical are going to go
for this tape.
Joanna C
6/22/01