yoga bliss hips - yikes - what did i buy?
 

the used bookstore had this on clearance for $3. i recall everyone raving about Ravi and Ana. so i bit.

i watched the 20 min then the 45 min routine. i kept thinking "if my kids see me doing/watching this thing, for sure they'll call the white coats."

is all kundalini yoga like this? it must be effective because so many amazon customers rank Ravi & Ana quite highly. at this point in my life, i am game for trying anything that relaxes, calms, and brings me at one w/the universe.:sun:

Well, I'm not an expert, but from what I've seen, yes, it's all like that. I have to make sure no one is around when I'm doing it. But, give it a shot -- some do give me a feeling like I've never had......

Kundalini yoga is quite unlike "regular" yoga you might be familiar with. Typically, classes begin with a "tune in" (a brief mantra connecting you with your internal teacher), warmups, a yoga set (called a kriya), deep relaxation, and a meditation. Kundalini yoga meditations often "active", involving mantras and mudras (hand and arm movements).

Some of the yoga sets can involve exercises that for lack of a better term might be called "goofy". I won't deny it! ;-)

Kundalini yoga does a lot of work on the endocrine system and the movement of energy up and down the spine, as well as working on emotional "stuff". I'm not saying other forms of yoga don't do similar things, but kundalini yoga *really* is designed for this kind of work.

Also, Ravi and Ana are not the alpha and omega of kundalini yoga video practices, by any means, although I think that they understand putting out yoga DVDs for the home market better than almost all other kundalini yoga teachers. Some other instructors whom I like are Nirvair Singh Khalsa (I think of him as the Erich Schiffmann of kundalini yoga in terms of his sweet, mellow vibe) and Sat Jivan Singh Khalsa (his "Peace of Mind in Stressful Times" DVD is wonderful). Maya Fiennes is also very popular. Gurmukh's kundalini yoga DVD is about as close as anything I have seen to the atmosphere in a live class. She is probably the best known kundalini yoga teacher among kundalini yoga students who attend live classes.

One thing to note: in the DVDs by old school instructors like Nirvair and Sat Jivan and Gurmukh, you do the yoga set as is; no slicing and dicing a la Ravi and Ana. This is not just true of kundalini yoga--Bikram yoga and classic Ashtanga hatha yoga practices are just two examples of yoga practices that have a very set order to the yoga postures. This is not meant to be critical of Ravi and Ana, only that if you should investigate DVDs by Nirvair and Sat Jivan, don't expect to be able to build your own yoga set.

HTH, and I hope you enjoy your foray into kundalini yoga.

Kundalini yoga is not the same as hatha yoga, that much is certain! ;)
So yes, if you don't like this DVD, most likely you won't 'click' with any others of Ravi/Ana's. But to be fair, I have to admit I first reacted like you when I got my first DVD and put it away for a few months. When I then dug it out again (after having read some threads about it again here) I somehow had a more open mind and now I seriously love it! Maybe give it another shot in a few days/weeks/months?
If you like the general idea of Kundalini Yoga, Maya Fiennes is also a wonderful person with lots of nice DVDs, quite more calm and slower than Ana's style. There are plenty of other options if you decide it might be something for you! ;)

Edit: I was cross posting with Betsy; clearly her answer is more in depth and thorough! :)

Yes!!! A kind VFer sent me a few of his work and love them! If I had more $ I'd want all of his DVDs!
Maya is another favorite of mine! :love:

Well, actuallty I'd consider kundalini to be hatha yoga ( see this Yoga Journal article describing styles of postural yoga currently being taught in the United States.

And kundalini isn't for everyone (not for me for example) but Betsy's post is an excellent and very fair capsule description. I don't think Gurmukh gets her fair share of attention, considering how early she was on the media scene.

Gurmukh was my introduction to kundalini and will probably always be my favorite. So far, I think it's the only one that has given me that tingly feeling. I did it based on a recommendation from a friend who made me promise I would do the whole thing once -- I'm so glad that's how I got started.

Not to detract from the love many people have for kundalini yoga, but it's worth noting that the Amazon reviews for Ravi & Ana products are deceiving. Yes, lots of people give them 5 stars and love them, but what you don't see are the many many people who give the workouts 1 to 3 stars. When I first tried Ravi and Ana's workouts I started to think I must be crazy because I seemed to be the ONLY person who didn't like them. Dig a little deeper and it appears that Ravi & Ana co. are one of those companies who actively (and successfully) campaign to have negative reviews removed from Amazon by claiming they are inaccurate. There are many many many accounts of people posting negative reviews for Ravi & Ana's dvds multiple times only to have the reviews removed (each and every time), until they finally gave up trying to share their opinion.

I tried several Ravi & Ana practices, and found Yoga Bliss Hips to be the strangest and least enjoyable to me. Although I enjoy some aspects of kundalini, I am clearly not a kundalini person despite trying to force myself to be in light of people's rave reviews and claims of amazing weight loss and health improvements. Of everything I tried by far my favorite practice (and the only one I still do) is Maya Fiennes' Kundalini Yoga to Detox and Destress. That's a great one to start with, in my opinion. I find a lot of kundalini kriyas highly uncomfortable - but that's not the case (or less so) with Fiennes' practice.

First, I have to say bzar that your post made me laugh out loud! Great way to start the day with a good belly laugh. I have to agree with you that Kundalini seems a little strange, but based on the raves it got on this site, I tried it, and I like it a lot. I have done Dance the Chakras twice and Gurmukh once. I really like them both. So, I suggest that you give it a shot. I find that it's a fabulous workout on days when I'm particularly stressed.

Definitely try it - don't just watch it. :) It does feel good, in ways that are hard to describe.

Yoga Bliss Hips is a not-atypical kundalini workout in most ways, but it's the only one I've experienced (DVD or live) where you are instructed to laugh.