Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Atlantic Canada
|
I just found a copy of Intu-flow for $1.99 at a second hand store last week. I've done the beginner routine twice, and enjoy it. My take:
There are four, progressive programs on the discs: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master. The first three are each around 30 minutes, and the master routine is around 20 minutes. In addition to the 30 minute practice, the beginner routine includes an introductory talk that is around 10 minutes long, which you can skip after the first try (because of this it would have been preferable if it had its own menu option instead of being included with the beginner program, but the programs are well-chaptered and have a sub-menu which makes skipping the intro easy enough).
Intu-Flow is a really interesting fusion program drawing from a lot of different disciplines. I think it's very intelligently designed. A lot of the program is old-school joint mobility work like my Eastern European (formerly Olympic level) Gymnastic coach used to have us do. But mixed in with the really basic joint mobility work are more dynamic and multi-planar movements that are similar to training drills my Kung Fu Sifu used to have us do. I was particularly impressed with how thoroughly the shoulders were addressed, since I have problems with one shoulder. Also, there are isolations mixed in that I've only ever seen in Bellydance and Modern dance classes (like rib cage slides and circles and head slides). They fit in so well here that it made me wonder why I've never seen those types of movements included in standard joint mobility routines before. After the creative take on joint mobility the program moves on to some balance work, and couple of dynamic moves whose purpose I'm not still clear about - these sections are like creative takes on martial arts conditioning and yoga - followed by some relaxed movement with the breath that incorporate some movements from the joint mobility section, but much more in the style of Qi Gong or Tai Chi.
Each program seems to follow the same format (Neck, Shoulder Rolls, Shoulder Swings, Elbows, Wrists, Arms, Fingers, Thorax, Pelvic Lumbar, Spine, Hips, Knees, Ankles, 4 C.B.D., Spinal Rocks, Quad Hops, Breathing Squats, Lateral Arm Waves, Dropping Arm Waves, Spinal Waves) just the exercises for each section get a bit more difficult, or the focus changes somewhat, with each successive level. 4 C.B.D. is balance exercises, it stands for Four Corner Balance.... something, and in the Advanced and Master programs the hip, knee and ankle sections are combined into "legs." I appreciate that these follow a consistent and predictable format within which you can progress over time, and also that they cover so much ground - it's totally full-body, and covers a lot of planes of movement within each physical area. That is possible in such a short practice because each movement is only repeated three times. At first I didn't think this would be nearly enough, but I was surprised at what a difference I felt in my physical function and relaxation after doing the program only once. It turned out I really didn't need to do more than three repetitions per body part - I think this is partly because each body part was being moved in so many different directions.
The production quality on these programs is fine, but not amazing. Sonnon instructs in what looks like a part of a dojo, with two bamboo plants behind him. I think it's shot with one static camera, but you can see him head-to-toe, and he pivots when appropriate so you can see what he's doing, so it's actually preferable to when camera people from fitness videos decide there has to be music-video level variety to the shots and you end up being unable to see what the heck is going on. Most of the program he demonstrates and instructs at the same time (not voiceover), but he has a student demonstrate for a couple of exercises in the middle, one assumes because he wouldn't be able to clearly instruct and demonstrate at the same time for those. There is a short loop of background music/sound going the whole time. The background sound is a bit difficult to describe (ambient oooing sounds with a cowbell?). I can see how some people might find it annoyingly repetitive, but it stays in the background for me. Prior to each section an introductory screen comes up, which gets a touch old eventually, but it doesn't linger for too long. The sound and picture are clear enough, but not on par with the stuff produced by bigger distributors. It's good for this sort of niche stuff, but you can definitely tell it was independently produced. That said, his delivery is very professional. There are a couple of exercises where I'm still having a difficult time figuring out exactly how to do them, but that's mostly because they're very different/counter-intuitive/new for me, not because his instruction is poor. Overall, Scott Sonnon, and the program more generally, is really calm and low key. I can see how some people might find IntuFlow to be boring, although I didn't.
Do note if you're thinking of buying Intuflow, I believe Scott Sonnon has posted all of the programs on Youtube (search for Intuflow Joint Mobility). So you can at least try them there first/see if the music is annoying to you. I don't like using downloads or streaming and find the way that they're posted on Youtube (in many parts) awkward anyway, so I was very glad to be able to get these on DVD. Had I not found it so cheaply, I probably never would have purchased the program. I'm really quite thankful, because I'm pretty happy with Intuflow so far and look forward to working through all of the levels and learning the exercises. The program combines so many things I enjoy (Qi Gong, Yoga, Joint Mobility exercises, functional and Martial Arts training) into one thorough and not-too-long program, so it's a really great fit for me. One thing to note - the knee exercises I've seen so far include lateral movements, which I know a lot of people find really iffy/argue you should NEVER do. So that's one potential criticism of the program. But other than that potential problem, I think this is a pretty sound program and fairly accessible to people with different levels of fitness and function.
That's the basics - let me know if you have any questions I haven't covered.
|