Hot Body Cool Mind Waking Energy or Level 1

MJ525 · 12-30-10, 02:38 PM

I'm wanting to try one of the Hot Body Cool Mind series. I'm just not sure which one, should I start with Waking Energy or Level 1, from Collage's description it looks like Hot Body Cool Mind offers more variety anyone have both of these? Thoughts?

Eibhinn · 12-30-10, 03:30 PM

I have Waking Energy, Volume 1 and Volume 2 -- I lent Volume 1 to my parents, so I don't have the specifics on that one right now. I can't imagine anyone needing all four discs, as there is a lot of similarity/repetition between them. I've tried to trade for Volume 3 so I could write a systematic breakdown of the differences between them all, but I'll do the best I can here.

HBCM Vols. 1-3 have only slight differences between them, and Waking Energy is the most different. The core of the HBCM seems to be Qi Gong, the 5 Tibetans, and Yin Yoga with a grab bag of other segments included. In Waking Energy the "grab bag" mostly involves Pilates Props, while in the other volumes it is mostly Dance Fitness, mat Pilates and Vinyasa Yoga. The segments are cumulative, in that the Jazz Dance segment on Volume 3 is longer and more complex than on Volume 1. That said, the earlier segments tend to be VERY short, and I don't find the instruction so great that you absolutely need to do Volume 1 before 2 or 3. Also, from looking at clips, I'm reasonably sure that (almost?) all of Jennifer Kries' newer releases - Ballet Body, Jazz Dance, Vinyasa Yoga etc. are these segments repackaged together.

Breakdowns

Waking Energy

1. Waking Energy Sitting (28 minutes) - Seated Qi Gong and Self Massage
2. Waking Energy Standing (24 minutes) - Standing Qi Gong
3. The 5 Tibetans (11 minutes)
4. Pilates Magic Circle (15 minutes)
5. Pilates Sculpting Series (10 minutes) - upper body work using light weights
6. Physioball Series (10 minutes) - Pilates on stability ball
7. Yin Yoga and Meditation (34 minutes) - Yin Yoga instruction, but poses are not held as long as on media considered "proper" yin yoga.

Volume 1

I don't have this handy to check times specifically, but based on my memory, and the back of the case pic from totalfitnessdvds, it has the following. Keep in mind that the practices will all be shorter than the Volume 2 versions, so many are very short. I tend to use short workouts, but even I found them too short which is why I opted to lend out volume 1 and keep volume 2.

1. Seated Qi Gong
2. Standing Qi gong
3. The 5 Tibetans
4. Pilates
5. Vinyasa Yoga
6. Jazz Dance
7. Ballet
8. Yin Yoga and Meditation

Volume 2

1. Waking Energy Standing (19 minutes)
2. The 5 Tibetans (9 min.)
3. Pilates (36 min.)
4. Vinyasa Yoga (26 min.)
5. Jazz Dance (18 min.) - TIFT-style cardio
6. Cardio Sculpt (22 min.) - This is sort of dancy-feeling AWT using very light weights. It's taught by one of the background exercisers instead of Kries.
7. Ballet (16 min.) - Classical Centrework
8. Yin Yoga and Meditation (24 min.)

Volume 3

Based on my research, it appears to have the following. Practices will be a little longer than Volume 1/2 versions. Still, probably none will be longer than 35 minutes or so.

1. Qi Gong of some kind - I'm assuming just the seated one, but could be both seated and standing
2. The 5 Tibetans
3. Pilates
4. Vinyasa Yoga
5. Jazz Dance
6. I got the impression, somehow, that this one has a more advanced Cardio Sculpt.
7. Ballet
8. Yin Yoga and Meditation.

To sum up, I would buy:

Waking Energy if you are most interested in the Qi Gong and the 5 tibetans, and like doing prop-based pilates workouts

Volume 1 if you are most interested in Qi Gong, Dance fitness, mat pilates, and Vinyasa yoga but prefer easier, very short workouts, and don't like anything using weights.

Volume 2 if you are most interested in Dance Fitness and mat pilates, but don't like your Vinyasa Yoga to be too challenging.

Volume 3 if you are most interested in Dance Fitness and mat pilates, and like fairly challenging vinyasa yoga.

None of the above if your main interest is the Yin Yoga. I would recommend Paul Grilley's Yin Yoga if you are very flexible and have an extremely high tolerance for constant talking, and Donna Helm Yost's Flow and Yin if, like me, neither or those things are true for you.

Overall, I think the best choices are probably Waking Energy and/or Volume 3 (which is available at totalfitnessdvds.com ). I found the Qi Gong on Volume 1 far less satisfying than Waking Energy because of the short length, and the Jazz Dance on Volume 1 is annoyingly repetetive TIFT-style. With the longer versions at least you have more moves/combos being repeated. With the longer/more advanced segments you just get more from them - more moves, more complexity, and they're more interesting. Jennifer Kries' instructional style can be a little draggy and lecturing for me, so the less she feels she needs to teach me, the better. When I first did Waking Energy, I felt like I was missing something because she referred to things she'd taught in earlier volumes. When I got the earlier volumes, I didn't find that they added anything at all to the Qi Gong, only the variety of other content, like the Ballet Workout.

MJ525 · 12-30-10, 03:48 PM

Thank you, it sounds like Waking Energy and Level 2 would be something I would like.

Thank you again.

SuzieC · 12-06-17, 01:00 PM

Sorry to bring up an old thread.

I have the 4 DVD set of Hot Body Cool Mind, and I can't seem to find the Seated Waking Energy practice. Where is it? This is driving me crazy. LOL.

This is the set I have:
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Cool-Min...body+cool+mind

Thank you!

JENILU · 12-06-17, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuzieC

Sorry to bring up an old thread.

I have the 4 DVD set of Hot Body Cool Mind, and I can't seem to find the Seated Waking Energy practice. Where is it? This is driving me crazy. LOL.

This is the set I have:
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Cool-Min...body+cool+mind

Thank you!

It should be on the one where the guy is holding her, I believe. Waking Energy. That is the only one I have ever had, and the seated practice is on it. HTH

PS: opening this thread makes me interested in one or more of the others, lol!

bzar · 12-06-17, 01:59 PM

lorajc has a rave review regarding Waking Energy Sitting as a great neck release routine (see post #1):

Jen Kries -Waking Energy - Great for Neck/shoulder issues

guess what workout I'm doing tonight!!!

SuzieC · 12-06-17, 02:04 PM

Thanks to you both.
It's so crazy - I don't have this sitting segment on the 4 disc set, or on the Platform Purple 4 disc set (I have both) and I really wanted to try it! It figures.

Eibhinn · 12-06-17, 05:46 PM

As you can see from my earlier post, there is a seated practice on Volume 1, and a longer one on Waking Energy. I still haven't come across Volume 3, so I have no idea what is on that.

The Volume 1 seated practice is 17 minutes compared to the complete seated practice on Waking Energy, which is 28 minutes long. I really like the longer one, and don't find the short one really worth bothering with. Not only is there less variety, I find Kries blathers on and wastes a lot of time in the Volume 1 stuff.

bzar · 12-07-17, 03:59 AM

thanks Eibhinn!

i have the 4-DVD set. i watched (using fast-forward) all 4 of the discs, and unfortunately, all of them only contain the standing waking energy!

from what it seems, when the discs were released as single DVDs, the content included the "sitting" waking energy.

what's very misleading is that each of the 4 discs in the 4-disc set has an "intro" segment right before the standing waking energy workout. before she begins speaking, there's a preview of the waking energy segment which includes Jennifer and the cast sitting on stools doing the moves. however, NONE of this segment is included anywhere on the discs!

i watched all 4. i thought maybe the Yoga segments included the sitting waking energy, but they don't.

after having watched all 4 of the discs, i didn't see vast differences between them, to be totally honest. i think Level 3 just has several more minutes.

i think someone who likes dance, ballet, light weights, pilates, yoga, qi gong, tai chi would like these workouts. i don't think you need the 4 disc set. i'd opt for maybe one of the single releases.

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12-30-10, 02:38 PM
MJ525 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: CO	Hot Body Cool Mind Waking Energy or Level 1 I'm wanting to try one of the Hot Body Cool Mind series. I'm just not sure which one, should I start with Waking Energy or Level 1, from Collage's description it looks like Hot Body Cool Mind offers more variety anyone have both of these? Thoughts?

12-30-10, 03:30 PM
Eibhinn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada	I have Waking Energy, Volume 1 and Volume 2 -- I lent Volume 1 to my parents, so I don't have the specifics on that one right now. I can't imagine anyone needing all four discs, as there is a lot of similarity/repetition between them. I've tried to trade for Volume 3 so I could write a systematic breakdown of the differences between them all, but I'll do the best I can here. HBCM Vols. 1-3 have only slight differences between them, and Waking Energy is the most different. The core of the HBCM seems to be Qi Gong, the 5 Tibetans, and Yin Yoga with a grab bag of other segments included. In Waking Energy the "grab bag" mostly involves Pilates Props, while in the other volumes it is mostly Dance Fitness, mat Pilates and Vinyasa Yoga. The segments are cumulative, in that the Jazz Dance segment on Volume 3 is longer and more complex than on Volume 1. That said, the earlier segments tend to be VERY short, and I don't find the instruction so great that you absolutely need to do Volume 1 before 2 or 3. Also, from looking at clips, I'm reasonably sure that (almost?) all of Jennifer Kries' newer releases - Ballet Body, Jazz Dance, Vinyasa Yoga etc. are these segments repackaged together. Breakdowns Waking Energy 1. Waking Energy Sitting (28 minutes) - Seated Qi Gong and Self Massage 2. Waking Energy Standing (24 minutes) - Standing Qi Gong 3. The 5 Tibetans (11 minutes) 4. Pilates Magic Circle (15 minutes) 5. Pilates Sculpting Series (10 minutes) - upper body work using light weights 6. Physioball Series (10 minutes) - Pilates on stability ball 7. Yin Yoga and Meditation (34 minutes) - Yin Yoga instruction, but poses are not held as long as on media considered "proper" yin yoga. Volume 1 I don't have this handy to check times specifically, but based on my memory, and the back of the case pic from totalfitnessdvds, it has the following. Keep in mind that the practices will all be shorter than the Volume 2 versions, so many are very short. I tend to use short workouts, but even I found them too short which is why I opted to lend out volume 1 and keep volume 2. 1. Seated Qi Gong 2. Standing Qi gong 3. The 5 Tibetans 4. Pilates 5. Vinyasa Yoga 6. Jazz Dance 7. Ballet 8. Yin Yoga and Meditation Volume 2 1. Waking Energy Standing (19 minutes) 2. The 5 Tibetans (9 min.) 3. Pilates (36 min.) 4. Vinyasa Yoga (26 min.) 5. Jazz Dance (18 min.) - TIFT-style cardio 6. Cardio Sculpt (22 min.) - This is sort of dancy-feeling AWT using very light weights. It's taught by one of the background exercisers instead of Kries. 7. Ballet (16 min.) - Classical Centrework 8. Yin Yoga and Meditation (24 min.) Volume 3 Based on my research, it appears to have the following. Practices will be a little longer than Volume 1/2 versions. Still, probably none will be longer than 35 minutes or so. 1. Qi Gong of some kind - I'm assuming just the seated one, but could be both seated and standing 2. The 5 Tibetans 3. Pilates 4. Vinyasa Yoga 5. Jazz Dance 6. I got the impression, somehow, that this one has a more advanced Cardio Sculpt. 7. Ballet 8. Yin Yoga and Meditation. To sum up, I would buy: Waking Energy if you are most interested in the Qi Gong and the 5 tibetans, and like doing prop-based pilates workouts Volume 1 if you are most interested in Qi Gong, Dance fitness, mat pilates, and Vinyasa yoga but prefer easier, very short workouts, and don't like anything using weights. Volume 2 if you are most interested in Dance Fitness and mat pilates, but don't like your Vinyasa Yoga to be too challenging. Volume 3 if you are most interested in Dance Fitness and mat pilates, and like fairly challenging vinyasa yoga. None of the above if your main interest is the Yin Yoga. I would recommend Paul Grilley's Yin Yoga if you are very flexible and have an extremely high tolerance for constant talking, and Donna Helm Yost's Flow and Yin if, like me, neither or those things are true for you. Overall, I think the best choices are probably Waking Energy and/or Volume 3 (which is available at totalfitnessdvds.com ). I found the Qi Gong on Volume 1 far less satisfying than Waking Energy because of the short length, and the Jazz Dance on Volume 1 is annoyingly repetetive TIFT-style. With the longer versions at least you have more moves/combos being repeated. With the longer/more advanced segments you just get more from them - more moves, more complexity, and they're more interesting. Jennifer Kries' instructional style can be a little draggy and lecturing for me, so the less she feels she needs to teach me, the better. When I first did Waking Energy, I felt like I was missing something because she referred to things she'd taught in earlier volumes. When I got the earlier volumes, I didn't find that they added anything at all to the Qi Gong, only the variety of other content, like the Ballet Workout.

12-30-10, 03:48 PM
MJ525 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: CO	Thank you, it sounds like Waking Energy and Level 2 would be something I would like. Thank you again.

12-06-17, 01:00 PM
SuzieC Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Canada	Sorry to bring up an old thread. I have the 4 DVD set of Hot Body Cool Mind, and I can't seem to find the Seated Waking Energy practice. Where is it? This is driving me crazy. LOL. This is the set I have: https://www.amazon.com/Body-Cool-Min...body+cool+mind Thank you!

12-06-17, 01:59 PM
bzar Exchange Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: PalmTreeVille	lorajc has a rave review regarding Waking Energy Sitting as a great neck release routine (see post #1): Jen Kries -Waking Energy - Great for Neck/shoulder issues guess what workout I'm doing tonight!!! __________________ ~jeannine Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] ~ Pat Morita, The Karate Kid, 1984 disclosure: in the years 2002-2004 i had a professional relationship with a distributor of fitness videos; see profile.

12-06-17, 02:04 PM
SuzieC Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Canada	Thanks to you both. It's so crazy - I don't have this sitting segment on the 4 disc set, or on the Platform Purple 4 disc set (I have both) and I really wanted to try it! It figures. Here are some screen caps: Waking Energy DVD: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...mvaqr.jpg.html Waking Energy Main menu: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...kkl4t.jpg.html Waking Energy segments (1): http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...e4jpv.jpg.html Waking Energy segments (2): http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...tml?sort=3&o=2 Waking Energy premixes (1): http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...tml?sort=3&o=1 Waking Energy premixes (2): http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...tml?sort=3&o=0 Level 1 DVD: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...tml?sort=3&o=0 Level 1 main menu: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...qw9aa.jpg.html Level 1 segments 1: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...2hqim.jpg.html Level 1 segments 2: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...wl4pf.jpg.html Level 1 premixes 1: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...d963o.jpg.html Level 1 premixes 2: http://s786.photobucket.com/user/sue...3fpmv.jpg.html

12-06-17, 05:46 PM
Eibhinn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada	As you can see from my earlier post, there is a seated practice on Volume 1, and a longer one on Waking Energy. I still haven't come across Volume 3, so I have no idea what is on that. The Volume 1 seated practice is 17 minutes compared to the complete seated practice on Waking Energy, which is 28 minutes long. I really like the longer one, and don't find the short one really worth bothering with. Not only is there less variety, I find Kries blathers on and wastes a lot of time in the Volume 1 stuff.

12-07-17, 03:59 AM
bzar Exchange Moderator Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: PalmTreeVille	thanks Eibhinn! i have the 4-DVD set. i watched (using fast-forward) all 4 of the discs, and unfortunately, all of them only contain the standing waking energy! from what it seems, when the discs were released as single DVDs, the content included the "sitting" waking energy. what's very misleading is that each of the 4 discs in the 4-disc set has an "intro" segment right before the standing waking energy workout. before she begins speaking, there's a preview of the waking energy segment which includes Jennifer and the cast sitting on stools doing the moves. however, NONE of this segment is included anywhere on the discs! i watched all 4. i thought maybe the Yoga segments included the sitting waking energy, but they don't. after having watched all 4 of the discs, i didn't see vast differences between them, to be totally honest. i think Level 3 just has several more minutes. i think someone who likes dance, ballet, light weights, pilates, yoga, qi gong, tai chi would like these workouts. i don't think you need the 4 disc set. i'd opt for maybe one of the single releases. __________________ ~jeannine Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important. [walks away, still making circular motions with hands] ~ Pat Morita, The Karate Kid, 1984 disclosure: in the years 2002-2004 i had a professional relationship with a distributor of fitness videos; see profile.