Yoga For Newcomers

Trying to discover well-produced fitness videos that are really suitable for newbies can be a daunting challenge.

Most tapes these days aim at intermediate exercisers, the ones who know a grapevine from a box step and a lateral raise from a biceps curl. These tapes may provide a few simpler moves here and there, but the instruction clearly is geared to individuals who already know what to do.

The number of tapes that are marketed for newbies frequently are unspeakably repetitive, as if flabby muscles usually mean a flabby brain. And too frequently, they offer no way to add additional challenge or difficulty to the routine, as if beginning exercisers are going to remain newcomers forever.

It's nice, then, to discover Yoga Zone: Flexibility and Tone, a beginners' tape that provides the depth of instruction and simple pace that accurate newcomers require.

The instructor here is Alan Finger, a genial-looking middle-aged man who wears a polo shirt, rolled-up cotton pants and a chin-length bob. His physique is not the standard chiseled form of exercise videos; he looks as if he may possibly carry a couple of additional pounds around the middle.

But he has a lovely voice (with a hint of a brogue) and a calm manner, two essentials for a yoga tape, where relaxation is key.

And he has a genuine gift for instruction, combining the nuts-and-bolts details of positioning with what it feels like to stretch and balance.

When he describes how the muscles of the feet ought to rotate via to the tiny toe, you'll know -- and be able to feel -- just what he's talking about.

But each move contains so many of these instructions that it can be a minor overwhelming to try to master all of them at once.

If you have tried yoga before, you'll recognize some of them -- the down-on-all-fours stretch called the cat, the inverted V that forms the down dog, and the corpse, which requires little a lot more than lying flat on one's back, totally relaxed.

In another nod to newbies, Finger also offers correct modifications and suggestions for those who might not be as flexible as they'd like.

Finger shows how a folded blanket can be placed under the knees or for far better support although performing seated postures. A folded towel also is employed for several poses, although Finger doesn't announce that in advance.

The 50-minute session ends with stretching and relaxation, set to gentle New Age music that may lull you to sleep.