Kundalini Yoga for Beginners and Beyond
Well, this has to win my Worst Yoga Video Ever Award, hands down! Kundalini Yoga for Beginners and Beyond by Ravi Singh and Ana Brett is more of a Target commercial and MTV video than a yoga class.
You know, my first clue was the midriff-baring woman on the front cover. I realize that short shorts and sports bras is the standard if you are doing Bikram, but I have never in my life been to a Kundalini Yoga class where anyone, teachers or students, was wearing skimpy outfits. If anything, most of the Kundalini teachers I have studied with are covered head to toe in flowing robes and turbans. While it is not a prerequisite to be a Sikh in order to teach Kundalini Yoga, I have to say most of my favorite Kundalini teachers are.
But in spite of my misgivings over the marketing, I gave the DVD a try. Euw. The cover was just a glimpse of what was to come. The actual beginning of the DVD features Ana Brett in her underwear, consisting of a silver lame camisole and boy shorts, dancing with her hair askew. She doesn’t have a bra on and her camisole doesn’t have a shelf bra built in, so that means her rock hard nipples are poking through.
She seems to be quite full of herself, with her smug expression, and anxious to display her body. Yet she doesn’t even have that great of a body – she’s a skinny fat person as they’d say. No muscle tone, no breasts even. She looks no more than 22 going on 15.
My young male readers who cry in outrage over my Namaste Yoga review will love this Kundalini Yoga version of soft porn. And I’m sure they’ll come here and go off on me for being “jealous” – but I can assure you, I had an almost anorexic-looking skinny body with no muscle tone back in my 20s and I’m happier with my body now, thank you very much.
So for me, the tone set right in the beginning of the DVD is exploitative and anti-spirit. I’m not interested in seeing Ana Brett dance around in her underwear. This is not why I do Kundalini Yoga. And heck, I’m not even interested in seeing Rodney Yee in his underwear. I really don’t want to see anyone, male or female, doing yoga in their underwear. (Bikram can get away with it, because the room is 110 degrees. But in normal weather, put some freakin’ pants on.)
After the silver lame travesty, Ana at least changes into different underwear for the workout, so at least her nipples aren’t poking out so much. It’s a colorful pastel outfit that doesn’t leave much to the imagination, and her butt cheeks are hanging out. (Though, for some bizarre reason, she switches to a sports bra just for camel pose…so we can see her belly better? Bizarre.)
And yes, the entire DVD is shot as if it is a Target commercial. Ana, in her pastel undies, sits on a pink rug that forms the center of a yellow daisy imprinted on a white floor. At the end, the daisy now has green leaves around it. Talk about pretentious!
The music fits the music video/commercial style of presentation. It is a somewhat jarring world beat that makes you think you should be at some sort of dance club. Every single time I started doing a spinal flex, and the music started, I felt like I should get up and move somewhere else.
Ana’s exhibitionism aside, how is the actual yoga? Well, Ana herself isn’t actually doing the teaching. Ravi Singh, who appears in the video only as a disembodied voice, does. And his instruction is for the most part clear and strong. (Ana only chimes in here and there for a few supplementary instructions.) I found myself wishing I could just do the workout with him, and not have her flaunting her self-satisfied self in my face. Yet, with the disconnect between his voice and her body made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. There was something in his voice that kind of creeped me out…maybe because it appears as if this man only wants to instruct yoga if he’s got a mostly naked young girl to do the poses for him.
The exercises themselves alternated between being way too easy and way too difficult for beginners. The first part of the DVD consisted primarily of spinal flexes. Hey, I like doing spinal flexes but not 10 different variations on them. We were then instructed to stop and meditate after each easy exercise.
Then came the Five Tibetans, which I have never actually done in any Kundalini Yoga class. These are way too hard for a beginner. Full camel pose with breath of fire is too much for a beginner. But at least in that section you can get a real workout. But the consistency of the DVD overall was just not that great. I found myself skipping forward at the end, because finally, I just got bored.
At the end, we’re told “Good job!” as Ana once again dances in her silver lame underwear. Her hair has been taken out of its pigtails and she seems to be patting herself more on the back than you.
Final verdict: If you are a young male who likes skinny girls, then you’ll enjoy this. I personally found this video to be an insult to Kundalini Yoga. It’s certainly not the type of Kundalini Yoga I’ve been doing at the top Kundalini Yoga studios in the world: Golden Bridge and Yoga West.
So I’m putting this video back up on Bookins, which is where it came from. (You can get my copy of the DVD for free there, for just $4.49 shipping.) Thank heavens I didn’t buy it new, as I would not want to put money in these people’s pockets.
I came so close to buying this DVD and I am so glad you told me to get Gurmukh’s Kundalini instead. Talk about contrasts – everyone is fully clothed in that video – in fact, long yoga pants are the norm and flowy scarves. I have not taken an actual Kundalini class but done just about all of Gurmukh’s DVD – it is superb for beginners.
I checked out some of the cuts from this DVD on You Tube and found it kind of creepy too. The music is like soft core porn and with the old guy talking while the girl is writhing about – just obscene.
Kundalini is deeply spiritual and they made it out to be some kind of sexy bizarro commercial. Yuck.
[...] searching through some yoga DVDs on Amazon recently, and I was shocked to see that the DVD I dubbed “The Worst Yoga Video Ever” had a rating of almost five stars! How could that possibly [...]
Umm, perhaps you are not aware of this but it seems that your intense focus, on your perception of someones yogic/nonyogic appearance is wrought with contempt and judgment. Which runs a bit counter to what we all try to achieve in our daily practice of doing yoga both on/off the mat. It seems you would like to see
proper respect paid to the tradition of kundalini by having the appearance of this female on this video
convey it as such. I see that she brings the proper respect in convey a loving caring reverent attitude about teaching the method, and the exercises of the kriya correctly. That the video gives a
modern fitness fashion appearance has nothing to do with the quality of the practice – that I see. And it has its benefits ….such as it attempts to communicate and teach a very powerful yoga, technology, tool and
skill set to a larger audience in hopes of helping people find authentic balance, inner peace and increased
joy. Also…especially when one can’t talk to an instructor after class it is really helpful to be able to visibly see the instructors stomach when demonstrating breathing patterns?
Truly, if this yoga DVD is no good it may still sell millions, but it will reach the yoga student’s home and never
leave the student’s shelf after being viewed/tried once. It may have sold millions but if it never gets used
by the yoga student then is it really a success? And the information (which to you is how she is dressed) is not propagated any further. And again, I am still not sure how her appearance
make the video good or bad. Also how do you know she is self-satisfied and flaunting? Maybe she is
truly comfortable like that and finds long pants and tunics restricting to her movement and effectively teaching the class through a video. We have all stepped on our pant cuffs and trapped ourselves and had to readdust in the middle of a pose b/c our tunic got bunched and caught. …. sometimes it hinders flow and the building concentration and energy of the exercise when you break out of it to readjust
I appreciate your view and what you offer here because it reminds me that I need to continue to focus and
pay attention to the things I do like and that do bring joy and that when I don’t pay attention to things I don’t like and don’t enjoy they don’t enter my field. Think kind thoughts, you will say kind things and you will then be kind and attract kind and positive things.
SatNam!
“I see that she brings the proper respect in convey a loving caring reverent attitude about teaching the method, and the exercises of the kriya correctly.”
I did not think she gave it the proper respect by dancing around in her underwear as she did at the beginning and end of the video. That part was not kundalini yoga…it was a bit bizarre, actually.
“Also how do you know she is self-satisfied and flaunting?”
Her very choice of attire (especially in the kundalini yoga context) was “flaunting,” but it was all in the energy she gave off in the video.
“Maybe she is
truly comfortable like that and finds long pants and tunics restricting to her movement and effectively teaching the class through a video.”
Traditional Sikh attire has never stopped any of the world-famous kundalini yoga teachers I’ve taken classes with. There is absolutely no need to be wearing only underwear in kundalini yoga class. It’s not like Bikram.
“I appreciate your view and what you offer here because it reminds me that I need to continue to focus and
pay attention to the things I do like and that do bring joy and that when I don’t pay attention to things I don’t like and don’t enjoy they don’t enter my field.”
I think it’s important to speak out about things that you don’t like, if you feel they are taking the culture in a direction you think is not healthy.
I always find it interesting, by the way, how often new age people get on my case for being “negative” and not “accepting” of everything, and at the same time they are being negative about my opinion.
I feel my review is a service. Those people who enjoy this sort of thing will buy it, and those who are turned off I(like I am) will know not to get it. No harm done, as I’ve saved money for some folks who might have otherwise spent it on something that would not have helped them. They can then use that money for something better for them.
All I have to say is WOW…..I just started yoga and I feel I was drawn to it for some reason but what astounds me is the ugly, ugly reviews that seem to be taken so personally. Bad Bad Karma. The comment that you study at the “worlds best” studios just shows your pretentiousness and utter foolishness. Are you at “one” or do you think you are number one? For a style that is a thousand years old your close mindedness and stunning ignorance is shaming your so called “best in the world studios”. I bet somewhere, in some sweltering ,poor ,distant land there are people practicing without any regards to what they are wearing or if they are in the “best” studio. They do it because its the right thing to do….Do us all a favor and just get your masters do sponsor your own video and show us how it is done…..if not just come on down here with the rest of us…..harsh critiques of Yoga are like a giant oxymoron. Or in your case just another self-conceited, snobbish moron.
Jesus writes: “harsh critiques of Yoga are like a giant oxymoron. Or in your case just another self-conceited, snobbish moron.”
Hahaha, you are a riot! Isn’t this a bit of the pot calling the kettle black? Here’s Jesus, in his infinite kindness: “DON’T WRITE A HARSH CRITIQUE, YOU MORON!!!” Ummm…yeah, you are really showing what you think is best by example here (not!)
I stand by my review. And I do study at the top kundalini yoga studios in the country. Not because I’m better than you, or a snob, but because I am privileged to live within driving distance of the original studio that Yogi Bhajan himself taught at.
And yes, I do think Ana Brett’s skimpy clothes and attitude are an insult to what kundalini yoga is about. I do believe going to Yogi Bhajan’s studio, and taking classes with teachers he personally taught, DOES give me a basis from which to compare and I think this video is absolutely atrocious!
Now if you somehow think my being able to go to Yogi Bhajan’s studio makes me think I’m somehow better than you, you have serious issues. I think it just makes me lucky. And thank God I found kundalini yogi there and not through this video, since if this video was my introduction to it, I would have run screaming and never come back to it.
In a class, you have someone correcting your position, in a video, you sometimes have to study the position of a person. So while nominally I think that skimpy clothing is not necessary for yoga, I think it is beneficial for video yoga. Long flowing pants and tops can really inhibit your view – for example, the midriff exposure does show off the breathing techniques, which were something I never really could see even in class.
I did think the dancing bit in the beginning and end were over-the-top though.
Otherwise, I didn’t have too much of a problem with it – sexuality is part of human nature, there is no reason for yoga clothes to be dowdy, etc.. But I do think the overt sexuality in the beginning dance distracts and detracts from the instruction offered.
FYI, your aspersions on Ravi Singh seem uncalled for and do betray some sort of hostility, since he and Ana are married.
“So while nominally I think that skimpy clothing is not necessary for yoga, I think it is beneficial for video yoga.”
Kundalini yoga is different from hatha yoga – the emphasis in kundalini yoga is in the movement. It is not strict in regards to posture. So there is no need to have revealing clothing in kundalini yoga in the way that it might help with hatha yoga. You can also teach breath of fire without having to show off a bare belly.
Even if you do wear form-fitting clothes as advised in, say, Iyengar yoga, there’s no need to be having your butt cheeks hanging out.
“FYI, your aspersions on Ravi Singh seem uncalled for and do betray some sort of hostility, since he and Ana are married.”
I can’t say this makes me feel any less “creeped” out by his voiceover. How old is he? How old is she? Is he with her because he respects her or is he with her because she’s a pretty young thing? Just because a man has married a woman doesn’t mean there’s not an element of creep factor in it.
If a married couple is going to do a yoga video, I’d much rather see the sort of video that Rodney Yee does with his wife (I forgot her name) – they both appear in the video, there’s not one directing the other, and they are a team, a partnership. They aren’t creepy, they are cute. But this video…sorry, it creeped me out. Just my opinion!
Women and men both look for yoga DVDs with both scantily clad woman and men – Alot of women buy yoga dvds with shirless men – some of the best sellers have shirtless men – so i think it goes both ways –
if the dvd takes the person closer to where they want to go – then it seems ok.
Maybe over time they will learn more – that is the hope
Reading your review made me just a little sick to my stomach to hear your incredibly judgmental tone in regards to something as simple as the outfit the poor instructor is wearing. Personally, I own a copy of this particular video and I find the lady who demonstrates the yoga poses to be very sweet and beautiful. Perhaps you are just jealous because you are unattractive? Or maybe you are just mean?
I’m going to go with mean, and not bother reading any more of your ‘writing.’
Babs, the “simple” outfit as you so described it is basically underwear and it is absolutely applicable to criticize it in the context of the type of yoga she is teaching.
Her outfit is simply not congruent with the tradition of kundalini yoga. Go apply to teach kundalini yoga at any reputable kundalini yoga studio. They will have a dress code that includes modesty, and many will probably also insist that teachers wear all white and a turban or head covering to boot.
You cannot divorce this woman’s outfit from the type of yoga that she teaches. Modesty is certainly a part of traditional kundalini yoga.
As for this ridiculous assumption that I am critizing a skimpy outfit over being “jealous” and I must be “unattractive” – that is high school thinking. Were I the fattest, ugliest woman in the world I would still have a say in whether I think it’s appropriate for kundalini yoga teachers to be teaching in suggestive underwear-type clothing. Fat or thin, young or old, attractive or ugly, we all have a right to ask for some modesty from our teachers if that is part of the tradition.
[...] my reviews of Namaste Yoga and “Kundalini Yoga for Beginners and Beyond” for what I feel are prime examples of yoga exploitation starting to cross that line into yoga porn. [...]
Stephanie, judging others based on the clothing they wear is high school thinking. Personally, I couldn’t care less what my yoga instructor chooses to wear. All I care about when it comes to a yoga video is that the instructor knows what he or she is doing and that they can teach well.
Personally, just from your little review of this video and the comments you’ve made, I do think you sound terribly superficial. I can only hope that you haven’t been practicing Kundalini Yoga for very long, because if you have been, then this type of yoga does not work to improve or to enlighten at all.
I am also sure that the real reason you don’t like the instructor in the video is because she is pretty and you are unattractive–sorry but re-read your review and see how you come across as being mean, ugly, and fat too.
Also, if you really think the video in any way smacks of porn you need to go watch some porn because you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.
So Babs, would you be perfectly OK with your yoga teacher wearing a see-through gown that showed off her nipples and buttcrack? How about a yoga teacher with spiked stripper shoes on?
If you are going to be a teacher of Kundalini Yoga, there are certain guidelines for how you dress and present yourself. One, you are supposed to wear all white. Two, you are supposed to cover your head with a white cloth that is a natural fiber. Three, you are encouraged to dress *modestly.*
I have never, ever been to a live Kundalini Yoga class where someone was dressed in a skimpy outfit. Reserve the skimpy outfits for Bikram Yoga – where they actually *are* appropriate due to the heat. They are *not* appropriate for Kundalini Yoga, which is primarily a spiritual discipline.
PS I am not fat, never have been, and I’ve been told I’m quite attractive. Please see my picture on my About page. So sorry to disappoint you. But even if I were “ugly and fat” I still would have every right to critique a “yoga teacher” who is exploiting her body.