Hi,

I saw the ad to your website on Yoga Journal and wanted to take a look at your site. I'm astounded on the sample videos you have.

I'm 36 years old going to Iyengar style Yoga classes for the past several months (on and off). I like the classes in general but I'm concerned on two things: 1. I quickly lose my balance when doing some of the asanas and 2. I couldn't touch my toes and touch my forehead to the knees when bending in both sitting and standing positions and 3. Couldn't keep my legs straight while lifting the legs in sitting position. I think you know what I'm talking about and I was told by my teacher that it will come one day by practice. Iyengar Yoga poses generally make yogis/yoginis stay in the pose for a while and I'm finding hard time to keep static in those poses.

Having said that, please guide me on what should I do to eliminate the issues that I mentioned. I see that you have several DVDs listed on your website and I'm confused on which one to buy. Most of the DVDs that I see on Amazon.com have 1 or 2 DVDs that has a sequence of all the best poses and they generally follow a flow pattern. Is there a reason that you produced several DVDs targeting different body regions? If I train using your DVDs, will I accomplish the two issues that I have as mentioned above?

I also read that you were a disciple of John Friend which tells me that the DVDs are all of Anusara Yoga style?

Sorry for too many questions. I'm curious to get your reply.

Thanks.

newyogi

Hi New Yogi,

Sorry for such a delayed reply. Thanks so much for coming onto the site. I am glad you took some time to peruse it. First to clarify, I was an Anusara teacher for many years, but within the last year I renounced my Anusara certification. I have a very good and clear understanding of alignment, which I portray in all the DVDs, but my style is more in the Vinyasa category then Anusara. The beginner's DVDs maybe a good place for you to start. They will introduce you to a flow, and have poses that will your body will be able to perform. Between the 2 of them, they cover a full spectrum of poses. The other 5 would be great for you as your body opens. They are much faster paced Vinyasa and have more challenging poses. You will see much more transformation in your body with these 5, but only when your body is ready for them. Remember, the key to transforming your body is regular, consistent practice.

I made the 7 DVDs to give people who are new to yoga both a sweet introduction as well as a therapeutic practice. The other 5 do work as a sort of cross-training yoga routine, with all the poses what I deem accessible and effective and varied in both pace and focus.

I hope you enjoy them and this helps. Please let me know if you have questions or more ways that I can help you.

mb

All of the MB videos are a great tool to either start a yoga practice or recharge your existing practice. I have practiced with Mitchel several times over the years, and now that I have all of his new DVD's, I truly feel his presence in my yoga room whenever I use one for practice. Mitchel does a great job being true to himself in each of the classes. It's hard to choose a favorite, as they are all wonderful, but I would recommend starting with either the hips or shoulders series. With this being said, I find that in Mitchel's classes,whether he addresses hips or shoulders, he still incorporates the entire body, as most who study yoga will appreciate. The variety of the all of these classes really allow you to practice at each level. The slower paced class allows you to pay particular attention to the details, while the faster pace classes challenge you in true Mitchel Bleier form. The greatest challenge I have had with the DVDs is getting them back when I loan them out!