Yoga for Stress Reduction: Simple Techniques to Manage and Release Stress with Hala Khouri, M.A.

This is by far the best Yoga DVD I've ever bought. It really does help with stress reduction. I'm in constant pain from my back, neck and shoulders and I have arthritis in my knee. Before I started doing this DVD I used to have pain in my hips also. This DVD has helped my pain tremendously, my back and neck literally feel 10x better after doing this, than it does after getting a 45 minute massage from my husband! I no longer have pain in my hips and my knee only bothers me occasionally now, but gets better again if I do this DVD. I like to do it before going to bed, because it really relaxes me and helps me fall asleep easier. I don't find the poses to be difficult, it might be challenging for some at first, but if you stick with it, it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. I don't have a lot of Yoga experience, I've never taken Yoga classes, and I feel that this DVD would be good for people of all ages and fitness levels. It flows perfectly, and the voice over is full of wonderful advice and encouragement, you can forget about whatever worries or stress you might be having in your daily life and lose yourself in this practice. I recommend doing the entire DVD together, I think it is most beneficial that way. It starts out with a warm up, then a standing pose section, and a section called "shaking it off" which is really fun and spontaneous, and then a cool down. There are also 2 different meditation sections at the end. The stretches in the warm up and cool down sections are amazing, my body feels so much lighter and looser after doing this DVD and my mind is clearer. I really can't recommend this DVD enough, the instructor really knows her stuff, she's been doing Yoga for over 20 years.

I'm happy I purchased this DVD in spite of the reviews about the weird free flow chapter and I would recommend giving this chapter and all chapters a try for yourself. This Dvd does perfectly what it promises in the title and that is stress relief ,a blend of traditional yoga poses combined with Halas dialogue keeping you mindful of using your body, breathing and mind as a resource to ground yourself in stressful times. I found the postures flow beautifully even though she was talking her voice was calming and the words were soothing and strengthening they didn't distract or irritate me.The free flow chapter can be skipped but it also has a great set she calls the self tenderising sequence where you stimulate pressure points in the body eg for immunity kidneys,adrenals etc. The meditation at the end is beautiful they are short mindfulness based meditations again teaching techniques that can easily adapt off the mat when you are anxious or facing crisis.Try it for atleast 30 days in a row and you will find the stress relief techniques taught here will come naturally giving relief ,grounding and peace when needed as well as helping you listen to your body and recognising when you are clenching and holding stress in your body and muscles so you can release these patterns and improve your health.

This was a little too eccentric for what I am looking for. I was planning on using it for a group I run consisting mostly of makes for relaxation therapy. The dancing around etc... will not be recieved well. To me it just seemed a little over the top.

Hala's voice is very calming and soothing. I found just her voice to be very calming and relaxing and great. Beyond that, the yoga isn't stressful at all even when I first started yoga. There is a focus on being at peace with your environment and where you are at today and you can get into the poses and feel grounded and centered on the poses. The breathing techniques and meditations I found wonderful.There is also on the DVD a part where Hala speaks about flight or fight response and her example of a possum I found eye-opening in terms of how we need to let stress go and "shake off" the bad experiences to activate the parasympathetic response and calm down. I also like the example she makes of the brain using her hand and how being over-stressed works in terms of brain context. Informative and a wonderful DVD for beginners or just for learning more about stress management and helping the body release some stress through yoga and other techniques.Worth the price - great value. Only downside is I wish the case felt more substantial. It's very beautiful but basically thick smooth paper and the thing to hold the DVD is foam and doesn't feel extremely secure and I am never sure if it is very secure.

This was the strangest DVD I have ever seen. Its very "dancy-ish" If you don't like yoga but like to dance and stretch, then its perfect for you. Im more of a power yoga girl and much prefer Eoin Finn for peaceful yoga.

Hala Khouri is a gentle, calming presence. The yoga workout is great for beginners, and she explains each sequence very well. Her comments on stress reduction and being okay with how you feel at the moment are very insightful...the first few times you do the routine. Like many other yoga or workout DVDs, however, this one suffers from the lack of a pose-only audio track. After the first few uses, the narration that does not relate directly to what you should be doing physically just becomes distracting and, frankly, annoying chatter. There is nothing relaxing about hearing the same comments over and over again, and it defeats the purpose of the routine. This isn't the only yoga DVD that has this issue; most do. And most of the instructors want to motivate you to take care of yourself. Unfortunately, the repetitive nature of the DVD narration makes it more likely that you'll give up instead. If you are looking for a good yoga for beginners that instructs you on one audio track and then gives you the option of a pose-only track, try some of Rodney Yee's DVDs.