Pilates Conditioning for Weight Loss

I bought this DVD after having used the Living Arts Basic Matwork DVD for about 2 months. I purchased Brooke Siler's The Pilates Body book at the same time.The instructor's (Deason) approach to Pilates instruction seems to grow from a Yoga practice. The DVD starts with a 10 minute body-awareness session centering on breathing and movement during the breath. This is good for the overweight and provides a good foundation for the principles the workout is based on.The workout sessions offer 4 workout POV's (beginner, moderate, or full and combined). I can keep up with the moderate but can't keep up with Deason, the full practice model, for the entire session. This is where the fourth view is useful, a longer shot where you can view all postures simultaneously (with some inserted close-ups that keep the camera position from becoming stale). PFW also does more reps of each exercise so this session is longer to perform.Also, some postures have a 'Pilates tutor' section available. In movements where this feature is available a small figure doing 'The Teaser' appears in the lower right corner of the screen. The graphic signals the availability of a section on the disk that explains the posture for those who are new to Pilates. If you are a beginner to Pilates, please view these sections. PLEASE, don't follow the Full practice forms until you've been doing Piltes for a couple of weeks. You could hurt yourself. Better to start slow and stay with it than push to hard and and be sidelined by injury or burn out.By now, you're thinking, 'So why did this guy only give the DVD a 3?' The style of PFW is more Yoga-centric, which is good for some but doesn't really hold my interest. I prefer the more standard instructor-led style of Ana Caban. Also, and I learned this after completing the Siler book, some of the exercices used in the DVD are modifications of actual Pilates mat workout practice. So if authenticity of technique is what you crave, this really isn't the right DVD.Not to say that this isn't a good workout. It is. If you do the exercises as instructed you will feel it the next day. This is as it should be. So much of the Pilates work is isometric, you can always make the workout harder as you get stronger.I would have given this work a 3.5 if I could.

What a great program! I have taken pilates classes before, and was doubtful about following a dvd program. There is just something about being in a class with other people doing the exercise that is just different, right? Well, with this dvd, it feels similar to being in a class. The women show three different modified versions of each exercise (beginner, intermediate, advanced). What MOST impressed me about this dvd though was the FLOW. The exercises transition quickly and naturally into each other, creating a holistic feeling of connection in the body-- and that is part of the goal of pilates-- to connect all the disparate parts and achieve balance. The verbal walk-through of the moves mean that I could perform the exercise without having to crane my neck toward the tv. And she is constantly bringing awareness to which body part you should focus on to complete the exercise.

I recommend this dvd to people interested in a great workout that is easy to fit into most schedules. The workout can be separated into segments if you don’t have an hour all at once. They show three levels of each exercise so you can choose your level for all or you can choose a different level for each exercise. If you watch the video first you may be fooled into thinking it’s too easy but I am always sweating at the end.

I love this video!!! I love it so much that I’ve purchased it three times. My DVD player scratched the first one and I lost the second one on travel. I have hip issues and this routine really helps. It has three different levels that you can follow. The nice thing about it is that you can watch all three levels together, so that you have incentive on where you want to go, or you can watch them each individually – just in case it depresses you to see how far you have to go

I started with Susan Deason's yoga conditioning. I have used other pilates dvds, but never enjoyed them. This one is truly enjoyable. Not only is it a terrific workout, but it is easy to keep stepping it up to a more challenging level. The music and tone of this are beautiful and serene. She really gets you in touch with your core and keeps you aware of your body. This is not some reckless, pump it up gym workout. It is a conscious, challenging, beautiful part of my day. I look forward to the practice.

The DVD works and I love this workout. It arrived in a timely manner. My only complaint would be that there was dirt on the DVD when it arrived, two large fingerprints and some other dots. I cleaned it and it works fine.

The workout is OK, but I hate being forced to watch advertizing every time I put the DVD on. It can't be turned off, the player has to play it through till the main manu opens. This seems to be a standard business practice with Gaiam, I also own their Yoga Conditioning DVD, and the ads there are even longer. This is not a free product, I paid money for it, what do I have to be forced to watch what I don't want?

This is a complete pilates workout.