| | |  | DVDs | Home » » Ashtanga Yoga: The Primary Series | | | | | | | Description: | | THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESENT MOMENT. "Ashtanga Yoga allows the body itself to become the ground for enlightenment," teaches Richard Freeman. With Ashtanga Yoga, The Primary Series, you will learn the core practices of this challenging, fulfilling path - a precise union of breath, alignment, and flowing sequence of postures. On this acclaimed DVD, named by Yoga Journal as one of the top Yoga instructional programs available, Richard Freeman offers in-depth training on the potent Primary Series, a classical sequence of postures as taught by renowned teacher, K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India.
Join him to:
·Follow a meditative thread through a specially designed sequence of postures
·Melt away knots and blocks so that your mind and breath can flow easily together in meditation.
·Learn ujjayi breathing, the Mula and Uddiyana Bandhas (the Root and the Flying Up Energy Seals, that form the foundation for both alignment and deeper states of awareness)
·Systematically increase strength and flexibility
·Learn proper and continuous alignment for healing injuries and strengthening joints.
·Learn how to proceed through both difficulty and success with intelligence.
·Work from your present condition while on your practice mat - and while off the mat in daily life. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Richard Freeman | | Director:
| Oliver Henry | | Format:
| Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Sounds True | | Run Time:
| 120 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| December 01, 2004 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 21 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 21 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
72 of 74 found the following review helpful:
 The real thingJun 21, 2008
By foolish bibliophile
";)"
Wow! I'll never bother with a yoga instructor after this gem. Richard's words perfectly instruct your progress - as if he were there in the room - to assure that you learn the primary series correctly. He must be a very experienced teacher as his analogies and what he says keep you focused on the breathing and exploring all parts of the posture(s) together. I really learned a lot from what he said, discovering more and more each time (which is good because you don't look at the screen much while you're doing it!).
One especially high-quality feature of this DVD is the variety of starting points. You can start with 1. a poetic opening chant, 2. an informative introduction, 3. a discussion of breathing, 4. Sun Salutation instruction, 5. The complete 90 minute primary series, 6. Standing postures, 7. Seated postures, 8. Finishing postures and 9. contact information.
This DVD will last me several years, as I can only follow him for the first half hour so far. But if you want to see the absolute limits of the human body, watch through to the end of the 90 minutes. He's not a circus freak - it's way beyond that, stuff that will really take a good sense of humor to even approach. But he makes it look effortless.
I also tried Baron Baptist and while Baron is sincere, Richard is the real thing. My body has changed internally, with the proper form from practicing this regularly. I can't express the relief I feel now with a liberated lower spine, neck, legs, abdomen, breath, etc - except to say that everyone should do the work it takes to feel this way. It takes time but then it lasts.
52 of 56 found the following review helpful:
Being an Indian and a yoga practitioner....Mar 28, 2009
By Raghuram Krishnaswamy
I must say that Freeman touches the stars with his knowledge and practice of Yoga. He does it like a Yogi should. His props are simple (there appear to be some snow peaks on the sky blue prop which tells me that he believes himself a yogi seeking to be in tune with the greatest yogi who permeates the pulse of the universe, Shiva, and whose abode is the Himalayas :-) ). Is this a DVD for beginners, probably not if you have never ever had any exposure to yoga or if you have some physical symptoms that require the hand and guidance of a teacher, but I cannot see why a beginner would not aspire to learn and practice yoga as he does. Watching it certainly propels you to inspiration. He has three DVD's and one of them is for beginners. But they are all EXCELLENT
There are a lot of yoga DVD's (not to mention programs) out there that profess to sweat your "fat" and "power" your system...sweating was not an intention of the Yoga asanas (although it is a result of it)...as yoga is union of the mind and body and only should be practiced as such, and not as a power tool for egotistical ends. It is a powerful tool no doubt but it should be practiced in accordance to the philosophy it seeks to convey, namely understand who you are relative to your environment, how best to live in it and how to lead a life where positive action leads to positive reaction (Karma Yoga)
There may at best two or three people that have put out DVD's of value for the money. This is definitely one of them to learn from.
24 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Look No Further Than Richard FreemanAug 18, 2007
By Anthony Howard
For the best Ashtanga teacher in the US, look no further than Richard Freeman. This DVD is a little slow at first, but if you watch carefully, will give you many slight adjustments that will help you in the long run as you advance in this vigorous and rewarding yoga practice. The instruction is clear and direct. There isn't a laugh track, so it's hard to tell at times, because his delivery is DRY, but Richard is also very funny. Highly recommended.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
AmazingMar 21, 2009
By Dancing Shakti
The primary series is a wonderful practice. And a very complete one. It has standing poses, forward bends, seated postures, arm balances, inversions... And Richard Freeman is a suberp teacher. His decades of practice are evident. Every instruction he gives takes me deeper into an asana. I find this practice extremely calming. It may have to do with the amazing sequence, with Freeman's relaxing voice and with his focus on the dristhi (gaze) and breath. Throughout the dvd the length and rhythm of the breath is kept constant. Freeman marks each inhalation and exhalation and he never gets ahead of himself or slows it down. Then, the drishti. He also explains, in every pose, where you should be looking at (usually between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, or the thumbs). And in hatha yoga it is said that 'when the eyes are steady, the mind is steady'. I do find it quite calming, indeed.
The whole series is about 1 hour and 40 minutes long in this dvd. I have been doing yoga for over 3 years and I still can't do all of the poses of the series. I modify some. Freeman doesn't show most variations, but if you have practiced yoga for a while you will probably know the easier variations. All in all it is quite an intense session. Luckily, the dvd comes conveniently chaptered.
The main menu looks as follows:
-Opening chant and practice guidelines
-Introduction
-Ujjayi pranayama
-Sun Salutation instruction
-Complete primary series practice session (1h50min)
-Sun salutations & standing postures (36min)
-Seated Postures (51min, divided in 2 segments: 27 min of forward bends and twists - paschimottanasanas. janu sirsanas and marichyasahas- and 24 min of arm balances, more forward bends and hip openers, inversions and backbends)
-Finishing postures (22min: shoulder stand, plough, karnapidasana, headstand, lotus...)
-Contact Info
So, in the days when I decide to do this series but I don't have it in me to go through the whole thing, I skip a chapter or two, like an ashtanga teacher form the Yogatoday site does. For example, one may do the Sun salutes & standing poses + the First part of the Seated postures (27min of forward bends). Or the Sun salutes and standing poses + the Second part of the Seated Postures (before introducing these asanas, Freeman pauses, addresses the viewer and comments on the right attitude to engage their practice, so it is easy to know when this section begins. It includes shoulder press, kurmasana, supta kurmasana, titthibasana, legs behind the head, bakasana, cock pose, baddha konasana, upavishtha konasana, handstand and many others) + the finishing poses.
There is no matrix here, but one can skip through or return to the main menu to make a new choice.
Also, the half sun salute (chaturanga, upward dog, downward dog) is practiced after EVERY pose to 'wipe the slate clean'. So, when my energy level is not at it's max I sometimes rest during every other salute -although doing the whole thing as it is shown is fabulous. The body feels awesome afterward-.
I've had this dvd for 2 years now, and I use it several times a month. It is one of my favorites and I keep learning from it: from the concise instruction, and from Freeman's serene power and grace. He is the real thing. And a teacher's teacher.
(If you want to see which poses are included in the Primary Series you can google it. There are several sites that show the entire sequence in pictures.)
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
For the advanced practionerJul 09, 2009
By Dylan
I have been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for about 2 years now and bought this DVD cause I really couldn't afford to pay $20 every time I wanted to take a class. After watching it all the way through I realized I have never done the full primary series and have never seen it in it's entirety in any book I have read on the subject...which I found a little unusual. I found myself fast forwarding through a lot of moves I found to be repetitive or just to difficult for me to do. The complete series is pretty long and takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete. With that being said, Richard Freeman is very thorough and moves at a good pace. The video is broken down into chanting, breathing, standing and sitting poses.
If anyone knows of any Ashtanga videos that are broken down into 45, 60, 90, and 105 minute guided practices, please let me know. If there isn't one, it would be a great idea cause sometimes it would be nice to have shorter options when time doesn't permit.
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