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Released some two years after 2004's Yoga Shakti, one of the finest yoga programs on the market, Shiva Rea's Yoga Trance Dance is substantially different in content but every bit the former's equal in terms of style and presentation. Combining what she calls "two of the oldest ways (to get) back home," Rea has mixed dance and yoga to create "a contemporary exploration of conscious movement meditation," with an eye toward healing the split between body and mind that has, she says, led many of us to live primarily "from the neck up." As was the case with Yoga Shakti, several pre-set practices are offered (six in this case, ranging from 29 to 41 minutes in length); and the DVD again features the innovative "Yoga Matrix," which allows users to customize their practice by choosing and organizing various segments to suit their own needs and moods. Yet because of the dance element, most comparisons to a traditional yoga program don't apply. Whereas vinyasa yoga is essentially a series of flowing, connected poses, incorporating breath and movement and cultivating heat, strength, flexibility, and balance, here the movement is within the poses themselves, not just within the overall sequence. Thus familiar asanas such as the cobra and downward facing dog take on a new aspect, with users encouraged to constantly roll their shoulders from side to side in cobra or make undulating, wave-like spinal movements in down dog (both can be found in the terrific jala namaskar, the so-called "water salutation"); it's a style that may be somewhat more familiar to practitioners of kundalini yoga than those used to the more widespread, Iyengar-based hatha tradition. Meanwhile, the trance dance sections encourage spontaneous, free-form movement that may well lead to the kind of creative self-expression and loosening of inhibitions that Rea prescribes. Visually stunning (it was shot in high definition at New Mexico's White Sands National Monument) and augmented by a fine world music soundtrack (a music-only option is available) and Rea's soothing, authoritative presence, the DVD also includes a mini-documentary about the instructor, bonus comments by a couple of experts, and more. --Sam Graham
Description
Shiva Rea has been teaching Yoga Trance Dance for more than 10 years. Now, for the first time, her most popular workshop is available to anyone who wants to experience celebration, rejuvenation, and creative joy through movement. Appropriate for all ages and experience levels, Yoga Trance Dance begins with prana-initiating yogasanas, flowing into an exploration of free-form, breath-driven movement to free your creative life force and cultivate embodied freedom. It features the Yoga Matrix format, which allows you to customize your practice by choosing and organizing portions of the program to suit your needs every time you use the DVD. Filmed at White Sands National Park, the program was shot in HD by Hollywood's Sion Michel (Memoirs of a Geisha) and directed by yoga teacher and fashion photographer James Wvinner for an inspiring look and feel unlike any other yoga or fitness video.
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Shiva Rea - Yoga Trance Dance
- DVD: 0 pages (2006-05-09)
- Publisher: Acacia
- Label: Acacia
- Starring: Shiva Rea
- Encoding: Region 1
- Format: Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1,
- Rated: NR (Not Rated)
- Studio: Acacia
- DVD Release Date: 2006-05-09
- Run Time: 130
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 47 reviews
- Sales Rank in DVD: #12465
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Practice!!! 2008-05-26
Comment: Shiva is an amazing instructor... This DVD is one of her best... I do have to say that I have to be in the mood to do it as there is a lot of free style dancing... but after I'm done, I feel so connected and in peace!!! This is another winner from Shiva!!
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Extremely disappointed 2008-02-08
Comment: If you expect fluid movements done as a dance that give a good work out don't buy this DVD. If you are looking for an esoteric experience then this is for you.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: challenging but fun 2008-01-13
Comment: If you are middle aged, overweight and out of shape like I am, you'll find some of the yoga poses difficult. Shiva moves through them fairly quickly so they can be hard to follow. The faster movement segments that are part yoga and part dance are much easier for me because they are a small part pose and a large part freeform. And they are aerobic without being hard on the knees. So I enjoy this video but alternate it with other videos of slower, more traditional yoga sequences. (I like Big Yoga and Yoga for the Rest of Us.)
The music is great, with some traditional Indian music for the slower parts. The Indian music was at times a little too loud making it hard to hear her voice. The rest is rhythmic, infectious and perfect for the dance parts. The segments are each about 30 minutes and it's easy to get a good workout in that space of time.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: A lot of fun, even for the shy! 2008-01-01
Comment: This is a lot of fun, even if I only pull it out when my boyfriend isn't around to witness my, er, free-form expression! A fun DVD for loosening your inhibitions. I love Yoga Shakti (I'm addicted to that DVD!) and was very curious about Trance Dance. Close the door, or wait until your partner is out of the house, and crank up the sound on this dvd. The music gets you moving whether you want to or not. The people on the screen are gorgeous, but it's their obvious enjoyment that spurs you on. I find I don't really look much at the screen. I first tried this DVD after a not-so-great day, and found myself smiling within the first five minutes of dancing.
I like the dance segments of this DVD more than the yoga segments, but Shiva's "fluid" style may grow on me as I become more advanced in my yoga practice. A great accompaniment to "Yoga Shakti," and much more accessible than "Fluid Power."
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Is this Yoga? Is it Trance? 2008-01-01
Comment: In this well-produced DVD, Shiva Rea guides the viewer from early warmup vinyasa-like exercises towards ever more trancy, chaotic release movements. I can understand why a DVD like this was bound to be produced by somebody; someone somewhere who enjoys both yoga and trance dancing would try combining the two... and in this case it turns out to be (appropriately named) Shiva. However, I have mixed feelings about this DVD, and the approach itself.
The DVD is set in a sand dune desert, with a group of well-muscled good-looking young people following proscribed exercises. Unfortunately, the yoga-like dynamic postures in the beginning of the DVD were way too brief. While I like dynamic "flow"-like movements, I like to get into them - giving the body time to "get it"; instead, Rea transitions from one movement to the next without giving the viewer a real chance to enjoy what is going on.
A more serious concern is that this DVD, at least in my mind, negates the very essence of trance dancing. Trance (especially hard core styles such as goa trance) is about letting go, about allowing the (personal and group) energy to take over. It is about surrendering to the ecstasy of the body in its connection to the transcendent. In contrast, the DVD is composed of 5 minute segments that jerk you out of the trance just as you were about to enter it. Programmatic, lecture-style approach to trance dancing as featured in this DVD may in fact represent the very antithesis of trance. Consistent with this, the 'demonstrators' in the DVD appeared to be much more concerned with looking good than with enjoying the dance.
This is not a bad DVD. Rather, imo, it is kind of missing the point. In other words, when doing yoga, do yoga. When trance dancing, allow the dance to take over without any regard for form, time, place or skill.
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