Yoga: Shiva Rea - Creative Core Abs

Filmed at White Sands National Park, the program was directed by James Wvinner and shot in HD by Hollywood's Sion Michel (Memoirs of a Geisha). Good things flow from a strong core: a long lean torso, a healthy back, a positive flow of energy that benefits every aspect of your life. Now, one of the yoga world's top female teachers shows you an enlightened way to a powerful core. Unlike repetitive conventional abs work, Shiva's fluid yoga-based approach awakens your creativity and inner fire, building strength and grace in the same way that surfing, rock climbing, or dancing does - while you're enjoying yourself, not counting the minutes until it's over. The program includes three flowing segments, which can be done all at once or individually. Beautiful, effective, inspiring. It's an abs workout you'll look forward to doing again and again.



It's hard to say how Shiva Rea would react to being called 'the Madonna of yoga', a phrase that appears on the cover of Creative Core Abs. But one thing is certain: the popular, California-based yogi's several DVD programs are uniformly first-rate, and this one is no exception. Roughly defined as the area between the upper thighs and lower ribcage, with particular focus on the abdominals and lower back, the core is 'more than our physical center', says Rea; it is 'our inner fire', the seat of our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves (not to mention the center of a great many yoga poses). Mindful that core exercises are for many of us 'a duty, not a pleasure', Rea has designed three different programs (ranging from seven to seventeen minutes) that aim to offer a more creative, innovative approach to the work.



The 'Water Core' segment includes various seated movements, many involving the arms as well; there are also sequences done on the back, somewhat akin to the bridge pose, as well as the 'water wheel', which combines lifting the hips while alternately extending the legs. The 'Spontaneous Core' section incorporates some of the previous movements with several new ones, while the 'Fire Core', the longest of the three, blends very challenging poses such as chaturanga and the forearm plank with familiar standing asanas like the Warrior II. As usual, the musical accompaniment is effective but not intrusive, while the setting (New Mexico's White Sands National Park) and the HD cinematography by Sion Michel (a camera operator for Memoirs of a Geisha) are stunning. ~amazon.com