Reviews of Fertility and Prenatal Yoga DVDs

These are the only two yoga DVD's I've ever seen.


Yoga Practices for Fertility
by Tami Quinn, and Beth Heller, Pulling Down the Moon, 2004 on video, 2005 on DVD case.

Total run-time unknown. Yoga practice is 40 minutes. DVD Menu selections: Introduction, Breathing, Practice, Svasana, Visualizations, Restorative, Training, and Play All. Filmed in the Pulling Down the Moon studio in the city of Chicago. The studio has hardwood floors and brick walls, complete with city views and noises. The production quality is simple. The music is atmospheric instrumental with a beat. Both instructors have been infertility patients and understand how stressful ttc can be. One instructor narrates while the other demonstrates in front of the class. You can tell they have mid-Western accents. There are male and female students in the class, and a few races and body types are represented. You feel like you are actually in a yoga class, and they explain the basics so this would be a good DVD for beginners in yoga. The practice is gentle and relaxing. They do moon salutations. However, once the practice moved to the floor I found it harder to follow her instructions. I really enjoy both the guided visualizations, "Lake of the Mind," and "Chakra Healing." I find all the Menu selections cumbersome, if you select Play All you have to sit through their Introduction and detailed instruction in how to breathe, but if you select Practice, you miss the breathing section. Also, the end of the Practice includes svasana, so the Svasana section seems a little redundant. It is nice that they continue the music and allow you to stay in svasana as long as you like, in both sections. And I haven't been interested in the Restorative section. I don't know that I would buy this DVD again, I might want to try something else.



Prenatal Yoga
by Shiva Rea, Gaiam, 2000

Total run-time 70 minutes. Yoga practice is 50 minutes. DVD Menu selections: Program, and Interview. Filmed in a beautiful studio in California with nature views outside the large windows. The production quality is professional and aesthetically pleasing. Shiva Rea's voice is low and steady, I find it very soothing. The music is a simple piano piece, which I really like. There are three women, in each trimester of pregnancy, demonstrating varying levels of modification for each pose. The practice flows through Seated poses, Standing poses, and Floor poses. It is a gentle and relaxing total body program. She even does some good kegel exercises. At the end she guides you through a relaxation in svasana pose. It flows well because you can stay there as long as you like, the music continues through the credits, and then it flows back into the Menu screen with continued music. I think this is the gold standard for prenatal yoga. I'd highly recommend this DVD for pregnant women, but it can also be used by ttc women if you don't mind her regular references to "your baby." I prefer Shiva's program and her explanations for the poses. She works the pelvic area and gets more circulation there than the fertility DVD does. A friend gave this DVD to me (thanks, Stephanie!), but I would pay full price for it.