Title: Pregnancy Yoga (New Shoot Pictures, June)
Presenter: Nadia Narain is accredited as a senior yoga teacher by Yoga Alliance UK and a doula. She has trained a few celebrities, who like to say good things about her (nadianarain.com).
What is it? A 16:9 wide-screen DVD with yoga and relaxation sequences meant to leave a pregnant woman feeling "strong and soft, grounded and fluid."
Can't fathers-to-be use it? Every section opens with the woman placing her hands over her swollen belly to imagine holding the little being hidden inside, which would be awkward for Dad to reproduce without killing the mood.
Format: 120 minutes divided among a 48-second introduction; three more-than-20-minute flowing yoga practices; six brief stand-alone chapters:
Breathing, for relaxation, 5:30 minutes, as well as Golden Thread Breathing, four minutes of focusing on taking longer to exhale.
Then there's Visualization, 4:30 minutes of imagining the baby in "the correct position to make a gentle entry into the world."
Long Time Sun is four minutes of sitting on the floor holding your tummy while a song of that title plays.
Birth Affirmation is less than three minutes in which Narain says sentences a woman can repeat to herself during labor: "My pelvis opens and releases with ease."
Savasana involves lying quietly on your left side for six minutes while she says more calming things. Finally come two minutes about doulas and what they do and then the credits.
What are the practices like?
All are calm, flowing, full-body sequences of subtly modified but familiar yoga postures with an emphasis on hip rotation and cat-and-cow-like back motions. No posture is held long; in each practice, you shift among sitting cross-legged to resting on all fours to standing and back again.
Narain's continual voiceover is pleasant, and she includes helpful suggestions that could limit the risk of possible joint damage due to overly flexible ligaments. It helps that the disc was shot in London and she has a British accent.
The first practice has the extra bonus of working Kegels into its flowing sequences including downward facing dog and child's pose.
Practice 3 is suggested for women having pelvic discomfort and includes hamstring and gluteal stretching postures and motions that lift the ribs away from the mass bearing down on irritated hips.
Gear needed: a mat and a towel, a chair and a yoga strap
Anything especially laudatory? Narain shows more conservative postures than the unnamed pregnant woman behind her, giving the user permission not to overextend.
Does she say anything terrifying? Yes. The introduction includes this, um, reassurance: "Remember, labor is the easiest part of motherhood."
Price: $10.99
ActiveStyle on 08/10/2015