DVD Talk DVD Reviews

Discover Tai Chi - AM & PM Workouts

Fri, 06 Jun 2003 09:10:17 UTC

Highly Recommended

The Movie

Me, doing Tai Chi? For some reason I never gave this ancientChinese art of relaxation a second thought before now. It seemedslow, boring, and useless in a society where tempers are short,and attention spans are shorter. But after saying, "what theheck," and giving Scott Cole's Tai Chi workout a try, I canhonestly say I'm a believer.

There are already a few reviews of Scott Cole's wonderful Tai Chiseries up on this site, so I won't spend time rehashing what hasalready been said. In short, Tai Chi is a form of exercise thatallows you to flow with our natural surroundings. It's unhurried,methodic, energy-directing movements help us become onewith our inner energy, or "chi." When the positions andmovements are learned, you begin to let your inner energy flow ina natural, and spiritual manner. In hopes of not sounding hokey,you just feel better after do...Read the entire review

Discover Tai Chi - Weight Loss

Fri, 30 May 2003 21:13:24 UTC

Rent It

Starring: Scott Cole
Encoding: Region 1
Format: Color, Fullscreen
Rated: NR
Studio: Goldhil Home Media I
DVD Release Date: May 7, 2002

DVD
Tai Chi in the official Chinese Pin Yin is known as Taiji, and its proper name is Tai Chi Chuan (taijiquan). Chinese words that end in quan or Chuan (which means 'fist' in Chinese) are a form of martial art. Tai Chi is a philosophical term in Chinese and means "supreme ultimate of ultimates."

Tai Chi is a discipline that can keep you healthy and happy. It connects body and mind in relaxing and fun movements that promote health and fitness. It has been suggested in studies that it can improve conditions of arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, respiratory problems and other chronic illnesses. It can also improve your balance, posture while lessening de...Read the entire review

Bellydance Fitness for Weight Loss: Bellydance Boogie

Thu, 03 Apr 2003 16:54:35 UTC

Recommended

The movie

I'm in favor of anything thatencourages people to get off their duffs and start being more active...especially women, who all too often are subtly (or not so subtly) encouraged tostay away from sports and exercise. Bellydancing isn't my personal cup of tea,but it's been popular for thousands of years and seems to be enjoying a bit ofa renaissance in the modern era, so with that in mind, I was happy to take alook at a couple of bellydancing exercise DVDs.

Bellydance Boogie,featuring Rania, is part of the Natural Journeys series Bellydance Fitnessfor Weight Loss. The DVD case notes that Rania is a certified aerobicsinstructor as well as a bellydancer, and it shows. She is able to explain howto do the moves in a clear and easily understandable manner; it's obvious thatshe h...Read the entire review

Discover Tai Chi for Beginners

Wed, 26 Feb 2003 07:20:59 UTC

Highly Recommended

Let me preface this review by saying that in general I dislike workout DVDs. No matter what the subject matter I often find it quite difficult to comfortably work out in front of the TV. Many work out DVDs I've tried have either been paced too fast, too difficult to both do and watch or so choppy that they're utterly unenjoyable. Perhaps this is why I was so pleasantly surprised with Discover Tai Chi for Beginners from Natural Journeys.

For the first time, I've found a workout DVD which I actually feel comfortable working out to, at a pace that matches mine, and with clear and good instruction that doesn't make me feel like a complete idiot right out of the starting gate.

The whole idea of trying Tai Chi is a new one for me. In the past my exercise mostly consisted of more high impact activities like playing basketball or hitting the treadmill. Unfortunately over the past couple of years in...Read the entire review