Quote: Televension

All these awards... it's probably rather boring for most of you so I thought I would share a little quote.

My little boy adores watching TV. Well, DVDs actually, where we can 'control' the content. No TV.

He's not so keen on the radio, though. That's boring - blah blah blah! And no pictures.

So he wanted to tell us to turn the radio off (he would never tell us to turn off the television)... but he still gets confused with his words sometimes. So he ended up saying:

"You have to turn the televension off!"

Now that I think about it, it doesn't make that much sense. But we had a good giggle anyway!

* If you are looking for an educational DVD, this is it: The Little Einsteins! In every story they travel around the world and introduce famous works of art and music. Children are supposed to join in the fun, too: they get asked questions, they have to clap their hands and sing along.

So for example, in 'The Glass Slipper Ball' they feature:
Art by Andy Warhol.

Music by Strauss. 

So parents can leave their children in front of the TV without feeling guilty!

My latest yoga inspiration

I haven't been doing as much yoga lately as I should / want to be and a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't like the first two chakra DVDs by Maya Fiennes. (It was her detox and de-stress DVD that got me hooked so I've also bought 'A journey through the chakras' on seven DVDs.)

It's not fair to dismiss the second one so quickly, actually, because I've only done the first section. This consists of the Five Tibetans. I start off thinking, "Ha ha, this is so easy" but by the time I've reached the fourth or fifth exercise I'm feeling slightly nauseous. Does this ever happen to you?

I don't want a difficult DVD to put me off yoga, though, so I've turned to another one for now: Yoga for stress relief. This made a magazine's top ten of the best fitness DVDs and it has lots of positive reviews on amazon.

You can choose from 20 routines, depending on your 'issues' and how much time you have (very useful info!). For example: exercises for insomnia issues (35 mins), tension headaches (45 mins), mood uplift (30 mins), anxiety relief (40 mins), indigestion (25 mins)...

The setting couldn't be prettier. In the background you can see white sand, turquoise water and palm trees swaying in the wind (Antigua, apparently).

I wish they had turned up the volume on the music, though - it is far too faint and I can hardly hear it. I also wish it would let us know when a routine has come to an end. I tried out the 20-minute "deep rest" and fell asleep. I don't like to sleep during the day without setting an alarm because... consider my nightmare scenario: I'm snoring away on the floor in front of the TV, whilst my son sits all alone in a dark, empty kindergarten because I forgot to pick him up! 

Can you recommend any other yoga DVDs? 

My secret: The 2+1 men in my life

Um, did I ever tell you that I have a teenage daughter who adores the Twilight series and this is why I had to get her this DVD? You wouldn't believe what a fan she is of Edward Cullen / Robert Pattinson...

Ok, I admit it, I don't have a teenage daughter but at times like this I sort of wish I did. Because I'm a wee bit embarrassed to admit that I have a crush on Edward. (I think I'm too old.)

I say Edward because I prefer him as Edward, the perfect gentleman with the perfectly plucked eyebrows. Robert P in real life - in premiere photos - doesn't always look as handsome and he smokes (boo) but his natural skintone and eye colour are better, of course.

So by 2+1 I mean my husband, my son + Edward Cullen. Don't worry, my husband knows all about Edward. And my son's seen photos of him and said he doesn't like Edward's lovely hair. Well, I shall forgive him for not liking men.

It's important to note that I did not pre-order this DVD or rush out to buy it. I am not that desperate. Really.

I know what I shall be doing next week when I have the house to myself...

Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Who knows Yogalosophy?

I read recently that Jennifer Aniston and Victoria Beckham keep in shape with Yogalosophy. As far as I understand, it's sort of yoga (not taken seriously) + toning exercises.

It sounds interesting but the DVD gets mixed reviews... like there's too much talking, there's no flow, the workouts are not diverse enough.

Is it worth getting? Has anyone tried it out yet?

How to use all (eight) of Maya Fiennes' DVDs

Maya Fiennes has made eight yoga DVDs so far. Seven of these DVDs specifically address the chakras, which (as far as I could tell) should be stimulated from the spine to the head. So my question was: how are we supposed to use them? Is there a particular order we should do them in? And where does the Detox and De-stress DVD fit in?

I decided to ask them directly and was amazed at how quickly I got a response (same day). I wanted to share the information:

1. Start with the Detox and De-stress DVD. 
Work on these exercises first. When comfortable and familiar with them, move onto the Chakra set.

2. The Chakra series should be tackled in order from the lower (Chakra 1) to the upper (Chakra 7).
Important: make sure you "clear" each chakra before moving onto the next one. What does that mean? A chakra is "cleared" when you feel "light-headed and slightly elevated". How long will that take? That depends on you.

3. When you have worked your way through all of the Chakra DVDs in order, then you can use whichever DVD suits your needs or moods.

Visit her website: Maya Space

Chakra 1: Courage (Kundalini Yoga with Maya Fiennes)

I'm moving onto the next Kundalini Yoga DVD by Maya Fiennes. It doesn't mean I'm going to abandon the Detox and De-stress one. But I'm eager to learn more, and well, doing the same DVD every day threatens to become boring.

It is the first part ("Courage") in a series called "A Journey through the Chakras".

The explanation given sounds really promising. Apparently the first chakra is found at the base of the spine and is the centre of our regeneration, stimulating all the cells of the body. It addresses addictive behaviour (!), survival, security and courage. By survival, it means we need to work the first chakra in order to eliminate toxins (from pollution and chemicals).

Did that make sense?

To be honest, I'm still struggling with it because I'm not used to thinking of yoga as medicine (from the Universe) for our body - but that's what Maya says in this DVD. (What and where exactly is the Universe and how do we get life force from it?!)  

As for the exercises: the warm-up is exactly the same as in the Detox and De-stress DVD. Which I like, so I don't mind at all.

But the rest of the DVD is much more physical. There's a lot of alternating between lying down on your back and sitting up and bending over to touch your toes. And there's no mistaking the meditation for relaxation here, as this part is also all about bending over to touch the toes and twisting your torso (which is unbelievably hard!).

There's hardly a moment of rest after you get past the warm-up so I'm already not so keen on doing this every day...

Damages is good for marriage

For me, TV series can become a serious addiction. I usually watch them on DVDs and find it incredibly difficult to turn off the DVD player, when I think I could squeeze in just one more episode...

Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives... all such great series, yet I have to watch them alone. As in, my husband refuses to watch them with me.

But now we have something that's far from girlie: Damages!

This is an exciting and intelligent legal thriller that my husband is also hooked on and now we can spend our evenings together in front of the TV!

Seriously, if you aren't familiar with Damages, go for it. There are so many twists and turns in the plot that it will keep you on your toes.

Second review (4 weeks): Detox and de-stress with Maya Fiennes DVD

Roughly four weeks since I started this: I'm thinking this DVD is not as easy as I first thought. Strange!

Maybe I've just improved my 'technique' somewhat and I'm doing the exercises properly?

What I like most about this DVD is the warm-up. There are five sets of exercises - to do sitting down - that take about 20 minutes. It's gentle but the stretching is quite effective. It eases the tension in my lower back and I can feel some of the pain in my shoulder muscles go away.

 

I have to admit that I'm not as keen on the rest of the exercises, especially the heavy breathing bits (breath of fire, canon breath etc) that make my throat go all dry. But if you manage to get through this, the meditation - or is it just called relaxation? - at the end is great. I usually find myself drifting off and don't want to get up.

There isn't too much chanting, which is a relief for me because it still makes me feel rather awkward. (It's not so bad if you're alone but I definitely can't get through the chants without giggling if I think my family can hear). There's a bit at the beginning of the warm-up (Ong namo) and another bit (Sat nam) at the end.

Fab news: Maya Fiennes mentions in her book (see related post) that the warm-up exercises are "a simple but effective daily exercise set". So it's better to do just the 20-minute warm-up every day than nothing at all... This keeps the whole integrating-yoga-into-daily-life thing realistic and it's especially handy for weekends (family time, in my case) and holidays.

First review: Detox and de-stress with Maya Fiennes DVD

This is my first ever yoga DVD!

It's Kundalini Yoga to detox and de-stress with Maya Fiennes.

What a relief that she wears a loose white outfit and not a horrid neck-to-ankle leotard that accentuates all the most unattractive curves. The background is also white: so simple, so pure. 

My very first thoughts: it's easy! No funny poses. The chants are not too silly. And I like the music - it's her own. It is soothing and you also get a CD with the DVD, which is an added bonus.

What I like most about this DVD so far:

1. I can do this in whatever clothes I am wearing that day. I've even done it in jeans, although I admit it wasn't that comfortable.

2. My body warms up when I do this but I don't sweat so I don't need to shower afterwards.

3. Most of the exercises are done sitting down, which seems wonderfully lazy.

I will report back regularly on my progress... 

Detox and De-stress with Maya Fiennes DVD: The best quote

Sit with your legs stretched out together in front of you. Now grab the toes. Stay in that position and breathe.

Arrgh, it hurts. Not the least bit comfortable for a beginner like me.

And she says: "This exercise is deeply relaxing."

Yeah, right!