THE SEVEN STEPS TO WILLPOWER
“Doesn’t your body deserve to move a little bit every day?”
INSTRUCTOR: Stacey Lei Krauss
LENGTH: 15-minute workout, plus another 15 minutes or so of the instructional portion.
LEVEL: Beginner to advanced.
TYPE: Strength/Flexibility
THIS WORKOUT IS FOR YOU IF: You are breathing. Stacey Lei designed this practice for everyone, from children to athletes.
NOT FOR YOU IF: You are dead set against yoga or Pilates.
WHERE YOU’LL FEEL IT THE NEXT DAY: No soreness if you build up gradually: which you must. The practice leaves your muscles feeling stretched out and wonderful.
MUSIC: Gorgeous, relaxing, trance and eastern influenced instrumentals.
PRODUCTION: The practice section of the DVD is as much fun to watch as it is to do. The setting jumps from a beautifully lighted studio to Stacey instructing a class to Stacey alone on a rooftop or beach, demonstrating the advanced levels. Between each exercise, an animated segment reminds you to repeat your affirmation.
EQUIPMENT: Optional wooden blocks for step #6, “Rising Lava,” until flexibility increases. The workout is done barefoot.
DVD: Programmable – broken into an introduction, the instruction, and the practice.
LEARNING CURVE: If you are already accomplished in yoga, the learning curve will be virtually nonexistent. However, if you are a beginner or a diehard cardio and/or weights person who has neglected flexibility, this will be a program you will need to begin slowly and grow with.
VERDICT: Thumbs Up. Nike Elite Instructor Stacey Lei Krauss has developed a practice based upon, but exceeding, the five Tibetan rites, a series of short daily exercises that are said to have been used in a monastery hidden deep in the Himalayan Mountains. The rites are said to make your body healthier and younger when practiced daily.
Stacey has over 20 years of professional fitness experience, (she must have started at age four,) and is a pleasant and motivating coach who wanted to develop a program accessible to everyone, regardless of age or fitness level; the idea is simply to move a little each day. It is as much about the mind as it is about the body. The practice begins with breathing and an introduction to your affirmation: “My name is______, and today, I will_____.” Stacey then proceeds through the seven steps: Plank, Wind, Rooting, Morning Glory, Twisting Vine, Rising Lava, and Waves. Some moves are similar to yoga poses, but each move integrates dynamic movement when the exerciser is ready. At first, you will look at Stacey flowing (seemingly effortlessly) through the advanced moves and likely think your body will never be able to move in that way. Persevere, and it will.
WHERE TO BUY OR GET MORE INFO: www.willpowerfit.com
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