Fit to be tried: Trudie Styler Yoga DVD
THERE are some things we know for sure. The banks don't deserve our money. And celebrities will keep trotting out fitness DVDs.
One of the latest offerings is fromTrudie Styler, complete with music and a brief and slightly embarrassed introduction from her husband, fellow yoga and tantric partner, the ageing rocker Sting.
Ms Styler gazes sincerely into the camera and tells us in her best plummy accent how she believes in her "warrior yoga workout".
This is no ditzy dame -- Ms Styler spares no effort when it comes to serving up her opus, co-starring "celebrity fitness trainer James D'Silva".
Nothing is too much trouble for us, her viewers (and potential DVD customers). She even voluntarily travels to her Tuscan villa to film workouts in a huge, sumptuous and continually sunny garden, where she and D'Silva put us through our paces.
The DVD, titled 'Trudie Styler's Warrior Yoga', is not bad. It's one in a series of six discs, released individually.
The DVD includes a 50-minute series of exercises, with a pared-down 25-minute express version for those of us without rock-star partners who might have to wash up, work, study or pick up the kids between warrior poses.
D'Silva, Ms Styler's personal trainer, who is a former dancer and Pilates teacher, urges us to try the workout by starting small.
Orla Punch, a leading yoga teacher who runs retreats and gives classes in Dublin, says the Styler production is a good effort but might be better for experienced students.
"The DVD looks good," says Ms Punch, who has taught yoga for over 12 years. "But it's not suitable for an absolute beginner -- it would be great for someone who already attends classes.
"Trudie is in great shape and a great inspiration to anyone to take up yoga. Her alignment is good, the instructions clear and safe, and it's creative as well, which makes it more interesting and fun."
So a kind volunteer and myself put the DVD to the test in my cramped living room -- which doesn't exactly mirror the constantly sunny, manicured, serene green and lavender-speckled Tuscan garden enjoyed by Ms Styler and D'Silva.
But to give credit where it's due, the yoga exercises do provide a pretty good workout.
The sequence of exercises are well planned and there's plenty of variety, including standing and seated postures, twists and relaxation stretches as well as forward and backward bends.
Now for a technical complaint: if you aren't pretty familiar with yoga, you're going to struggle a bit with this workout, even though it claims it's aimed at beginners.
The exercises proceed at a cracking pace, and D'Silva narrates all the way through without taking a breath almost.
To be fair, the trainer does advise at the start of the DVD that you should watch it through a couple of times first.
There is much made in the DVD blurb about how the exercise is centred on "organic movement", and how the couple are keen environmentalists, although she has been known to fly an entourage, including her hairdresser, by private jet from New York to Washington so she can go to a party.
Hopefully, she got to Tuscany and back using far tinier carbon footprints.
The Verdict
Did it work? Good if you have some experience
Pluses: You can fall over in the privacy of your own home
Minuses: A bit technical and very fast
Cost: Around €25 from Galam. Classes with Orla Punch are €20 CONTACT: Orla Punch runs Iyengar classes at the Yoga Room in Ballsbridge, Dublin. www.orlapunchyoga.com Telephone: 087 9340839
- Amanda Phelan
Irish Independent
