Hands-on Adjustments: Techniques for Adjusting Yoga Postures

I just watched both DVDs back to back. I had never seen anything of this quality!Not only does David show useful adjustments for a huge array of poses. He does so in different bodies so that you can see the nuances of what a good teacher would go through, need to think about, and navigate as he or she is helping.In a way it is a much better product than any book out there that may show adjustments because of how interactive it is and the ample variety of examples for different circumstances.Five students help David in the dynamic demonstrations: Marsha, Bob, Diana, Jarred and Amy.The five of them vary greatly in level of flexibility and years of personal practice and they also have different heights and body types. The adjustments come alive and resemble a real class.Gretchen, David's wife, also appears in the second DVD to help with very advanced poses like Kapotasana, legs behind the head, etc.The first thing that caught my attention upon receiving the Hands-On Adjustments DVD is the 11 points that can be seen on the inside cover and which pretty much summarize where the focus needs to go for any dedicated teacher when approaching something as personal, specific and delicate as an adjustment. It says:Keys To Good Adjustments:Observe the studentBe aware of your own biasCreate a clear intentionGround the studentFeel and senseAdapt to the momentAdapt to the studentMove into the adjustment slowlyCreate space and lengthUse good body mechanicsDon't over adjust or adjust poses that you don't knowThe DVD Feels more like a workshop:It is a very dynamic proposal and you are even encouraged to work with a partner, matter of fact I grabbed James to start practicing some forward bend adjustments and it went pretty well.So, what is David's definition of a correct adjustment?"In broad terms a correct adjustment effectively fulfills the intention created by the adjuster based on their experience and the variables of the student"David says he has taught this workshop many times and that one thing to be aware of is that sometimes participants get so caught up in the details of how to DO the adjustments, that they forget to pay attention and actually feel what is happening WHILE doing the adjustment (my caps for emphasis).Being in the moment, feeling what is happening is critical to a good adjustment.What I get as the most important points from the opening talk is that you need to be:Confident: (touch with the right amount of pressure),Flexible: in the sense of adjusting yourself to what is actually happening in the moment. Meaning: be present, pay attention.Non-Bias: forget your own ideas about how a pose should look like because each student will have its own set of challenges, and always adapt, always consider age, injuries, flexibility stamina etc.Have the right intention, are you going to be supporting? Grounding? Creating a new pattern? Teaching a technique? Also, David says that if you are unsure, better to pass on an adjustment until you get to know a student and his or her practice better.I have listed the poses that he goes through at the end of this review, you will see that there is a lot of work that went into it. Just like in his Anatomy 2-set DVD, there is a lot of ground covered.Throughout the presentation there are little boxes with reminders popping up, lines and animations alongside the student's bodies that show the intention and the direction of where you are aiming to direct the energy. Every little detail helps and it all results in a magnificent learning experience.On the second disk, shoulder stand gets a very small section, but the headstand gets some good suggestions for different body types and adjustments that range from entering the pose to exiting it.The Section for Ashtangis:The adjustments for the drop backs were a revelation to me, I am now determined to show this part to James so he can help me in the dropping back exactly as David shows it, which has two parts:1- On the first drop back he helps the student all the way to the end and then he lets her drop for the last few inches, just so she gets the idea.2.- She lets her drop for the first part and then "catches" her.Loved these ideas! I am very into the suggestion of letting the student (me) get the feeling of what the actual drop back feels like rather than being supported all the way. I cannot wait unitl tomorrow's practice!The section on kurmasana is particularly good. He is of the idea of crossing the legs first, before clasping the hands behind the back. You need to watch it, it will make a lot of sense.The design of the cover has been done using soy ink so as to have less of an impact on the environment. He thanks his teacher John Scott throughout as well as The Jois family, the students who helped him and his wife.Here is the list of poses he adjusts on:DISC IStanding Posesstanding forward bend (padngusthasana)upward facing dogsun salutationextended triangle poseextended side angle posewarrior 2half moonrevolved triangleside stretchingrevolved side Angle (parivrta parsvakonasana)warrior 1 and 3wide-leg forward bend A and C (prasarita padottanasana)extended hand to foot pose (Utthita hasta)standing half bound lotus forward bend (ardha baddha padmottanasana)Seated Poses and Inversionsseated forward bendthree limbs facing forward western stretch (triang mukhaekapada paschimattanasana)Marichya AMarichya Chalf-MatsyendraDISC IIhead to knee pose (janu sirsasana A)bound angle pose (badha konasana)half-bound lotus seated forward bendcamelupward bow poseshoulder standheadstandAshtanga Poses:marichya Bmarichia Dnoose (pasasana)tortoise (kurmasana)sleeping tortoise (supta kurmasana)arm pressure posture (Bhujapidasana)drop backs into backbendpigeon (kapotasana)Himalayah goose pose (Karandavasana)embryo in the womb (garba pindasana)intense east stretch (purvottanasana)heron pose (krounchasana)frog posesleeping thunderbolg (supta vajrasana)crowone foot behind the head posetwo feet behind the head poseyoga sleep pose (yoga nidrasana)DI will sure refer to it often, and, at 40 dollars I find it very good value for the money.

As David says in the beginning, have a buddy, watch the adjustments, pause the DVD and practice performing the adjustments on each other. Give each other real feedback of how it feels.Lots of great information, he goes through each pose with several (3-4) people of different body types.I have had issues with the dvd not working in my dvd/blue ray player. It will randomly quit and I the function to go backwards and rewatch just 30 seconds does not work. I end up going back to the menu and rewatching the whole chapter/pose. I have not had any issues with other DVDs in my player.

Disappointed! This DVD doesn't play correctly. The first disk is entirely useless. Menu on the second disk doesn't work, but can access individual segments via the library function. Sigh! Portions I can view appear to be informative and interesting.

I would highly recommend these DVD for beginners and intermediate practitioners. I suspect the advanced practitioners/teachers would benefit from watching them too. Though I am not a teacher, David provides some insights that help me in my practice, including tips of how not to hurt yourself practicing yoga.

Great tool for those teaching and looking to add to their adjustment tool box. DVD is set-up as if you're a participate in one of David Keil's workshops. David also presents modifications for each adjustment to suit different body types. This is a resource I will go back to multiple times.

Mr. Keil gives very practical advice on adjusting the today's western type of body. After watching the instructions i managed to get my intermediate students into more advanced positions with ease. A quality product for any aspiring yoga teacher.

I really like the use of multiple, different size bodies for demonstration. Even if you are not a teacher, this is a great way to understand where your body should be going during each pose. It also provides a great perspective to judge if you are working with someone that offers constructive adjustments.

Really basic, no A&P commentary as to "why' no modified approaches, say if there are knee/hip/etc.. issues.. i returned it

Very clear adjustments, with different students of different sizes and with different restrictions (all of whom are fairly flexible, not beginners). I found it a really useful resource as a trainee teacher, with the direction of pressure shown, and ways of using differently for different sized people. It is quite Ashtanga based, and surprisingly no comment on the ethics of doing some pretty intimate adjustments - how can you judge whether the student is comfortable, how do you get consent.

I have bought all 3 of David's products because, as the Ashtanga community grows on a global scale, AN ANATOMIST WHO HAS AN ON-GOING AND ADVANCED ASANA PRACTICE is a very welcome member.If you practice Ashtanga Yoga, or indeed any form of asana practice, with depth and commitment, the knowledge that he shares will be of incredible value to you, particularly if you are teaching and therefore are, in some ways, responsible for bodies that you don't live in!.Behind, this work, is not only in-depth and very specialised knowledge, but there's also a strong presence of kindness, which can sometimes be difficult to find in the world we now live in.BUY, BENEFIT & ENJOY.

Great gift

Great DVD for teachers worth every penny

Very helpful for yoga teachers!