Madame Indra Devi - The Best of Yoga

Madame Indra Devi - The Best of Yoga

Lately, I've been doing a little yoga on the Nintendo Wii via the Wii Fit program. Actually, the Wii is the only way I've been getting my exercise lately. I like doing the yoga postures, but it's the other exercises that can be a killer especially the squatting ones. I've always wanted to try yoga and I never would have thought that my first yoga experience would be through a video game system so there ya go. Anyway this has me thinking what would it be like if a yoga master like Indra Devi was still alive and was involved somehow with the Wii. Obviously, that will never happen, but I still have this LP to use. Hopefully, I won't conjure up the devil or become a promiscuous alcoholic while engaged in some yoga postures.

I secured a copy of this LP at one of the local Goodwill stores. It appears to be a recording of a yoga class conducted by Indra Devi, who was born in Riga, Russia [*Editor's note: correction - Riga is the capital of Latvia which is now an independent country] (with the birth name of Eugenie Peterson) and found her calling early in life as a Hindu spiritual and yoga master. I know I take it for granted that there are lots of yoga videos plus the aforementioned Wii Fit available at the present. Back when this LP was released in 1973, I don't think there were many yoga classes available. I'm sure that the only way for a lot of people to get yoga instruction was through LPs like this. The LP starts out with simple breathing exercises then proceeds to neck and eye exercises. You'll have to listen to find out more about how to eye exercises. My favorite part of the record is the "sound vibrations" track where Indra Devi instructs participants to make certain sounds. It is the most fun exercise of this record. The last half of the record is devoted to various postures such as the "Cobra Posture", "Locust Posture", "Arch Posture", etc.

I wish I can explain these yoga exercises better especially in the context of this release. Unfortunately, the booklet that came with this record is missing. We'll just have to listen to Madame Indra Devi. I really like her voice along with doing the "sound vibrations". Otherwise, I'm only getting my yoga from the Wii.

Tracklisting:  (link will be back soon)

Side A

1. Introduction and Deep Breathing {3:34}

2. Breathing Exercises {4:03}

3. Neck Exercises {2:20}

4. Eye Exercises {3:25}

5. Sound Vibrations {3:09}

6. Relaxation {4:29}

Side B

1. Arch Posture {1:26}

2. Reverse Posture {1:29}

3. Plow Posture {2:44}

4. Cobra Posture {2:38}

5. Locust Posture {1:46}

6. Lotus Posture {1:55}

7. Yoga Modra {2:34}

8. Stretching Exercise {1:30}

9. Twist Posture {3:05}

10. Head Stand {4:03}

11. Stomach Lift {1:43}

12. End of Class {0:43}