Rating: - A Must Have
This dvd is a must have it is a great stress reliever that balances out your workout. I used to be someone who just did cardio, but I have started to include stretching into my routine ,and this dvd has plenty of of options to choose from I really love the pilates ring segment as well as the yin yoga segment . You will be pleasantly suprised with the toning you start to notice from Jennifer's workouts and the peace of mind I love doing a segment before work and the yin segment in the evening I love it so much I bring it away with me and have given this dvd to some of my ruuning friends to help with flexibility.

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Rating: - Dazzled by WAKING ENERGY: There's YOU and there's your Energy Body!
I am DAZZLED by WAKING ENERGY! (Jennifer's magical combination of ancient age-defying, heating and cooling work-outs) and you will be too!
Let me begin by saying that JENNIFER KRIES is always ahead of the curve and all of her DVD's are must-haves (I confess, I own every one of them). But I believe that WAKING ENERGY is in a class by itself. From the moment I insert the disc into the player, I feel like I did when I was a child after a long day at school - - I can't wait to PLAY! (And I am never disappointed.)

I begin by rubbing my palms together (the Energy Wash) and generating a little chi (my Life Force). In a blink I am all focus and into my practice. I actually feel energy awakening as Jennifer, with spot-on metaphors and breathing cues, takes me on a journey of incredible self-massage - -from the crown of my head, to my eyes and ears, to the back of my neck, all the way down to my toes, to my feet, the back of my calves, my thighs, my butt, OH, BABY! We're AWAKE and ALIVE!

Then guided by her skilled and eloquent coaching, deeper into my practice I go, breathing and melting into my innermost self until I am lost to an energetic haze: the energy of the Universe! I am energizing every part of my body. I am reaching out to the heart of the world. (Hey, I'm an ordinary person!!! and if you don't believe what I am saying, please click on the shopping cart and buy Jennifer's WAKING ENERGY, YIN YOGA, or any other of her HOT BODY COOL MIND DVD's and see for yourself! Jennifer Kries: Hot Body Cool Mind - Waking Energy

It doesn't end there! I feel an unbelievable buzz - - I am revved up and totally energized for hours after each practice (I am not exaggerating) and even more extraordinary, I feel decompressed, grounded and calm at the same time. If this is what Jennifer Kries means when she says that I am activating the chakras or opening the energy vortexes and pathways of my body, I'll be a Tibetan monk! I hereby sign on.

Sometimes I choose one of her 7 signature work-out combinations (my favorite is "THE PERFECT BALANCE," a duo of WAKING ENERGY and YIN YOGA (yang/hot and yin/cool), or if I am pressed for time, one of the intense 10 minute time-savers. (I love the Five Tibetans because it is a 5000 year old workout that is positively HOT! Ten minutes of this rigorous, cumulatively challenging total body energy work (the closely guarded secret of Tibetan monks) will keep you FOREVER YOUNG! ) (It's intense) But when my body is calling for Yang Rising Heat (for a quick energy fix) or the calming solitude and meditativeness of a YIN practice, it's easy. A little of this, a little of that. I click and customize. Jennifer's ultimate work-out is the full rhythmic and powerful (90 minute) WAKING ENERGY FLOW (truly the equivalent of going to a spa without leaving home). Invite a friend, as I have. WAKING ENERGY together is simply poetic.

Many people still think of fitness as toning and sculpting and creating a beautiful body. But the ancients knew that a beautiful body was merely a reflection of the health and vitality of the breathing, flowing, circulating body within. Ultimately, there's you (the body you see when you look in the mirror) and there's your ENERGY BODY! so WAKE IT UP! REPLENISH! SPEND IT! BEGIN AGAIN! Got that? (WAKING ENERGY makes all the sense in the world, doesn't it? You want to feel FOREVER YOUNG, right?)

I count myself among the very fortunate to have a fitness guru in my life like JENNIFER KRIES. Perhaps, like me, you are lucky enough to have visited the Philadelphia area and along with several very special ladies, instead of lunch, taken a 12 noon WAKING ENERGY/YIN YOGA class at Jennifer's studio! (a little surreal to be in her presence! I admire her so much!) You'd have heard her share in person, as we were cupping our hands and freeing up a lot of stagnant energy, many of the wise things she says on her DVD - -that all we do is pound our bodies (and ourselves) with exercise when what we need in our stress-filled lives is some subtle, profound bodywork. After class, reluctant to leave, every person raved about how incredibly energized and de-stressed they felt! So, my recommendation once again is to click on the shopping cart, buy Jennifer's WAKING ENERGY DVD and begin to WAKE IT ALL UP! [[ASIN:B000IU37WA Jennifer Kries: Hot Body
Cool Mind - Waking Energy]]

Here are my predictions: #1 WAKING ENERGY will be bigger than PILATES (although Jennifer was one of the first and certainly is the best Pilates instructor, bar-none, out there. Try her NEW BODY! PILATES Jennifer Kries: New Body Pilates - Beginners Mat Workout

And, #2: WAKING ENERGY - -this ancient organic fitness that Jennifer has created, with its incredible ability to throw open the windows and doors of our bodies and minds - - WAKING ENERGY will leap into today's lexicon of fitness and become a household word! (and as Jennifer herself would say, "The fountain of boundless energy awaits you. . . radiant, stress-free and FOREVER YOUNG!)

Not just an afterthought: The WAKING ENERGY DVD is so beautifully costumed and choreographed and so exquisitely filmed, it may as well be a feature film! The workouts, beautifully demonstrated, are straightforward, simple to learn and appropriate for all ages (I'm 56!) and levels of ability (beginner to advanced).

Stay tuned for my reviews of PILATES TOYS and YIN YOGA! Jennifer Kries, Yin Yoga
and in the meantime, WAKE IT UP!

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Rating: - Not sure about this one
I love Jennifer Kries other Method Pilates DVD. Her instruction is great and we are constantly moving.
She talks wwwaaayyyy too much on this DVD for me. I don't like being lectured during my exercise routine. Too much inaction as I have a limited time and I had to fast forward to the moving parts.
I read lots of yoga books and also read about other types of exercise. When it is time to move, I want to move.

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Rating: - Probably ok if you can handle the "crazy talk".
So far I have only watched the first portion of the video which guides you through some self-massage (which seems reminiscent of traditional thai massage for those who are familiar). Now, I would love to do that routine if only every other sentence did not refer to nonsense like energy circuits and conduits (I think that's what your hands and feet are supposed to be). Apparently energy gets stuck in our elbows, did you know? Anyway, if that sort of stuff doesn't bother you, I'm sure this is a wonderful workout/routine.

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Rating: - Great mind/body fusion workout
Beth Chollete & other reviewers already wrote great reviews so I am only going to add a few things.
The production quality like her Level 1 is amazing, on par with a blockbuster movie. Her backup dancers are beautifully poised.
The sitting, standing energy exercises & 5 Tibetans are more expanded then her Level 1 & I did actually feel my energy increase unlike her Level 1.
In the 5 Tibetans, she actually referred this workout to be Level 4.
If you enjoy it, check out Discovering Chi or Tantric Toning for a less watered down workout type of Qi Gong exercises that will really make you feel your energy until you hummm with it. Simply Spoga & Spoga also does the 5 Tibetans in 20 min, but it's a bit more drawn out.
Jennifer seems to have her finger on what the mainstream consumer is ready for & hence this great dvds, though this style has been around though not many people were interested in the mind/body connection as much back then.
She gives great details, analogies & even best, the benefits of the exercises, though I agree, many parts of telling you how to do the exercises would be best as part of the intro or beginning instead of stop/starting each time & also not so much digressing/talking.

You can see a trailer for this & her Level 1 dvd at collagevideo