The Charge

Find Energy in your own Living Room!

The Case

Do you want to see what the yoga craze is about, but don't want to leave your home? Then Eva Barash's Living Room Yoga: Strengthen & Lengthen may be for you. This practice was filmed in an actual living room, with the couch and coffee table pushed out of the way. Eva's been teaching yoga in people's private living rooms for years, and with her series of discs you can invite her into yours.

Eva is an encouraging instructor, giving lots of direction as she demonstrates these poses. However, if her personality doesn't strike you, her enthusiasm may be a distraction. I found myself needing to catch my breath. Not from the workout, but from listening to Eva. At times her comments are goofy; not in a fun way, but in a "what did she just say?!" way. For example, "Imagine there's an eyeball on the bottom of your foot." Huh?! The background music is the typical calming instumental kind—lovely, but doesn't quite mesh with the peppy instruction.

As far as the actual practice goes, it's a nice mix of standing, twisting, and relaxing poses. This is a thorough 48-minute (including introduction) workout that'll get you breathing, moving, and stretching. However, it may be overwhelming for beginners.

Not to worry though. For those of you just getting started with yoga, there's "The Library." This little feature takes you step-by-step through each basic pose. I recommend learning from this section before attempting the full practice. Another great feature is a shorter practice called "Making the Most Out of Your Living Room." In this one, Eva (wearing jeans) shows you how to do some poses using basic living room furniture as props. Quick and easy for the days you can't quite bring yourself to pull out your mat, but don't want to be a complete couch potato.

The video and sound are serviceable, but can also be distracting. The amount of light depends on if the camera is facing the window or not. The sound fades at times, depending on if Eva is lifting her head away from the mic or smooshing her face in to it.

Overall, Living Room Yoga: Strengthen & Lengthen is a fun, complete practice that loses a few points for the not so great video and sound quality. I definitely found some energy in my living room…and her name is Eva.

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