The Charge

Perfecting the balance between strength and flexibility, discipline and freedom.

The Case

Wow, that Sue West sure is limber! The Santa Fe Stretch is a comprehensive flexibility program set to relaxing New Age-ish music, against the backdrop of some beautiful New Mexico vistas.

Sue West is the host, and I believe she's made out of Silly Putty. This is an intermediate stretching program, but as far I was concerned it may as well have been AAA Gold Medal Black Belt Expert level. The program is divided into three parts, starting with a warmup and then heading off into progressively more demanding exercises. West expertly navigates the viewer through the stretches, and despite the immense difficulty of some them (at least in my humble opinion) her teaching method is amiable and clear.

Basically, The Santa Fe Stretch is a lot like yoga. There's a mat and there's you and there's your muscles waiting to be tortured. Though the stretches are strenuous, the focus isn't strength training; it's, well, focus. The program is of the meditative, holistic ilk. Check out the last line of the disc-case synopsis: "Work toward a fit and healthy body while being transported to a special place that gently soothes and relaxes you." That's about what Sue West is going for, I think. The physical—getting that fit and healthy body—and the metaphysical—relaxing while the soft music and West's hypnotic voice lull you into dreamland.

From start to finish, The Santa Fe Stretch is fifty minutes long. It's not an exercise program to shed weight and whip oneself into shape in a short amount of time. What it is designed to do is to take someone who can do the exercises (have I mentioned they're quite strenuous?) and tone and tune them up.
The best evidence of this program's effectiveness is Sue West herself. If she is indeed a product of her own design, then the thing works.

The Santa Fe Stretch is an insert-and-press-play sort of DVD. The feature is divided into three sections, and that's it. Your menu will give you the option of jumping to a specific section or playing them all. Picture is full frame, and sound is a simple stereo surround. Nothing flashy, but they get the job done. There are no bonus materials. Subtitles would have been nice, too.

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