Yogi is in her ‘Element’ while relieving stress

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Updated: December 22, 2010 2:36AM

In the new “Element: Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility” DVD available this month, yoga instructor Ashley Turner assumes you are stressed out.

Really stressed out, as she references relieving stress throughout the yoga sequences. Turner’s background includes an advanced psychology degree, so she ought to know.

Indeed, “Element” ($14.98, amazon.com) is good at helping you relax. The DVD is divided into two yoga practices, quite different from each other.

The first sequence, “Stress Relief,” is mostly sitting, taking a lot of deep breaths and gentle stretching. “Stress Relief” would be a pretty good, 35-minute segment to do at the end of a workday or a stressful drive, for example.

But you might feel a little silly doing things like the lion’s breath, where you scrunch up your face and then open your eyes really wide while sticking out your tongue and making kind of a growl noise. Weird, but surprisingly it feels pretty good. Picture yourself growling your obnoxious boss away.

I tend to relax more from a more vigorous workout, which is why I preferred the second sequence, “Flexibility.” Turner tells us she wants us to become more flexible, which is tied to injury prevention as well as relaxation.

This sequence is more “vinyasa flow” style, which means there is more movement. You move with your breath — breathing in as you move one way, then exhaling and moving a different direction.

It’s physical, yet calming, with everything from runner’s lunges to great middle and back opening exercises — wonderful for relieving tension out of the back and neck. Turner’s also very good at reminding you to work at your own pace and reminding you don’t have to bend as deeply as her — remember, she’s a yoga instructor.

The end result of doing the two sequences was calming yet invigorating, which is how I like my yoga.

“Element: Yoga for Stress Relief & Flexibility” ought to be handed out to Chicago drivers and train commuters — think of how much nicer everyone would be.