Burnout to Bliss

Thank you for the hour of bliss.

The title of this practice, Burn Out to Bliss, made me think that this practice would be hard work with a big rest at the end. Kind of like a ying to yang class, but I soon saw that this practice was focusing on breath and holding posses longer. I would come back to this class if I wanted a more relaxing class with just a bit of endurance I enjoyed it. I would suggest a new title that matches the description better.

This is definitely a slow class. There's 15 minutes of relaxation at the beginning and another 5-10 minutes at the end. The pace doesn't really pick up in between. So don't do it if you're feeling the need of something dynamic! And don't do it in a cold room because you're unlikely to warm up. I'm a big fan of DYWM but I won't do this class again. Ron's Morning Wake Up and Move is an excellent alternative that covers similar ground and will warm you up and put a smile on your face.

I love this class. The slowness conveys patience and acceptance. It actually feels spiritual in a yoga way, possibly more than any other class on this site (which I have used every day for eight months). It's not effortless, there is some work, but it is in this context of breath and patience. Two things I can always emphasize more!

Absolutely beautiful class! Thank you very much Nicky. Namaste

Thank you for sharing such a wonderful class! Because of the grounding meditation at the beginning, I was finally able to honor my intention, which was to stick with my breath for an entire class. Nicky's gentle reminders about letting the breath open up and create more space in each pose really helped me focus. Her instructions were just enough to get me to the next pose but sparse enough that that I could stay focused on my own body and breath without the distraction of too much chit-chat - although the giggles were welcome =)

I enjoyed this lesson.

Hello,

Is it normal that I can't buy this class? Recently I noticed the same issue for many other classes. Has anything changed which prevents me from buying videos from your website? I live in Belgium.

Kind regards, Alexandrina

I really enjoyed the Absolute Beginner series and have just started with the Ongoing Beginner Programme. I liked the relaxation at the beginning of the video but found that I was too inflexible and the instructions went too fast to keep up with the rest. I became really disheartened and frustrated because I couldn't keep up and couldn't manage to do the stretches, and there wasn't always an alternative suggested.

In general, the content of the video is good and the instructor is really encouraging, so maybe the video should come a bit later in the series? As a person who can barely touch their knees while standing up, it's upsetting to be told be someone whose body is essentially spaghetti to put your head on the floor while sitting. It would be great to have more videos about flexibility and how to handle not being able to do the stretches fully.

The opening movement was perfect for me as were the generous time in poses and time between queues. This made it much easier for me to get grounded and follow along.

I have done some yoga off and on for years, 60 year old woman, making more of an effort. I work all day and this was a very nice way to unwind. I will use this class often. Thank you,

I do yoga to prepare to meditate, and would not have opened this class if I knew it begins with over 15 minutes of lying still. I'm not sure it belongs in the Beginner to Intermediate program, which is how I found it.

I was even more disappointed when I checked the reviews for this class to see if others with similar practice still found it worthwhile. Many judgmental comments suggesting that people who don't like the class just don't understand the point of yoga, or are imbalanced, or not mindful. It's sad to see so many negative comments and assumptions about others that really should have been moderated, in a yoga community of all places. Unfortunately the whole experience of even visiting the video was really negative.

For me, this is the perfect class. Last month when my life was pure overwhelm, I found myself doing it every day, oftentimes falling asleep at the end. I can't put my finger on it, but something about Nicky's approach feels very emotionally restorative. Thank you!

I very much enjoyed this class. I've used it as one of my "rest" days given I'm on day 37 of do-yoga-for-356-days-straight "quest". I found it to be very evenly paced and definitely challenging IF you actually keep your core engaged and stay in each full posture for the entire length of the hold (which seemed to be about 2 minutes to me. This class is an excellent way to re-connect with the breath, core, alignment and purpose of having a practice. Thank you very much. Namaste from Ireland.

This is a perfect class for instilling a mindful morning. Thank you so much Nicky.

I really loved the nice, slow, gentle start. It helps after a long day to ease into the practice and settle into it. My tension and soreness is much improved. I usually avoid long classes, but this one is worth making time for!

I thought I was going to fall asleep at the beginning because I got so relaxed. Loved the planks, downward dog and cobra as the practice progressed.. Glad to see that I am finally able to hold planks for some sort of time. Happy surprise that the class gave me a ton of energy and some challenge that I love.

The problem with this class is not the class itself, its the tittle. When you are browsing clases and see "Burnout to bliss" you imagine a quick-pace, active class, challenging for its level. Instead, you get a very slow and meditative and long introduction to the class, followed by what is not a "burnout" class. Maybe a change in the tittle and description, framing it as a relaxation class will have less disappointed yoguis.

Reading through comments I see a lot of people state that this routine is "boring". I understand where they are coming from, but I do not agree. I found this to be very challenging mentally and physically, as most of us do not know how to sit in quiet with ourselves. The meditation period in the first part is a great start to a video that challenges beginner's full minds, stiff bodies and impatience. Great job! I'll be coming back to this one often.

Thank you Nicky for this wonderful practice. I loved every minute of it, including the relaxation part at the beginning, the challenging camel pose (I did it very easily without overthinking) and the long standing plank or lying onto open hips pose... My favorite things, beside the actually hearable deep breathing, are your giggles and positivity - totally contagious. Namaste !

Hi,
I agree that this class was quite relaxing and I do feel great now that it's over. But I found the beginning way way to slow. Almost stopped the video. I think Nicky could be awesome - she has a great, calming voice, but the contrived little laughs were a bit irritating. Sorry.

A really lovely class :-) I use this one when I am struggling to get to the mat, feeling really stressed or sick as the relaxation at the start gently coaxes me to get off the couch. Thank you Nicky xo

I love this class. I've been doing it for years, when I feel particularly stressed out, especially sore from a workout, or just as though I could use a more meditative class. Your mileage may vary, but I love the extended relaxation at the beginning of the class. In fact, it's part of the reason I CHOOSE this class -- there are days when I do need that time to physically relax and get my head in the right space for yoga. I always finish this class feeling good.

I practiced this class as part of the beginner moving to intermediate series... I've loved every class on this site and in this series so far, but this one was so incredibly boring. I will not be practicing this one again.

As one reviewer stated, this is a snoozefest. I took the class as part of the Beginner to Intermediate series. Nicky has a calming voice which I enjoyed a lot. Other than that, I didn't care for the sequence at all. It is 16 minutes in before you start to move and only a few minutes past that you're in camel pose. It felt too much on cold muscles. This video would be okay as a relaxation meditation class but even then I would be uninterested a few minutes into it.

I love this class and love Nicky Jones, wish she would do more classes.

I literally fell asleep during the relaxation portion of this class, which has never happened to me before! I woke up on minute 44, feeling quite refreshed, and did the class again. It was alright, but if I came back to this class, I would definitely skip most of the lengthy relaxation at the beginning! Good class if you need to calm your mind though I suppose!

A quite lengthy relaxation to begin which is helpful to move through the many levels of tension and internal chatter to really allowing the mind to be quiet and the body to let go. Nicky moves almost immediately after the relaxation into a fairly strong twist and then from there into a number of postures that I feel could cause injury if you tried to do them without the appropriate level of body strength. Good class but I wouldn't necessarily call this a beginner class. If you are new to yoga hoping to gain or improve your body strength this might not be the best place to start.

I really appreciated Nicky's format. Starting "slow and cool" with meditation was a great way to "gather Yin, in" which really helps me balance burn-out energy before expending energy in a sustainable way.
It was good to hear Nicky's soothing breath-work. From what I understand, our parasympathetic nervous system responds to even just hearing even another's deep breath. In this class, I used breath to open areas of muscle, rather than simply relying on internal heat to release these muscles.
"From Burn-Out to Bliss" was exactly that. It was lovely to warm up with some slow flow sequences later. The static poses in the flow were warming without the buzzy yang energy, at the expense of my tired nervous system. Great class, Nicky! Thanks for mixing it up, and inviting new perspectives into flow!

The beginning was a bit of a snoozefest. I dislike being cold, so I had to skip the beginning section altogether as I didn't want to start the movement part with cold muscles. About 16 minutes in, some movement slowly starts. Nikki has a cute way of talking, especially once she gets moving and the little giggles start. I would have liked to hear a bit more about protecting the back and shoulder joints especially in the upward dog and chaturanga. I noticed Nikki hyperextends her elbows in some poses. I worry she may not be as safety oriented as I need. One small cinematic glitch, there is a person in the reflection of the studio window who somewhat creepily appears a couple of times. Thank you for the opportunity to take this class. Entertaining side note, I had to skip the savasana as well because my cat made himself at home on my mat. ;) I am doing this as part of the Ongoing Beginner Program.

I enjoyed the class because of its slow steady pace! It didn't make me sweat and it was just what I needed because I had a really bad flue the previous days,so I am slowly returning back to my normal practise flow. Nicky is moving through the poses slowly and with safety! Not too challenging and not to easy! Thank you!!!!

This was my first ever yoga class, and I loved it. It wasn't too challenging or too easy either. I would totally recommend this video to anyone starting out.

The relaxation part in the beginning is too long. I kept falling asleep. I was totally relaxed and the rest of the practice was a chore because I was sleepy.

I really loved this, felt so relaxed and at peace with myself and the world around me. Thank you for such an amazing experience, please do more videos! :)

It was a good beginner routine but there is a lengthy sequence on the knees if you can't be on your knees.

I have been doing this class for over a year. I first started after I hurt my lower back. Although it took over 3 months, doing this video gently was the key for my back improving. Before I started doing this video I had been going to the chiropractor and was not improving as everyone was hoping.
This class has taught me a lot about slowing down my train of thought and breathing in poses to deepen it.
This is also my go to class when I want a through stretching of my entire body because of whatever ache I am feeling.

Thank you Nikki for putting together this video and sharing it with us!

-Connie

I absolutely loved this class and the way Nicky teached it. Time flew by, and I feel now absolutely relaxed and focused at the same time. I am a beginner but didn't find it challenging except for one particular pose : the one 54 minutes in. I could not hinge at the hips further than 10 cm maybe, eventhough I have no problem bringing my forehead to the floor when I sit crosslegged... Do you have any tips so that I can get more flexible in this pose? Anything that I should pay special attention to?
Thank you for a great class!!

This was not a physically challenging class. Nicky had lots of suggestions for making the few active poses easier. Although I usually prefer a more athletic yoga practice, this was the perfect class to ease my body into movement again after a couple of days sick in bed!

This was a lovely class, with slow movements and great deep stretches...perfect way to start the morning. I have very tight hips, so one thing that I would have liked to see is a modification (for pose at 53:20) or more detailed verbal cues for people who aren't able to do the fullest extent of the pose. Thank you, Nicky, for a great class.

Such a nice mixed of relaxation, deep poses and Nicky's lovely commentary. Thank you!

I really like the instructor... But after a too much time on the knees, in downward dog and then planks and then sun salutations... It was too much. I would rate intermediate.

I really enjoyed the overall gentle feel of the practice! Perfect balance of restorative and active poses. Great Job :)

I am a complete beginner to yoga and I think this video is the best introduction to yoga. Extremely relaxing and it will be moderately difficult if you are not very flexible or used to the basic poses. It got easier the second and the third time and even more relaxing. The second time I could feel myself getting more flexible and comfortable. I will keep doing this one a few more times and then I think I'll be ready to move up in difficulty a bit.

If you are complete beginner, like me, start here!

Oh, and she is lovely.