*originally released by Goldhil Video as Stephanie’s Tantric Toning: The Stress-Free Workout in 1998
Credit: Bell Kyle
Many of the DVDs in my collection claim to give you a good workout and have a positive outlook for seeing results when doing them regularly.
But how can one be satisfied with their progress when completing a program? In 1997, Stephanie de Phillipo found out that traditional workout videos like step aerobics, kickboxing, and weightlifting felt rushed and needed something that she could connect to. It was at that very moment, after she studied many specialties of fitness, Stephanie created Tantric Toning.
“For the Goddess in Every Woman”
The intention that she made for the program is for you to not just tone the entire body, but to feel and connect to the moves as you do them. She also claims that Tantric Toning can release stress, increase vitality, and increase self-awareness. It’s also “the first Tantric workout on DVD,” which is a refeshing addition to the collection.
Upon pressing play on the DVD menu, Stephanie arrives on this beautiful set which looks similar to the ones from The Method workout series. She then explains the philosophy of the program, claiming that the video was “created for the need of a holistic workout.”
The program is themed after nature’s elements: water, fire, earth, and air.
Each of the moves and poses are unique to Tantric Toning which have an energy component to them, meaning that you can see it, feel it, connect to it, and follow it. After all, Stephanie calls the Tantric Toning workout “the stress-free workout” because you can work at your own pace and won’t have to worry about keeping up with her. It’s also about being yourself and having a positive mindset during the workout itself without any shame.
The Warm-Up
The structure of a traditional workout will always have a warm-up at the beginning, which is for being present in the moment. Stephanie and her class* begin with the horse pose and then start with some breathing and visualizations associated with this pose. Then they practice the Tantric breath, which is a breath filling up the abdomen with air, and then the lungs.
Now in a plie squat position, they do a few reps of the move with some angel arms.
“Claim all the space you need, it’s all yours.”
With one heel and both arms lifted, they do a pelvic flow to wake up the body and the internal organs before going back to the plie squat position. From here, they shake their hips as they come up. I like that some of the moves are timed to the music, like for this plie squat variation. In the horse pose, they do some arm circles before putting their palms up and shifting from side to side, giving a sense that this move can release any worries that’s blocking your day.
From star pose to shining star pose (heels off the floor), they shoot out any tension in the body, then rolling down to touch their ankles for a nice standing roll up. Stopping halfway, they lift one arm at a time like a bird’s wings would for the spinal twist. After that, they do some extensions of the legs and toes as they balance and stretch them out before the first segment.
*The only person that she mentions sometimes is Bobbie, the senior lady. She is the one wearing red and provides the modifications for some moves/poses. The other three people in her class were not mentioned in the credits, and by me, are unofficially named Lillian (lady in purple), Fern (lady in green) and Robyn (lady in pink).
Earth Segment: Connect with Earth’s Energy
Starting in a plie squat stance, they place their hands atop their legs (feeling as if the Earth was holding you) as they do some spinal twists. Bobbie provides a modification for some moves from this point on. Scooping up the Earth’s energy, they spread it out when transitioning into triangle pose (while providing some more visualizations), and then into hourglass pose (as the time passes by). Transitioning into some squats and presses, they let out any negative energy and then turning to one side, holding an invisible treasure box (containing life’s greatest gift) as they lift up for what is (a great visualization) for Warrior 1 pose.
“Take advantage of the time, don’t let it take advantage of you.”
This is eventually repeated on the left side before some forward bends, as Stephanie repeats some affirmations:
“I am safe. I am open. I am powerful. I am proud.”
Back to the roots in standing, they do a variation of the mermaid stretch* called the willow, where they first stretch out the arm and then bend the same leg. From the same position, they go into a full-bended willow for a deep side stretch on either side. Another plie variation is done with “Asian arms,” representing the energy that you bring to the world. As they go back to the starting stance, they all scoop up the earth’s energy up once more before transitioning to the air segment.
*stretch featured in the warm-up and cooldown of Winsor Pilates: Accelerated Fat Burning (2006)
Air Segment: Become Aware of Air
Along with the music, this segment features some graceful and fluent moves which connect to the air surrounding us. They start off with pushing up the sky as if they were lifting up air energy.
“You need to raise the sky to make room for your higher mind.”
From there, they take the goddess pose, maintaining the renewed energy.
“Why do we lift the sky? Because it’s not high enough.”
They then come into a squat position as they get ready to fly like birds, and then alternate one arm at a time for the phoenix stretch. Taking a comfortable back bend, they fly again, letting the air pass by.
Credit: Bell Kyle
A winged victory pose helps them prepare them for some balancing exercises while Bobbie limits her range of motion. (You can even hear some birds chirping in the background here!) The same foot goes to the back for a variation on Warrior 3 pose when the torso extends as you offer and receive some of life’s many gifts. Stephanie remarks that the power from Tantric Toning comes from the form.
Taking the star and shining star poses again, they continue to work on their balance, leading into the fire segment shortly afterwards.
“Let’s see your finest energy glow. Let’s see your beauty come from you.”
Fire Segment: Work with Fire
This segment is reminiscent of fast-paced aerobics, but doesn’t cause any stress to your joints. The music gets louder once they start to bend towards either side in the plie squat stance, symbolizing an invisible rope that they’re climbing towards their goals.
Credit: Bell Kyle
Continuing to pull the fire energy, it spreads so they can all use it throughout the exercises. Now they take the bow and arrow slowly to start and then up to tempo with the music along with the synced breathing. We aim for our goals with a double-sided bow and arrow, which is perfectly in sync with the music. Another move done to tempo is called the wildfire which involves some lunges with the palms facing up to the sky, before doing some side lunges with the arms flowing gracefully. To recenter, they breathe in some circles of fire before going back to the plie squat variation with the hips done to tempo.
The hip swirls represent big circles of fire, and once I break a slight sweat, it’s now time to cool down with water.
Water Segment: Refresh With Water
This segment acts as the cooldown for Tantric Toning as we start off with swimming through the ocean, blocking out any obstacles that can block our dreams. Another variation is shown in a narrow squat position as they splash the water on their faces. From there, they visualize their hands floating across a pond of glass, where Stephanie encourages the viewers to use their imagination.
Credit: Bell Kyle
Back to horse pose, they transition into variations of tree pose called the waterfall and water droplet on either side with the palms pressing against each other. From Egyptian pose to diamond pose, they stretch out the back and torso along with cat pose. Each arm is brought up with tingling fingertips with a spinal twist, leading into a forward bend.
Finally, we all declare our winged victory with an inner smile so the energy can radiate throughout the entire body. At the end of the practice, Stephanie reminds us to use the principles of Tantric Toning in everyday life…
“…for they are your greatest gift.”
Bonus: Color Meditation
Credit: Bell Kyle
This is an optional meditation that you can do at the end of the session, lasting about 15 minutes. A colored lens is placed in front of the camera as Stephanie explains the positive and negative emotions for each color, as well as the personality traits and parts of the body associated with them. It’s kind of like a body scan, but done visually. But for the first Tantric Toning session, I alternated between keeping the eyes open and closed.
Remember: listen to your body and do whatever works for you.
The colors shown on-screen are ruby red, emerald green, golden yellow, sapphire blue, and diamond white.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think that the workout would be great for rest days or as a program to start or end your day. I felt like it was a combination of The Method and Yoga Booty Ballet (Beachbody), minus the dance and weight training segments. Stephanie implemented the things she learned from many specialties of fitness and transformed the minds and bodies of those doing the program.
My final rating for this program would be 24/10, because Tantric Toning stands out in many ways compared to other DVDs.
Social Links and Websites
Stephanie has a Linkedin page as well as her websites:
tantrictoning.com
museinbloom.com (her personal website)
(You may need to copy and paste the links on the Internet Archive to view them.)
tf-gal