REVIEW: Aziam Girlz Niyama

I've been interested in the Aziam Girlz for awhile now, but there only ever seemed to be one doll in stock. The others said "spring 2016" for ages, so I thought they weren't available, but maybe they actually were? Currently, only Asana (the original doll), the Dolly Alanna, Niyami and Dyana are available. Even though Dyana still says Spring 2016. The first three are also available on Target.com, which is where I got Niyama, since we have a Red Card.

I wasn't completely sold on Niyama at first. I loved Prana, the Chinese fashion designer; Pratya, the meditating traveller from India; and Dyana, the English brain. It was really only when I saw her in box photo on Target's listing that I wanted to order her and finally try this line out.

This art is so CUTE.

These dolls are usually $29.95, but Niyama was on sale for $26.95 on Target.com. Actually, Asana, Niyama and Alanna (but not Dyana) are currently on sale on Aziamgirlz.com for $24.95 each, but I get free shipping with Target, so that made my decision easy.

Niyama arrived pretty quickly and she looks good in the box.

The back of the box has the cutest art of her on it! I need to get the books for these girls, but they're usually pretty expensive. They're on sale on the site right now though, so maybe I should get ordering.

Niyama was easy to debox. She's held down by thin plastic strips in a few places. Nothing held her head down, which I always like. Her accessories are under plastic that you just peel off the box liner and there you go. Easy.

Niyama's outfit consists of a pink and white shirt that ties at the front, a white tee with I Am Green on it, and brown shorts with a fuzzy brown belt and white buckle that are sewn right to the rest of the shorts. She has white socks and brown hiking boots that she's not wearing when she's packaged.

She also comes with a green brush, an orange backpack, a purple camera, a water bottle, and a green yoga mat that doubles as a slap bracelet for her new owner.

The slap bracelet is an awesome glittery bright green, but it's also huge! I tried it on and it's a wide cuff even on me. I can't imagine it on a child.

The bracelet has Aziam at one end and Niyama's name at the other with her slogan all over the rest of it. Each of the Aziam Girlz has a different slogan.

If you look at Niyama's promo pics on the website, you'll see she didn't end up coming with her scarf and her camera is no longer pink and purple, but just purple. I think she also lost a rhinestone on her checkered shirt. Minor changes though, compared to those of other doll lines.

See, this thing is huge!

Yeah, the bracelet's big even on me.

Niyama is from Manaus in Brazil, which is a big city right in the Amazon rainforest. It's fitting that she's the line's nature girl.

So these yoga dolls are made to hold a lot of poses, because that's important for yoga. (I really know nothing about yoga.) I do not own a Made to Move Barbie, which are also super-poseable, so I cannot compare the two. Niyama is about the height of a My Scene doll if Niyama has her shoes on and the My Scene doll wears no shoes.

Let's take a look at Niyama's main feature: her poseability.

I was pretty surprised when I undressed Niyama. She has the tiniest waist! I expected something a bit more healthy-looking from a doll line that's into healthy stuff. I'm thinking this design works best for pulling off a bunch of yoga poses, but it still looks really odd to me. She has a molded on bra. Her thighs are extremely jointed and can indeed do a lot of poses, but the joints are very unattractive. Her knees have the same problem. Her arms are disappointing though, because the elbows have quite limited mobility compared to the rest of her.

Her arms seem very long to me, too. I think they sacrificed anatomy and attractiveness in favor of the poseability. She's possibly the most unattractive undressed doll I have. The tiny waist that sinks into her pelvic area, the huge round joints at the hips attached to more huge round joints at the thighs. The backs of the knees bother me the least, but they're odd, too.

Hey, at least her feet are cute.

Oh, and despite how she looks in my photos, Niyama's head, hands and feet are a different color than the hard plastic bits of her body.

I feel like I'm being too hard on her, since I do quite like her! She just needs some clothes on. Let's get her redressed and try out some yoga poses.

I'm going by the little paper that came with her.

She can do the tree pose, although she can't stand perfectly straight while doing it, like the girl in the drawing.

She can also do the bow pose very easily, although she can't hold herself up, so I put the mat there to help her.

Chair and downward dog are easy, so I didn't try them, but I did attempt the triangle and she cannot do that.

So yes, Niyama is quite poseable. Far moreso than my other dolls. My SDCC She-Ra might be the one who comes the closest to this poseable.

Here's Niyama with her backpack on, her camera around her neck and her water bottle in hand. The bottle is easy for her to hold by sticking her thumb through the loop at the top. The backpack has nice cord straps so it goes on easily, but it's just hard plastic and doesn't open. It's a neat design though, so this time they went with looks over function.

Her socks were a minor struggle to get on, but the boots were easy.

Here you can see her cute backpack and her profile. I'm a sucker for a long nose, so I love this unusual profile.

I think Niyama is quite well-made and excellent if you want a poseable doll. There are characters from all over the world, so there's a variety to choose from with many different skintones and hair colors and types. I can't judge her hair very well, since it's in braids, but her bangs feel nice. Her clothing is pretty well-made, too. Her shorts are a little difficult to fully close in the back and as I said, the socks were a bit hard to get on, but no major complaints. I do like all the different textures she's got.

Niyama is also capable of standing on her own, even with that backpack on!

She's very cute and i'm glad I finally brought one of these girls home. Now I'm going to wait impatiently for Prana and Pratya to come back in stock, and I'll probably order Dyana soon! Maybe the books, too!

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.

RECOMMENDED SITES:
http://www.aziamgirlz.com/