Aug 8, 2012 |
It’s summer, and one of my favorite things to do is go see James Taylor perform live at an outdoor venue. I didn’t make it to his concert this year, so instead I pulled out my James Taylor greatest hits albums to get my JT fix. And, like most things in my life these days, James inspired me in a yogic way. I have used many James Taylor songs in my yoga class playlists (“Shower the People,” “You’ve Got a Friend”), and now I am deeming “Up On The Roof” my new yoga theme song. I’m thinking James may just be a yogi or really in touch with how to let it all go and connect with what’s really important.
Per the song, when James gets stressed out, he goes up on a roof to take in the beauty of nature and get away from all his worries. When Carole King wrote this back in the ’60s and James recorded it in the late ’70s , they didn’t have to worry about disconnecting from their wired lifestyle like we do today, but I don’t think they would be taking their iPhones up on that roof.
I love this concept of going outside to connect with nature and to just let go of all worries and stress. But, I’m swapping out that roof for a yoga mat! Yes, when I get on my yoga mat, I can let myself go, quiet the mind, and find a paradise that’s trouble-proof. When I can take my yoga mat outside for a practice, all the better.
So without any further set-up, here is the Daily Downward Dog’s new yoga theme song, except I had to parody the lyrics to make them a little more yogalicious!
Up On The Mat
When this old world starts a getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I’ll find my way to the yoga studio
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the mat, it’s peaceful as can be
And there the wireless world don’t bother me, no, no
So when I come home feeling tired and beat
I go to where the asanas are fresh and sweet
I’ll get far away from my hustle and stress
And all the rat-race noise chattering in my mind
On the mat, that’s the only place I know
Look inside yourself, baby
Where you just have to breathe and let it go
Let’s go out on our mats
And at yoga class there’s breathing, asana, and meditation
And, yogis, you can share it all with me
That’s what I said
Keep on telling you
That right smack dab in the middle of my mat
I found a paradise that’s trouble-proof
And if this old world starts a getting you down
There’s a peaceful practice for you
On your yoga mat…
Take this as a personal invitation to get on out there this week, enjoy some nature, do some yoga, and just let go!
Here’s a really cool live version of James Taylor and Carole King singing the real version of “Up On The Roof.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbasjy2_IY8[/youtube]
Please leave a comment below and let me know where else you’ve found a paradise that’s trouble-proof!
And if you liked this yoga song parody, you might also like these yoga song parodies.
A Lovely (Yoga) Day
I’m a Breath Believer
Jul 25, 2012 |
Does your yoga music collection need a little summer refresh? Well the awesome folks over at White Swan Records put a whole bunch of their music on sale, so you can fill up your iPods with fresh tunes from Wah!, Donna DeLory, Suzanne Sterling, Go Ray & Duke, and Jai Uttal, just to name a few.
Go to the White Swan Records sale page, where you’ll be able to click through pages of savings on CDs from artists like DJ Drez as well as t-shirts, mala bead jewelry, and even a mantra and meditation kit from Deva Premal.
If this summer heat has you trapped inside with the comfort of AC and looking for something fun to do, browse through all 11 pages of White Swan’s special sale offers, click on a few links to jam out to sample cuts, and learn more about the artists. I guarantee you will be blown away by these cool offerings. You can even pick up MC Yogi’s latest release, Pilgrimage, for over 20% off (check out my Pilgrimage review here).
Jul 9, 2012 |
I often marvel about the number of things I encounter in an average day that relate to my yoga practice and can bring a spark of inspiration for a class theme.
The other morning said inspiration came from a sixty-second radio commercial for insurance. I was driving up to Vermilion to teach a beach yoga class and was listening to the announcer explain the importance of slowing down when you make the important decision of selecting an insurance carrier. She ended the spot with the following tagline:
Slow down – there’s plenty of fast out there.
I’m borrowing that line from Liberty Mutual, because this is one mantra that bears repeating.
How often do you find yourself in a yoga class, rushing from pose to pose? Anticipating the teacher’s next instruction so that—before you’ve allowed yourself to find your breath in one asana—your mind has already jumped off to the next one. We’re so hardwired to rush through our day that sometimes it can be hard to shake off the frenzy in yoga class.
Slow down – there’s plenty of fast out there.
Do yourself a favor and consciously work on slowing down when you practice yoga. Take a moment to settle into an asana, listen to the cues, check to ensure you’re in proper alignment, slow down enough to really notice how you feel, and deliberately move through the postures to the pace of slower breathing that comes naturally when you focus on ujjayi pranayma. Aahhhh, slowing down in yoga class can be a beautiful thing.
Most of our day is spent rushing, so what a refreshing concept it is that in yoga our goal should be to slow down. Yoga is the antithesis to the rest of your stressful day. It gives you an hour of pure bliss and, more importantly, that much-needed time to give your mind the break it deserves.
Don’t worry – there’s plenty of fast out there when you need it. And hopefully the practice of slowing down on your yoga mat is something you can learn to do off the yoga mat as well.
Jul 3, 2012 |
I’m too old for yoga.
I’m too inflexible for yoga.
I’m too overweight for yoga.
I’m too [fill in the blank] for yoga.
Need a little inspiration to get you off your ass?
Watch the video below. It will only take 4:55 minutes of your time, and I guarantee you will be moved. Even if this video doesn’t inspire you to give yoga a try, it can give you hope that just about anything you think might be unattainable in your life is possible if you just believe in yourself.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/qX9FSZJu448 [/youtube]
You might have already seen this video. It’s got over five million hits and is the personal yoga journey of Arthur Boorman, who for 15 years of his life was a disabled veteran of the Gulf War. He received his injuries as a paratrooper and was told by doctors that he would never walk on his own again without assistance.
For a while, Arthur gave up and turned to food to console him, bringing his weight up to 297 pounds.
Arthur happened to catch a video of former pro-wrestler Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) and decided to give DDP’s brand of yoga a try. He reached out to DDP as well and received personal encouragement from him while he went on his yoga journey.
Don’t give up, keep going, and know that anything is possible.
How many times do we all face personal challenges like this? They might not be as extreme as Arthur’s situation, but we all have projects that at first seem daunting. But if taken in small steps, with patience and a lot of self-love, eventually we can accomplish what initially seemed impossible.
Arthur fell many times, but he got back up. He continued to tell himself that “just because I can’t do it today doesn’t mean I can’t do it someday.” And you will see in the video that Arthur experiences many yoga victories, including losing weight, rocking a headstand, and then coming down from the headstand into crow and jumping back into plank. I can’t even do that – so WOOHOO, Arthur!
I wanted to share this video for anyone out there that might be afraid to try yoga or has given up after just one class. I know yoga is not for everyone. But it’s not something that is going to be easy at first, especially if you have not been exercising regularly. It takes time, determination, and courage. You won’t be able to do everything at first, and the results will not come overnight. But gradually you will start to experience a transformation. Each time you come to your mat, there is an opportunity to make new discoveries, each one taking the body and the mind a little further.
You have to come into yoga with an open mind. When you first start, you might think you’ll never be able to move and stretch the way some of the other students do. The fact is that we are all so much stronger and capable than we allow ourselves credit. And yes, I’m guilty of this too. When I first started, I thought there was no way I’d ever be able to do a headstand or crow pose, and today I can do both of these poses. I can only imagine how much further I’ll take my yoga practice – if Bette Calman can do peacock pose at 93, so can I!
Over the course of one year, Arthur Boorman lost a total of 140 pounds, and more importantly, he was able to prove the doctors wrong. He is walking, practicing yoga, running, and sprinting without any assistance.
Never underestimate what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself.
Never Give Up.
That’s Arthur Boorman’s yoga story. Watch the video, decide what you want to get out there and accomplish in your life, and then set your sights on never giving up!
If you have a personal victory that you would like to share, please leave a comment below. I’d also love to hear from anyone who has tried DDP yoga.
Jun 28, 2012 |
I’ll never forget the first time I was in a yoga class and a rap song came on the playlist. It wasn’t your standard fare hip-hop or rap song full of tough street lyrics. Nope, this rap song was praising the freshness of Ganesh! Thank you, Deb Kistner, of Nirvana Yoga for turning me on to the sheer delight of flowing through a vinyasa accompanied by the awesome vocal-rap stylings of MC Yogi (aka Nicholas Giocomini).
Already a classic, MC Yogi’s first album Elephant Power has been hanging out at the top of the iTunes World Music charts since early 2010. I’m really excited to tell you that MC Yogi just released a new album called Pilgrimage (yeah, I’m old skool and still call them albums), and I’m going to proclaim right now that it is the new gold standard, must-have album for yoga music-lover aficionados.
I’m here to tell you that, quite simply, the 19 cuts on Pilgrimage ROCK! To quote Dj Drez, it will appeal to yogis who dig “bumping beats and desire uplifting music that isn’t too soft.”
The musical styles vary from song to song, moving from hip-hop, rap, and reggae to tribal-dance and dub. There is an incredible horn section as well as Indian sounds and influence due to the fact that Pilgrimage was recorded there. Watch this video to get a glimpse into MC’s trip to India that inspired the music and you’ll also get to hear a few of the songs.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_74_qL8ErE[/youtube]
“Yoga and meditation helps to draw you back into yourself, and music and art helps to express and share that which you discovered inside yourself.” – MC Yogi
It’s hard for me to pick my favorite cuts, but I know that my yoga class playlists are going to include some of the following:
“Breath Control” – MC Yogi raps over a funky drum beat and even funkier flute, providing the perfect verbal cues for students…
“Breath control, steady breath control, take a deep breath now let it all go.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Release the stress; just let it all out…
Receiving inspiration with every inhalation.”
“Sun Light” – I love a good power anthem, and “Sun Light” does not disappoint. With triumphant horn riffs and soaring vocals, this song is perfect for flowing through sun salutations.
“Born to Fly” – This reggae-infused piece reminds you to spread your wings and fly so high.
“Ganesha (Sound the Horn)” – With a Bollywood-style riff mashed up with kick-ass horn sections, this one is sure to get students shaking their hips to the groovy beat…and maybe even singing along. Rise Up!
“Give Love” – For the longest time, the only place you could find this song was through a free download at Yogafriends.com, so I was super pleased that MC included this bonus track on Pilgrimage. Another yoga class playlist megahit that will just make you happy!
If you want to get love, you got to give love away.
If you are looking for a little Hindu Mythology 101, check out MC Yogi’s smart and funny take on the classic story of Hanuman (I don’t know how he can remember all these words, but it is brilliant). You can download it for free right now courtesy of Black Swan records or right on the home page of MCYogi.com.
MC Yogi serving up some yoga at Tadasana Festival
As if I wasn’t already a huge MC Yogi fan, I got the opportunity to attend a yoga class taught by him and his wife, Amanda Giacomini, when I attended Tadasana Festival. And no, they weren’t providing the music (the awesome tunes were spun by DJ Drez). Amanda and Nicholas are both experienced yoga teachers. Every good teacher knows that students learn from stories, so these two turned the two-hour class into an incredible storytelling opportunity, rich with the story of the battle between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu (told in a super cool, demystified way), and tales of MC Yogi’s experiences in India while recording this album.
The Storytellers – Amanda and MC Yogi with DJ Drez at Tadasana Festival
If you ever get to take a yoga class with MC Yogi, it can’t be missed; his dharma talk is just as real and moving as his song lyrics.
Hanging out with MC and Amanda at Tadasana Festival
I also got to catch them live and in person later that night at a Tadasana After Dark concert where they previewed a few of the cuts from Pilgrimage.
If you’re a yoga teacher that puts together playlists, you must add Pilgrimage to your yoga music library. You can pick up Pilgrimage on Amazon, iTunes, and through White Swan Records.
Join the MC Yogi fan club and follow him on Twitter and Facebook or on the official MC Yogi website.
MC Yogi says that when he gives a live performance it’s all about giving love. When I took his yoga class and heard him live, I definitely felt the love and you will too when you listen to Pilgrimage.
Rise Up, Give Love, Sound the Horn, and do a little dance on your yoga mat!
