Musical Moments, Time and Yoga
I am big believer in musical moments. Those moments in my life when I had an experience to music that I will never forget. Oftentimes they have been strung together across time like an abstract story that is uniquely my own. About a decade ago, I attended a festival called Lightning in a Bottle in California. I was living in LA, and this festival had spun out of a serious group called the DoLaB that had done some amazing things at Burning Man.
This particular year, it was starting to grow with about 1500 campers for the weekend in the mountains just outside of Santa Barbara. One thing I love about California is that size and space allow for some pretty radical gatherings! The Saturday night headliner for one of the main stages was Breaks DJ Adam Freeland who was in a very good moment at the time. When he came on for his set, he played a track that was so epic and cinematic it glued the moment together in way that really moved me. I was with some new friends (a group of awesome ladies from Whistler in Canada) and we were having quite the time!
I had no idea what that track was. It wasn’t dance music but man, what an intro track.
As fate would have it, about a year later I was back in my hometown for the First Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Whatever your politics, the event was historic. To participate in a week of celebration and to partake in the peaceful handover of power witnessed by 2 million people was something awesome. Everyone collaborated to make the day go off in a peaceful manner. I walked away from that day feeling that elections were not so much about the person being elected, but the people doing the electing. I felt that we all had a duty to try and be the best of what we were and to give our best lives for those who have come before and who will come after.
One of the parties that we went to was hosted by Moby at a gallery in Georgetown (which is a section in Northwest, DC) which was one of several we went to that evening. As I was standing in the back of the crowded, I noticed that Adam Freeland walked in through the front door. I didn’t know him personally but remembered THAT TRACK from a year ago. I went up to him and told him the story and asked him what track he had played. He smiled and said “Dead Can Dance!”.
It felt so cool that fate would let me ask this question. Random, but then again, not random at all...
I am very big Dead Can Dance fan, learning about them through a great friend of mine who is a deep musicologist. After doing some research, I found the track which is “The Host of Seraphim” on the album “The Serpent’s Egg”.
For this Yoga Music Mix - GoYOcean #6, I decided to use that track to start 2018 off in a bold manner. I have made a tracklist of this mix at the end of the article. This mix is designed for a dynamic Vinyasa flow session. Have fun with it.
GoYOcean #6: Kick Up the Flow
https://www.mixcloud.com/GoYOcean/goyocean-6-kick-up-the-flow/
Virabhadrasan II (Warrior 2 Pose)
For this Mix I have chosen the Warrior 2 pose, known in Sanskrit as Virabhadrasana II.
This pose is exactly what it says it is, a WARRIOR pose. It has power, balance, intent and is a great posture for any Vinyasa practice.
All of the Postures in the Yoga Asanas (the physical practice of yoga) have a mythology to them. Warrior 2 has a great story behind it if you are interested in a deeper dive.
http://bahiranga.com/the-history-and-meaning-of-warrior-pose/
This pose is so many things at once, but is certainly a POWER pose. It commemorates the exploits of a mythical warrior and has imagery of the pose has appeared on coins pre-dating 100 BCE!
It is a common pose, and has many benefits:
- Strengthens the abdominal muscles
- Increases flexibility in the back and in the legs
- Helps tone the leg muscles
- Preparation for advance forward bends
Here are a few video tutorials I found on the pose. Simple but not easy! This is a pose that seems easy to start with, but once you get going, there is a massive world of possibilities and challenges.
(Thanks to the Yoga Journal for this. Great resource for Yoga Information)
(Thanks to Tonic Channel for this)
The Tracklist for GoYOcean #6: Kick Up The Flow
I’ve already told you the story of the opening track, but I also wanted to highlight the track by Toasty called “Bump”. It was released through a very cool label in London called Circadian Rhythms. This mix starts bold and actually mellows out and gets deeper as it moves along. Get on the mat, make something or just live a little to this mix!
- Dead Can Dance: The Host of Seraphim
- Toasty: Bump
- Bonobo, Innov Gnwa: Bambro Koyo Ganda
- Jon Hopkins: Sun Harmonics
- Emancipator: Greenland
- Todd Baker: Impossible Worlds
- Tycho: A Walk
- Clubroot: Faith in Her
- NK-67: Consistency
- Tom Day: Somewhere in October
- Alex Kozobolis: If You Came Here To Live (In Memory of Mary Skinner)
- Radiohead: True Love Awaits