Yoga at Home with Laura, Self-taught Yogi!

Yoga at Home for Beginners: A Song that Reflects Yoga's Benefits

 

Why have I included a music video by John Tesh in today's post and what does it have to do with yoga?

Well, I have a wonderful DVD of a spiritual concert that John Test performed with his band about 8 years ago at the Red Rocks music "hall" in Colorado that prompted me to do further searching of his music on youtube.  I came across this video about a year ago and was enthralled!  The music is both passionate and inspiring- qualities that I seek so deeply in every aspect of my life.  Plus, I enjoy doing my yoga practice with this song in the background every so often.

Also, for me, the song points out that just being alive is a phenomenal gift!  And, despite life's pains and challenges, as long as we have faith, hope, and love and live from our heart, each day we wake up is a gift to embrace fully. 

And, that is also how I view a daily yoga practice - it's as a gift to yourself.  Because of its ability to enable you to gain energy, flexibility, and serenity, yoga enables you to "learn how to live" more fully.  And the music and the lyrics of the song, "This is Your Gift" beautifully remind me of that!

Yours for recognizing the gift of life through yoga,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginners' Home Yoga Coach 

This Is Your Gift by John Tesh - Lyrics

"If a star can be a sign that the light is breaking through,
and the child in your arms makes the whole world seem brand new. 
We can embrace all the grace we've been given, 
stand in the light of the wonder we live in.

This is your gift, this brand new day. 
So take it to heart, take it on faith. 
Open your eyes, don't be afraid to learn how to live. 
This is your gift. This brand new day. This is your gift.

When it's hard to say a prayer, when you're overcome by fear, 
and you see each day through a thousand fallen tears, 
Hope takes your hand and it picks up the pieces. 
Love comes to life as we live and believe it.

This is our new beginning. This is where we start. 
We'll take what God has given and we'll live it from the heart.

This is your gift, this brand new day. 
So take it to heart, take it on faith. 
Open your eyes, don't be afraid to learn how to live. 
This is your gift. This brand new day. This is your gift."

Yoga at Home for Beginners: Vivaldi Adds Vitality to Yoga!

What a glorious, brisk sunny morning I woke up to today!  I slept in and felt more refreshed than usual. Following my toasty warm shower I stepped into my yoga "studio"/space and turned on the light classical music channel.  As I have noted in many posts, my taste in music is ecletic and today I felt like moving and holding my yoga poses to classical selections.

I love the music channels on cable because they give you the opportunity to listen to a wide selection of performers and composers.  For years, I have loved Vivaldi's Four Seasons and other popular pieces. Today, however, I heard Concerto in A Major for Violin and Orchestra which was new to me. What an energizing piece whose melodies filled me with vitality and energy!  I felt especially fabulous after I completed my practice.  Choreograph your yoga practice with the music you love and try out new selections as well.

Yours for moving to lively music as you practice yoga,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, The Beginners' Yoga at Home Coach

 

Yoga at Home for Beginners: More on MC Yogi - "Give Love" Song

  

 

I talked about this song a few weeks ago in a post and you know, I find it so inspirational that I just HAD to post the video here on my blog.  Go to Itunes and buy it now and add it to your playlist of songs to listen to as you move, stretch, and hold your yoga poses!

If you are like me, you will feel energized, happy, and bubbly. I know - I am sounding like a Pollyanna - but in all honesty, I only share with you what's true for me.

This song is so affirming!  With all the negative news in the media, we need to add as many upbeat positive energizers to our day!  And, I love how MC Yogi weaves in the yoga poses.  A great rap/hip hop yoga song!

Yours for practicing yoga with upbeat positive music,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the beginner's yoga at home coach

 

 

 

Yoga at Home for Beginners: "Give Love" by MC Yogi-Great Tune!!!

If you have been reading my blog for some time, you KNOW how much I LOVE music and that music adds an important element to my daily yoga practice.  I am alway looking to expand my eclectic mix of tunes to play as I move, stretch, and hold my yoga poses.  Also, if you have gotten to know me through this blog you have likely noticed that I emphasize practicing yoga with your heart, not just your mind.  I have talked about POURing love into your practice for gaining maximum benefits.

"Letting ALL I do be done in love" has become my mantra and I am doing my best to really live this principle.  Coincidentally (or NOT), this love theme has been popping up in my life everywhere - even among Facebook friends and acquaintances.  A month or two ago when I asked readers to share the type of music they listen to as they practice, one woman who frequently comments on this blog stated that she sometimes listens to yogi-hip hop artist, MC Yogi.  

I have to admit, I had not heard of him.  But, I can't say I listen to a lot of hip hop - although I do like to dance around to it every so often at home!  Well, I looked up MC Yogi and came across a toe-tapping tune with inspiring lyrics that reinforce the theme of "love."  You can easily find MC Yogi on the Internet - he has a website (www.MCYogi.com) and his "Give Love" song on youtube.  I recommend you check it out and add it to your playlist.  It will energize your yoga practice.  Below are some of the lyrics from the song.

Yours for a heartfelt yoga practice with energizing, love-inspired music!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez

P.S. - One of my other ALL time love-filled oldies is "Let My Love Open the Door" by Peter Townshend - it's awesome.

A few lyrics from MC Yogi's "Give Love" song

Open up your heart, unlock the cage, turn the key and break the chains.

Love will always find a way. If you want love, you have to give love away.

Give Love - Give Your Love Away

Give Love Don't be Afraid!

Give Your Love Away

Give Your Love Away Now!

Give Love

 

Love is life

and life is living 

Living is love

and love is giving

What we live for love

it gives life meaning

 

 

 

Yoga for Beginners: Musing on Music - Mix and Match?

 

Many people assume that "yoga music" consists only of ethereal, New Age-y, or slow, meditative type of tunes.  Well, it's just not the case.  As I have said SO many times, your home yoga practice allows you complete freedom to choose whatever "moves" you on any given day.  My tastes in music are most eclectic, ranging from Mozart to Madonna to well, no, not Metallica, but you get my point? Just because I practice the type of yoga that emphasizes slow, dreamlike movements, it doesn't mean I have to practice in silence or with somnolent tunes wafting quietly in the background.

No! If you do your research, you'll find that some yogis blast hard pumping rock while they roll out their mat and spin into sun salutations.  Well, my choice varies day to day.  Some days the music of Mozart and Beethoven stir my soul.  Other days, I can get my mind, body, and spirit REALLY hopping and bopping with songs by contemporary gospel singers like Kirk Franklin (Hosanna) and Shirley Murdock (Somebody). Just the other day I put on a "Sweating in the Spirit" CD which is contemporary gospel music for dance aerobics routines by trainer Donna Richardson.  I felt so fantastic after my yoga practice with that music playing in the background that I could barely contain myself reminding me of the book entitled, "How much Joy Can You Stand?" I hate to use the cliche, but it was awesome.  Duke Ellington once said that music was "his mistress."  Well, I say, amp up your yoga practice by mixing and matching any kind of tunes that personally raise your vibration!

Yours for high vibrational yoga,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez

 
 

Beginners Yoga: Move to the Music? Check out Liquid Mind...

 

I have said, "consider playing music when you do yoga."  Some purists believe that yoga is best practiced in silence because it allows maximum focus on one's body and breath during the poses. I change daily according to my mood and my tastes are eclectic. Sometimes, I turn on soft background music to create a calm ambiance. Other times a lively, mellifluous piece by Mozart does the trick. Several times a month I want silence to create a meditative mode. 

One morning, I turned on my cable TV's music channel, Soundscape. A piece came on that was soothing and energizing.  I loved the name of the artist/group!  Liquid Mind, the creation of former Navy Lieutenant, Chuck Wild, plays ambient music specifically composed for relaxation, sleep, and as a background for yoga, reiki, and other physical practices.  I heard an ethereal selection from the "Relax" album. Just the name, "Liquid Mind," prompted me to think of my brain melting into relaxation and calm and also reminded me of myretro lava lamp's slowly changing blobs. The music complemented my poses perfectly.  For more information and for a free sample MP3 download, visit http://liquidmindmusic.com.

Yoga Quote of the Day:  When asked what gift he wanted for his birthday, the yogi replied:  "I wish no gifts, only presence."  ~Author Unknown

 

Beginners Hatha Yoga: End Your Session with Energy and Beethoven's Music

In a past post I recommended enhancing the power of your yoga regime by beginning with a stated intention to focus on throughout your practice.  A couple of weeks ago I shared how enveloping myself in Beethoven's music as I did my morning yoga amped up my energy.  Well, this morning I listened to a Beethoven CD again and as I did my last pose, the second movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony in A Major, Opus 32 began to play.   What synchronicity! 

Beethoven's 7th Symphony, which premiered in 1813, was apparently one of his most successful and best-loved works and would sometime cause audiences to respond with "sheer jubilation."  According to one biographical source,  "in this piece, the rhythm more than the melody is the driving force, carrying the listener along on waves of triumph and elation from the introduction to the closing bars."

Yes, as I finished my practice this morning listening to this second movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony, I felt not only relaxed, but elated.  It's a wonderful way to conclude a yoga session and to maintain energy throughout the day....which I have!  Check out Beethoven's music on www.beethoven.com and consider ending your sessions with one of his pieces!

Helping you keep your practice fresh!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez

Beginners' Hatha Yoga: Better with Beethoven?

 
Every so often, I like to share recommendations for music that can energize your yoga practice.  The other day I decided to listen to a CD of classic Beethoven pieces and found myself feeling especially  strong as I went through my regime!  Even non-music lovers are familiar with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67 with its timeless four-note theme that pulsates through the entire piece.

Inspired and influenced by Mozart's music, Beethoven learned how to infuse passion and vitality into his work.  According to one of Beethoven's pupils, the four-note rhythm in the Fifth symphony came to Beethoven one day as he took one of his long walks in a park in Vienna and heard the song of the yellowhammer.  I felt the power and energy of Beethoven's music as I listened to this piece and others while doing my poses.  Although I cannot claim I was moving to the music, being enveloped in the sound of Beethoven's work seemed to amp up my practice...Try it yourself and see if your yoga practice becomes better with Beethoven....!  You can check out some Beethoven right now at www.beethoven.com.

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: More on Music & Yoga

 

The above is a photo of a yoga class.  Looks like dancing to me!  Supposedly it's yoga dancing!  I love to dance to fast music.  Can I dance?  Ah - not any formal type of dancing like ballroom, salsa, or tango. No, I just like to dance freestyle because again, I am a bit of a klutz. 

About two years ago, I took a drop-in hip hop class. I loved the energy of the class and the twenty-something instructor really had her steps down.  She appeared so natural!  But, as for me, I continued to feel that sense of awkwardness I have typically experienced in taking any type of class. I am slow at following on and feel really self-conscious when I get out of sync with the rest of the class.  So, you probably would not find me in the above yoga dance class.

The point of the above photo is that yoga practitioners' use of music with their yoga practice has changed significantly.  Whereas 20 or 30 years ago, many people practice in silence or maybe with just the quiet, synthesizer sounds of new agey type composers like Steve Halpern, nowadays you will find many more yoga classes and practitioners blending poses with musical selections that run the gamut from rap to loud rock to you name it.

In your home studio you can follow the recent lead of yoga classes and have a wide variety of musical selections on hand to fit your mood or need of the day.  Some people may still find music of any kind distracting.  Some days I crave absolute silence when I have had too many issues on my mind.  Other days, I want the extra energy boost that music gives my practice.  Play it by ear!

Wisdom of the Day: .."In terms of opening into a heart space, yoga and music complement each other beautifully."~Yoga instructor Nicki Doane

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: Musing on Music

You can choose from many yoga music audios.  I bought one double CD album a few years ago of music specifically designed for yoga practice.  With great anticipation, I loaded one of the CDs and pushed play on my stereo.  I began my stretches and various poses.  After about 10 minutes I switched off the CD.  I tried listening to it again a few days later and then months later.  Each time, the same response!   The specially designed ambient yoga music grated on my nerves and in fact, caused me to have a headache.  I very rarely get headaches and almost never from music.

Certain types of ambient yoga music can be quite soothing, such as the compositions played by the group Liquid Mind.  Before you invest in music for your yoga practice, always sample it online or in the store before purchasing.  It all comes down to personal preference which can shift from day to day.  Although I usually do my yoga practice with some type of music, some days I crave silence.  

The past few days, I have listened to Watercolors, the smooth jazz station on XM. It plays an energizing and eclectic mix of jazz musicians and singers ranging from Sade to Pat Metheny to Chuck Loeb. It has complemented my yoga sessions perfectly.  I feel more "jazzed" than ever in body, mind, and spirit! Last week, however, I was in total bliss listening to the crisp, clear notes of classical guitarist John Williams playing the Suite Espanola by Albeniz.  Find what works for you and enjoy some variety!

Wisdom of the Day:  "Music is my mistress." ~Duke Ellington