Now is a moment in time during which we seek solace, shelter, and wisdom in the music we listen to and the artists who create it. In The Dance & The Wonder, the new album by Sam Garrett, the audience is immediately delivered into an emotional experience. The next generation of the lineage of classic British troubadours such as Cat Stevens, Donovan, and Graham Nash, we are given the gift of Sam Garrett.

Featuring such compelling moments in song as the title track, as well as “I Am Loving You”, “Higher Than The Mountains”, and “Postcards”, Sam and his production team take us on a journey deep into the mystic and into an exploration of the heart in its numerous devotional tapestries.

While listening to Sam’s repertoire, it is fair to be reminded of Trevor Hall and Xavier Rudd, Sam Garrett claims his own place in the intersection of classic singer-songwriter traditions and yogic bhav or devotion.  Clearly he is an artist who walks a path of Bhakti Yoga. His relationship with his Guru in Mooji Baba is palpable and deeply affecting in the song “Jaya Gurudeva.”

Sam’s connection to romance and divine lila (divine play) is also well represented in this collection. His voice is sensitive, delicate, tender, and displays a beautiful range of emotions. Lyrically there is a depth of courage and compassion. Sam sings from a credible and purely authentic place. The Dance & The Wonder is an exquisite experience. We have so much more to continue to look forward to from Sam Garrett.  He’s arrived right on time.

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post The Dance & The Wonder By Sam Garrett Delivers Emotional Authenticity appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

The time is absolutely right for an album of elegant and soothing piano ballads.  Whether it be for morning awakening in the early hours on a chilly winter morning accompanied by the day’s first cup of coffee or to ease in to a deep and restorative early bedtime at day’s end, conscious composer Frank Fitzpatrick’s 20th Anniversary Edition of piano solos titled “New Standards” is a most welcome musical companion.

Frank is a frequent musical collaborator of LA yoga favorite Saul David Raye as well as a renowned award-winning Hollywood composer and Grammy-nominated Executive Music Producer. In this set, Frank skillfully navigates the delicate and intricate journey on these seventeen tracks of solo piano. Fans of classical, jazz as well as of New Age instrumental luminaries such as George Winston, will delight in this anniversary set.

Featuring Agape Choir piano soloist and keyboard virtuoso Mitchel Forman, “New Standards” weaves an exquisite tapestry of all the feels. The collection includes stand-out tracks “Stronger Than Pride” which is featured in the film “Love Jacked” (releasing on Netflix Feb, 2020). The 20th anniversary release features remastered piano solos along with this new work. Other musical highlights include the tracks “Timeless Love” and “That Rainy Day”

The album pairs well with both yoga and meditation practices. As a bonus for those working on their piano practice, the album even includes a book of sheet music.

Frank drew from the inspiration of the great American Songbook composers Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and Sammy Cahn to create something new and necessary for modern living. A portal to relaxation and serenity in 17 beautifully crafted piano solos.  In turbulent times like these, Frank Fitzpatrick has delivered us soothing music that helps our nervous systems survive the storm.

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Composer Frank Fitzpatrick’s beautiful Piano Solos on New Standards appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

The Voice of Empowerment: Ayla Nereo

By The Light Of The Dark Moon is the sixth album from singer-songwriter Ayla Nereo. Her epic breakthrough is living proof of the power of perseverance and is a portrait of an artist in a moment on the cusp of global stardom. Not only is this her finest recorded moment to date, it isn’t hard to see that how it may appear on many “album of the year” lists. Already it has earned a firm place atop of mine.

Ayla has been in the trenches for years cultivating a fiercely loyal and devout grassroots fanbase in the transformational and devotional music festival community. She’s additionally famous for her collaborations with electronic music artist The Polish Ambassador. With By The Light Of The Dark Moon, I predict that many more listeners will discover her gift.

By The Light of the Dark Moon

The concept of the album deals with shadow work and the healing reconciliation that can result from discovering the courage and resilience necessary within us to arrive at a destination of self acceptance. Its release arrives at the perfect moment when her message is perhaps most needed in our current world climate.

The opening track “Beacon” begins with the charge, “Say what you will. The great turning has come.” Ayla continues the message that we are the beacon of light in the darkness. It’s a worthy sentiment. Composed while at a creative crossroads and crisis of faith on her path, Ayla journeyed overseas and discovered the inspiration and insight necessary for her to arrive in alignment to complete the album.

Beginning with “Beacon” and concluding with an acoustic version of “Stars,” the music weaves tapestries and trances of divine feminine empowerment with poetic folklore, both musical and lyrical.  Ayla’s signature unique vocal prowess is front and center, supported by magnetic melodies and songs that quickly enter into the hearts and minds of the listener.

A variety of musical influences throughout in addition to electronic devotional that include world beat, jazz, and folk coupled with a production style that precisely executes overlapping harmonies amidst the powerful primal rhythms.

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Ayla Nereo Shines in By The Light of the Dark Moon appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Multi-instrumentalist and Indian Classical maestro Dan Blanchard has created the most unique musical mashup I can ever recall experiencing: An Indian Classical Christmas Album!

If you’re curious as you read this description, this album is most absolutely for you.

The Spirit of Christmas: A Love Letter to the Holiday Spirit

Dan Blanchard’s album The Spirit Of Christmas is an authentic love letter from a world-class Eastern music composer to the most beautiful depths of the Holiday Spirit.

Trained in the highly respected instrument the santoor by Indian classical master Pandit Satish Vyas, Dan has included a high pedigree of collaborators to embark with him on this special journey intersecting East and West. The extraordinary high league of musicians includes: Sheela Bringi, Deepak Ramapriyan, Leonice Shinneman, Dave Cipriani, and others. They help make Dan’s vision come to life and become nothing short of believable.

Carols on The Spirit of Christmas

Even a skeptic would be hard pressed to not have the walls fall by the time Sheela Bringi’s soaring bansuri flute solo comes on to light up “Silent Night.”

The Christmas classics are all here and interpreted through Dan’s Indian Classical lens, including “Jingle Bells,” “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” and even “Joy To The World.”

I found my spirit soaring when “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” came on. And I found my interest peaked during Dan’s unique rendition of “Ode to Joy (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony).” The musicality on display here is absolutely excellent.

Dan has indeed created the ultimate Christmas album for yogis. He does it by bringing extraordinary class and sincerity to the work. I take my hat off to him for his sense of adventure and his leading example of bringing fantastic craft and a deep authenticity to his calling.

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Spirit of Christmas with Indian Classical Music appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Trevor Hall photographed by Emory Hall

In The Fruitful Darkness, Trevor Hall has created something extraordinarily rare these days: a concept LP. When listening to this album, other classics of the concept art form and lineage come to mind, such as U2’s The Joshua Tree, The Police’s Synchronicity and even Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

Trevor shares with profoundly authentic vulnerability at a new level on this album. The music on The Fruitful Darkness leads the listener through the dark night of the soul to a fulfilling and extraordinary conclusion.

The album’s 15 songs are unique in production style and tonality when measured next to his previous extensive body of work. Produced by Trevor himself in partnership with Seann Bowe and Yung Spielburg, the stylistic departure and risks that this artist and his team take to accurately communicate this raw haunting intimacy definitely pay off for the listener.

While no doubt each fan will have their own favorite tracks and even their favorite sequence, Trevor has earned the respect to ask each listener to at least once summon the trust required to listen to the album in its entirety in order, before shuffling a customized mix. This is because the album builds in its emotional depth and complexity and crystallizes in a finale that feels like the end of a classic movie.

Standout Tracks on The Fruitful Darkness

“Karma” is by far the standout track, It espouses wisdom such as “being human so confusing, some winning sometime losing.” The chorus offers so compelling a hook that it could easily be the song that exposes Trevor to a global mainstream audience.

Another track that stands out in its capacity for depth of spirit is, “A Reminder.” I found myself welling up while listening. (It helps to have the beautiful undercurrent of powerful chant of “Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.”)

This album is filled with the affirmations, axioms, aphorisms, mantras, and devotional poetry that have always been at the foundation of Trevor’s craft as a songwriter.  It also shines a light on his newfound journey into the guidance and companionship of astrology.

Trevor Hall Concert Photo by Emory Hall

See Trevor Hall Live

I predict some powerful upcoming live performances supporting this music during Trevor’s rigorous touring schedule. This is an album fans will want to experience in the live format while in community.

For those of us who crave authenticity and seek higher wisdom in music, The Fruitful Darkness gets my vote for album of the year.

More information about Trevor Hall & The Fruitful Darkness

Trevor Hall is on tour internationally. Learn more about his live performances and music on TrevorHallMusic.com.

Find photographer Emory Hall at: EmoryHall.com.

 

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Trevor Hall The Fruitful Darkness appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

In these ever-evolving, complex modern times, the recorded offerings provided by so many of today’s world-class leaders of sacred mantra chant are a welcome relief. The art of sacred chant by musicians and teachers like Snatam Kaur offers solace and connects us to our hearts.

Snatam Kaur Beloved

The emergence of Snatam Kaur’s new album Beloved is a must-listen for her long-time fans as well as people discovering her music for the first time. Mantra aficionados the world over will continue to feel the love big time while listening to Beloved by Snatam Kaur. She is truly one of sacred mantra chant’s modern luminary treasures. On this set, Snatam returns with eight new songs spanning more than an hour’s worth of music that is simply pure treasure of heart, soul, and spirit. Fans will delight and rejoice in Snatam’s timely delivery featuring one exquisite melody after the next.

Music on Beloved

Snatam Kaur is accompanied on Beloved by a group of stellar musicians. Some of featured artists include guitarist Stuart Fuchs, tabla player Neelamjit Singh, bassist Sarah Siri Kirtan Carlisle, and bansuri player Steve Gorn. The album is produced by Jamshied Sharifi, who Snatam is working with for the first time on Beloved.

Overall, Beloved is a soothing balm that you can listen to over and over again to ease your soul. Some of the chants included here are more traditional (“Gopaal” and “Pooran Jot”), while others have a more contemporary tone (“Har Uplift” and “Water of Your Love”). They all interweave a seamless tapestry of sacred beauty and resonance.

Learn more about the album release on Spirit Voyage.

Snatam Kaur on Tour

Snatam has been developing this music over the past few years on tour. I look forward to seeing these melodic tracks make powerful and beautiful contributions to her upcoming live performances. I highly recommend that anyone who resonates with this music experience Snatam in person. Learn more about her upcoming tour dates and other music on her website SnatamKaur.com.

Nominated for 2019 New Age Grammy Award

Beloved has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the New Age category for the 2019 Grammys!

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Beloved by Snatam Kaur appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Right in the thick of some of the darkest moments in today’s world, Krishna Das releases his new and 15th album of mantra music. The album is Trust in the Heart. And I feel the timing is perfect.

Krishna Das and Mantra Music

I immediately listened to the complete work when I received this album. I unequivocally can say this: For his fans, Trust in the Heart is classic Krishna Das. Everything you’ve ever loved about his voice, his use of melody, and his music is here. On top of that, the album features two versions of the beloved chant the Hanuman Chalisa! The rest of the tracks are steeped deep in the heart of devotion.

Recommending Trust in the Heart

The album has the feel of a family reunion that you’d want to attend. The overall tone contains the warmth of being under the blanket fireside on an early winter’s night as the season begins to change.

Inside (and outside of ) the genres of sacred mantra chanting and devotional music, many artists are often compelled to experiment in different directions after decades of albums. Here on Trust in the Heart, Krishna Das doubles down on his strengths. In every track, he unabashedly shares the fruits of his musical inspiration and his commitment to his spiritual practice.

The result is a compelling reward. It is a gem that is likely to be loved and embraced by everyone who has enjoyed his music as their faithful companion on the spiritual path.

Musicians and Chants on Trust in the Heart

Trust in the Heart was recorded at the legendary Avatar studios in New York. It was produced by both KD and recording industry luminary, collaborator, and friend Jay Messina. The album features some of KD’s most long-time musical companions. These include Nina Rao, Arjun Bruggeman, David Nichtern, Genevieve Walker, and John McDowell. In addition, Trust in the Heart features a particularly special return of vocalist (and KD’s own daughter) Janaki Kagel. Janaki appeared with KD in the chant “Mere Gurudev” (one of the jewels of the Door of Faith album). On Trust in the Heart, she sings on the new song “River Of Mahamantra.”

Trust in the Heart marks the first Krishna Das mantra music album to feature an original chant composed to his guru, Neem Karoli Baba (commonly called Maharaji). It is the emotionally stirring track “Namoh.” Over many decades of chanting, Krishna Das has introduced Maharaji to numerous generations of spiritual seekers.

This musical treasure will find a special place in the hearts of those souls. It certainly has in mine.

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Trust in the Heart Mantra Music by Krishna Das appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

This maverick yogi is teaching the world to breathe – one ice bath at a time. During what feels like the height of the American popularity of hot yoga, Iceman Wim Hof is an ambassador of the Cold. Before you think this is just the next trend, Wim Hof is a modern master with a compelling story. Wim is a world record holder (26) for cold exposure. In addition, he may just well be the planet’s most famous breathworker. When it comes to his method, Wim Hof is convincing. And he is willing to lead by example.

Some of Wim’s recent notoriety came via a 39-minute VICE documentary (Inside The Super Human World Of The Iceman) that first aired in 2015. It opens with a mind-numbing view of Wim swimming under the ice. Then it goes on to feature a skeptical VICE reporter who travels to Amsterdam to study The Wim Hof Method with the man himself. The three pillars of the training system are breathing, meditation, and cold exposure.

With boundless energy, Wim guides people through a specific breathing technique taught in synergy with the experience of gradual cold exposure via cold showering and eventually ice baths. Spoiler alert: by the end, the reporter is convinced that the method works.

Wim is emphatic that anything he can do (which includes climbing Mt Kilimanjaro and 22,000 feet of Mt Everest in shorts) is also available to anyone and he can teach it. He is more than simply a manifestation of contagious enthusiasm. Wim’s confidence is accompanied by the key distinction of how Wim Hof operates in the world. He insists on scientific monitoring, documentation, reporting, and publication of his methods. These studies report benefits that include reduction of inflammation, improved ability to control the immune system, increased metabolic efficiency, and a number of other indicators of health and well-being.

Iceman Wim Hof in the Media

In addition to that VICE documentary, Wim has appeared on a number of podcasts with devoted listeners: The Joe Rogan Experience, the Tim Ferriss Show, Lewis Howes’ School of Greatness, and Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof Radio. Big wave surfer Laird Hamilton utilizes and passionately testifies to the efficacy of the method. Wim has taught onstage at Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within live events. When Wim speaks, he is highly self-aware and uses his sharp comedic intellect and Dutch accent to great effect of expression.

After devouring all this media, I felt compelled to meet him. I wanted to look him in the eye and find out if he is the real deal—or if his charisma is just the business of show. A year in the making, I had the opportunity to sit with him on the eve of Memorial Day weekend. After our conversation, he was en route to an undisclosed location in the Hawaiian Islands to train US Navy SEALs. His boundless enthusiasm for the work reveals his joy in being of service.

Meeting Wim Hof

“It shows in measurement equipment that doing these breathing techniques creates gamma, theta, and delta (brain waves/states). This is where we actually should be, instead of in stressful brain waves all the time. Are we creating a healthy economy or healthy people? For the sake of God we need to bring back LOVE.”

Love is a key part of his message, his mission, and his very heartfelt presence. Throughout our conversation, I was aware that I was sitting with a true yogi. In fact, the only time I’ve felt that same level of pure connection from the heart was when I’ve sat with Ram Dass in Maui. I was immediately taken by Wim’s wild character and positive spirit. He offers a solid message of personal empowerment and hope.

His passion can get loud, and he is highly effective in tapping into primal energy. Wim is known to bust out an acoustic guitar and start singing at concert volume during his workshops. There are actually few people I’ve experienced who have more of a love affair with nature than Wim.

His love affair with nature, with the breath, and with ice all came from Wim’s own search for healing. The catalyst for the Wim Hof Method is found in the sudden death of his wife and the mother of four of his children (from suicide in 1995) and Wim’s ensuing healing journey. For so many, that kind of tragedy can take you out of the game. Wim’s response was to dig deep within, seek answers in nature, and then make a relentless commitment to share those answers with the world to help others heal. His family continues to be part of the story, as his adult kids work with him to run the family business around teaching the Wim Hof Method.

Iceman Wim Hof and his Method

So, I wondered, is the Wim Hof Method a real and effective healing modality in handling the challenges and traumas of the modern world? “I’m a simple guy but with a big belief.”

The source of that belief is found in Mother Nature. “The mother’s ability as Mother Nature is to guarantee happiness, strength, and health to her children. That has been gone too long.” Without that connection, people experience, “A lot of confusion, insecurity, no confidence about what they are really able to do.” He is honest about his journey. “This was the way I was in the beginning. There I began my soul search. So, I began diving into esoteric disciplines, philosophies, traditions, languages – yoga, Tibetan meditation practices, kung fu, karate, Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism.” After all of this study, his intuition led him to the cold the way some are led to the heat. “I know languages of yoga, I know esoteric disciplines, but nothing beats THE COLD…The cold is merciless but righteous. It’s your warm friend I call it because it brings back THE HEART.”

“At a certain moment I felt attracted by intuition and instinct to go into cold water. I found it not through books and not through all those practices I did, I found it directly through this cold. It shut my mind up. I made a deeper connection within the self as well as the body. My consciousness became: I am this, I can do this, I feel good, I can stay good.”

The Yoga of Cold

Wim’s ability to find the way into what he calls the deeper part of the brain is one that he reminds me is well-traversed by the traditional yogis. He cites Patajanali’s Yoga Sutras and the pathways described through the eight limbs that lead the practitioner to samadhi or higher consciousness through austerities. He translates for me the first few of Patanjali’s sutras: “Yoga is the silencing of the modifications of our brain. Then the seer appears the way he is, the expression of the soul in consciousness.” Beyond the science, this is what he is aiming to reach. After all, he translates the Sanskrit word asana as the seat of the soul.

Wim describes the cold that he’s drawn to as a tool to help the body train for the skills in enhances adaptation that the yogis themselves where pursuing. The philosophies Wim studied still influence his work today. Throughout his personal journey, Nature was one of Wim’s teachers. A teacher he continues to follow. “Nature can be merciless but righteous,” he says.

I bring to Wim’s attention that this is a heavily repeated quote, and I ask him to elaborate on it. “I call it merciless, but it’s only merciless to your ego, to whatever you think. It’s sometimes painful to go from your physiology and your conditioning into the deepest part of yourself. That’s because we’ve been alienated from our deeper self, the physiology. The physiology in the brain – as in the body – is connected to all the cells. I found that out when I went into the cold water; because I was a trained body, it was not cold at all.”

Since cold is a centerpiece of his teaching, I asked him: “What is your strategy when you submerge yourself into the cold?”

“At the moment you go in, you have to just be. There are no words in cold water. It’s only sensation and hormonal presence. We have an enormous potential to adapt, but we lost this connection with the deeper parts of the brain (the limbic system), and thus we’ve become conditioned by the neocortex to the modern way of thinking. We make beautiful houses with air conditioning and heating and we go from A to B with cars and all that. The deeper parts of the brain are needed to be stimulated through not being in thoughts but in being. Just feeling good. Feeling great. People take drugs because they don’t know how to access this anymore.  What I found now is a way to get into this deeper part of the brain that affects the endocrine system, which is the hormonal system.”

Grief as a Merciless Teacher

With a lump in my throat so that I could barely articulate my words, I asked him about how he healed from the trauma of his wife’s suicide. “Something inexplicable happens when you experience severe trauma through emotional loss. You can be as good as you are but that trauma strikes into your hormonal system and creates an imbalance – you no longer have control. You may be the best in the world in skiing or top in this and that, Ha! Nature is merciless. You have to find connection again, in the depth.  And that is what I did. So, from there I began to become aware to really connect because there was no other way to get deeper than the grief was rooted.”

“I’ve learned my power of the mind is going into the depth of the mind not only taking away the grief, but learning about the mind and its power. That’s not done in schools. But it’s there. And it’s able to tackle the problems of life. That’s the school. Life is not always a straight path. Life has its own way of unfolding. It’s not through the school we learn, we learn through life. ”

Wim’s fluid ability to dance between yogic philosophy and esoteric ideas of the spirit with the articulate language of science makes a huge impression on me. He is committed to scientifically proving what he teaches.

“In America, the biggest killer is cardiovascular conditions. Gradual exposure to cold water optimizes the vascular system, over 70,000 miles of vascular channels. The muscular tension of the vessels is optimized through gradual cold exposure. They are optimized within 10 days of gradual cold exposure. I teach people to be able to withstand ice water in an afternoon, regardless of age and regardless of their condition.”

He continues, “We have the natural ability to withstand stress, but we’ve become alienated from the depth of our systems. Thus, we’ve become victims of burn-out, stress, auto-immune diseases, and everything else. Those have derailed us because we were no longer the boss over our own chemistry.”

Wim Hof’s Gift as a Teacher

He emphasizes that he isn’t a superhuman. He can teach anybody to do what he can accomplish. Really, he isn’t so special but his gift is in the ability to teach. I ask him more about developing his skill as an accelerated teacher. Then, I hear a story that I had not previously come across in my research. It was a deeply affective insight into his origin and reveals a sense of his deep-seated purpose that began with a challenging birth. His voice grows more dramatic, nuanced, and emotional.

“I am one of a pair of identical twins. My parents never expected a second child. So, I was still in the womb almost too late. I came out after my mother, who was a very strong woman, prayed for a Cesarean. Just before entering into the operating room, I was born in this cold hall.”

Wim continued the story, “I was born then like it was nothing, but with this psychic imprint. She told me later all about this. I always felt different than my identical twin, and I did all kinds of different things. I feel it’s not about my genetics, it’s about what I did with it. So, now I teach anybody can do it. But it took 45 years of me doing all kinds of crazy stuff, 26 world records and many more challenges going into nature and always like a crazy man and coming together with science.”

The Science of Iceman Wim Hof

In 2007, the first scientific studies of Wim’s ability to be the boss of his own physiology were done at the Feinstein Institute in NYC.  Then in 2008, outside the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC as part of the Brainwave Festival, Wim publicly completed a cold exposure world record. He was monitored by Dr Kenneth Kamler, a renowned expert in high-altitude medicine. Wim recalls, “He said ‘If you can reproduce these results, the consequences to humanity and mankind are enormous’. It was right then the mission [of the Wim Hof Method] was born. A half hour later I got the call that my mother had died. She had invoked the mission, and it was like a relief of the soul.”

The studies continue since Wim has no hesitation in volunteering his body and his breath for science. In February 2017, Wim collaborated with researchers Dr Otto Muzik and Dr Vaibhav Diwadkar at Michigan’s Wayne State University. While wearing a cold water perfusion suit, he underwent scans of both brain and body using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Positron Emission Tomography.

Wim loves to use the term “non-speculatively,” and I understand the joy he experiences with each scientific collaboration. His inspiration increases with the accumulation of compelling results and their implications. Since his techniques have demonstrated an ability for people to control systems in the body once thought to be outside of conscious control—including the autonomic nervous system, he says, “We are able to tackle problems with regard to inflammation, which is the cause of many diseases and plays also a role in chronic pain and depression – all those things have led up to what I’m able to do now from science.”

In 2014, a study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that corroborated both Wim’s ability to consciously regulate his immune system response as well as his ability to successfully teach the method to others so that they also demonstrate this ability. One of the authors of the study, Matthijs Kox, is a researcher at Radbound University Medical Center in the Netherlands, where this work was done. He investigates immune system responses and how the nervous system affects the immune system.

One of the ways that they test immune system response is through exposure to a bacterial toxin, produced by Escherichia coli (commonly known as E coli). When Wim was exposed to the bacterial toxins, he experienced fewer symptoms of the inflammatory immune system response. Then 24 volunteers entered the study: 12 in the control group and 12 recruits trained by Wim Hof in his method.

Upon exposure to the bacterial toxin, the Method-trained volunteers demonstrated measurably lower markers of inflammation (and even increased levels of the inflammation-lowering protein interleukin-10). The researchers noted higher levels of adrenalin in volunteers after utilizing the breathing techniques. While these are still preliminary results, they affirm what Wim insists. His methods can be taught and they have the ability to modulate our physiology.

Become the Boss of Your Physiology

The implications may be wide-ranging. After all, Wim is acutely aware of the avalanche of depression in the modern world and how much people need real solutions to real problems within the self.

He says, “This is a possible technique for those who suffer from not being able to activate feel-good hormones in the case of trauma, derailed brain activity, or grief. This is a way to bring them back to a sense of control and to feel relief instead of terror. So, the real terrorist that we are tackling is to be out of control in the mind.”

According to Wim, the ultimate aim isn’t the world record, it is the ability to be the conscious boss of our own physiology. His extreme antics and passionate public activities push the boundaries. “The real control is having a mind enabling us to become happy, strong, and healthy! Because we are the boss over our hormonal system. It is the pharmacy and we are the doctor ourselves. Our mind is the doctor. ”

The more time I spend with him, the more that I see Wim is truly living his dharma, his purpose, in spreading the message. “We gotta bring back the belief that we are all equipped with the tools to become happy, strong, and healthy. We are all equipped with the ability the be the master over our mind. It’s just here, just awaken! That is what we do with yoga, which is union and connection. We awaken people to the belief that we are able to tackle depression through addressing inflammation, which is the cause of many diseases.”

I am inspired by his affirmations of self-reliance and self-empowerment. “Non-speculatively, we go for happiness, strength, and health for everybody! It’s not about being Laird Hamilton, me, or anything like the ‘super people.’ It’s love and we share it.”

An Inspirational Message

When I ask Wim to share inspiration for yoga practitioners, he says, “Break the chain that we are not able to believe that happiness, strength, health and love are available to us all. Suda prem – pure love, it is there. We are able to transform our destiny of the soul right here right now. Create a unified field of consciousness and bring it out.  Be the radio and bring out good music. For everybody.”

Wim is tireless in his message and his purpose, “I won’t stop until we have a world of happy, strong and healthy people. I will NOT stop!!!!”

After we embrace goodbye, I walk through a park in the hills of Los Angeles where we met. I hear the cheers of a few dozen teacher trainees who have just taken an ice bath. They break out in song to the loud strum of Wim’s acoustic guitar, and the loving cup of my heart runneth over.

Wim’s voice and message linger. “We bring people back to the belief that life has it all. Then, so-called miracles happen! After years of depression, people feel great. Is this a miracle or is this love? I call it Life.  Because Life is miraculous!  I didn’t invent it, I just follow it.”

More information on the Wim Hof Method

For more information about the Wim Hof Method, watch demonstrations on his website (wimhofmethod.com) and on YouTube (one of my favorites is a 20-minute demonstration Wim does with Lewis Howes). Online courses in the method and an app are available. Wim Hof’s workshop schedule is also found online. wimhofmethod.com

Find certified Wim Hof Method teachers in your area (there are some excellent official teachers/practitioners in Los Angeles) on: wimhofmethod.com/overview-official-wimhofmethod-instructors

Lulu Berton collaborated with Shiva Baum on this story; Lulu is a wellness leader and published author: luluwellness.com

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Iceman Wim Hof is Living his Dharma appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photo of Jai Uttal by Jeffrey Newberry

Always leading with musical majesty and soul-stirring passionate vocal delivery, Jai Uttal returns with Roots, Rock, Rama! proving once again that he has the ability to go where no one else in the genre can, radically furthering the experience of kirtan in the modern era.

Jai Uttal’a new double album puts the ecstatic back in ecstatic chant. Conceptually and musically, it is the follow-up release that fans of his reggae and mantra mashup Queen Of Hearts album have been waiting for.

I’ll go on the record saying that the whole album is worth owning for the disc one jewel of a Shiva chant bizarrely titled “Primordial Swamp Beat.” Here you’ll find Jai singing “Om Namah Shivaya” at his most convincing with pure devotion. I recommend keeping this track on repeat.

Other disc one gems include the Krishna-inspired “H.A.R.I.” (listen here) which is as sweet a melody as I’ve ever heard in sacred chant as well as the closer of the Beatles’ “Help” which is infused with the Maha Mantra. It is incredibly creative and catchy and will no doubt get your body in motion.

Disc two switches to a more mellow and world music approach with heavy Brazilian influences that would even make Paul Simon envious. The collection climaxes with the finale of perhaps the most resonating track “Echo Of Mercy (Om Namo Narayanaya)” which is classic Jai Uttal: Profoundly moving and heart opening.

Of course the musicianship on the both discs is at the level of mastery the listener has rightfully come to expect from Jai. This album includes a reunion with members of the Pagan Love Orchestra (the Bhakti equivalent of the E Street Band!) as well as future ecstatic chant hall-of-famers Gaura Vani and the Mayapuris’ Visvambhar Sheth and bhakti rhythm section essentials Mark Gorman and Dave Allen. Longtime production collaborator Ben Leinbach continues to deliver the goods and prove once again to be the perfect companion on Jai’s recorded musical journey. Roots, Rock, Rama! also benefits from the excellent addition of guitar maestro Steve Postell. Angelic devi vocals are provided to perfection by Prajna Vieira, Tina Malia, and Sandy Cressman.

Watch the music video for “S.A.M.B.A (Shiva’s Adoration of Mata Bhavani’s Ambrosia). 

There’s no way to sit still as this music plays and it’s easy to see how the live concerts Jai will perform in celebration of this collection will go down as unforgettable.

Jai Uttal will be headlining Shakti Fest May 12-14 at Joshua Tree Retreat Center.

For more information about Jai Uttal and to find out where to buy the album, visit www.jaiuttal.com 

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Roots, Rock, Rama! by Jai Uttal appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

The powerhouse duo SRI Kirtan, vocalist and harmonium player Sruti Ram and vocalist and acoustic guitar player Ishwari, are leaders in the modern ecstatic chant movement. Previously topping the Billboard World Music Chart, they are back with their new recording Time In Love Is Never Wasted.

The title alone is one of my favorites thus far in the genre; it inspires an invitation to let oneself become lost in these sacred chants. SRI Kirtan reveals a strong influence by two modern giants of the form: Shyamdas and Swami Ma Chetan-Jyoti. This CD is a heartfelt tribute to them as they deliver a passionate and unapologetic love for chanting that is rare in the modern age.

Ishwari and Sruti Ram have been referred to as the “Grace Slick and Marty Balin of kirtan,” and Jefferson Airplane comparisons are warranted on this release. Highlights include a powerful version of the “Hanuman Chalisa,” a gold standard for the duo that brought down the house at Bhakti Fest. The back-to-back sequence of hypnotic and meditative versions of “Mahamantra” and “Hare Krishna Hare Ram” are also stand-out tracks.

The album is worth cherishing for the closing track “Maui Sita Ram.” (Perhaps a tribute to Ram Dass?) This tender lullaby masterpiece features Sruti Ram on lead vocals. I have it on repeat and always well up as I receive the love of this beautiful offering. I encourage you to take a musical journey into the pure devotional heart space that SRI Kirtan creates with their latest collaboration.

Purchase Time in Love is Never Wasted here.

by SRI Kirtan

(Mantralogy)

Reviewed by Shiva Baum, the former head of A&R at Triloka Records, the label that produced numerous albums by Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, and Bhagavan Das. Shiva is a producer, artist manager, podcast host, and head of music programming/main stage MC at Bhakti Fest, the “Coachella of Kirtan.”

Shiva Baum

Shiva Baum is a record producer and peak performance coach. With an expertise in sacred mantra chanting, he is the head of music programming for the world renown yoga music festivals Bhakti Fest and Shakti Fest. He lives in Topanga Canyon. Find him on Facebook. 

The post Time in Love is Never Wasted music review appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.