Stacy Peralta is a legendary skateboarder, an industry-defining entrepreneur, and an exalted film director who has been shaping surf and skate culture for over 50 years.

From his home on the Central Coast, Stacy explains, “The universe creates itself by working through us — all of us. Getting in touch with what you love, is getting in touch with what’s right for the world. When we don’t use it, it goes to someone else. The universe doesn’t wait around.”

Locals Only  

Venice born and Santa Monica raised, Stacy and his friends surfed most mornings. They mounted newly invented urethane wheels to pieces of wood, ideating, and innovating modern-day skateboards. “We didn’t know skateboarding was going to be popular one day, but we loved doing it,” he asserts. The crew conquered backyard pools and rode asphalt waves down Bay Street to the Zephyr Shop where owners Jeff Ho and Skip Engblom formed the infamous Zephyr Skateboard Team.

Early Bert-Turn Source; Stacy Peralta Ig. Original Photo by C. R. Stecyk III.

While allies like Jay Adams and Tony Alva electrified the burgeoning 70s vert-skate scene, Stacy stood out for his style, aesthetic, and work ethic. “I realized, ‘Wow I’m very lucky, and this could be a doorway to the world, so I took it very seriously’,” he shares. Big sponsors swooped in, filled his pockets and flew him around the planet. Peralta’s skills went prime time on the hit show Charlie’s Angels, and much later as a technical consultant on the cult-classic film Gleaming the Cube.

Two Voices

By the late 70s the teenager was ranked #1 by Skateboarder Magazine. There were demos and merch, appearances, autographs, and arrests. “I had done everything I wanted to do and more” he discloses. “And so the question I asked myself was, ‘Do you still love doing this?’ and the answer was, ‘No.’ I also asked myself, ‘Can you continue doing this?’ The answer was, ‘Yes I can, but I don’t love it’.”  

Instead of being sponsored, Peralta wanted to be the sponsor. “I hadn’t gone to college, so my brain was telling me, ‘You have no right to start a business,’.” he confesses. “But my heart was telling me, ‘That’s what you need to do.’ And so, I learned at a very young age, that there’s two different voices in me, one my heart, which speaks very quietly and very abstractly, and one my brain, which never shuts up.”

 At the top of his game, the pathfinder shocked the sports world when he listened to that quiet voice within and quit.

Future Primitive

The 19-year-old partnered with product designer George Powell to co-found Powell Peralta Skateboards. They had a strong start but by 1982, the sport’s popularity waned. Skateparks shut down and pro-skaters were out of work. “We barely stayed in business,” Stacy admits. Then he noticed something intriguing. As kids were leaving skateparks, they were practicing vertical skateboard tricks off curbs, onto benches, against mailboxes, and the like. “The more I watched, the more I thought that is the most democratized form of skateboarding,” Stacy observed. “We had to pivot to save the sport, and figure out what the sport wanted to be.” Powell-Peralta over-invested their financial and energetic capital into the evolution.  “People thought we were crazy” he chuckles.  

In the tradition of the Zephyr Shop, the born leader curated a team of unrelenting underdogs to rep the brand. With creative collaborator Craig Steyck, Peralta produced and directed the first-ever skateboard video, The Bones Brigade Video Show. The coveted VHS tape not only introduced street skating to next-gen groms, but showcased up and comers like Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, and a teenaged Tony Hawk. Stacy looks back, “We made the first video thinking we’ll probably sell 300. We sold I think 30,000. It was unbelievable. They became manifestos.”

Tony Guerrero Cracks Open the Consciousness of 80s Kids in Future Primitive.

Over the next 15 years, Powell, Peralta, and co learned about cash flow, product strategy, manufacturing, team management, and much more. Their evocative approach to advertising was groundbreaking, award-winning, and a lot of fun. “George was the only adult in the room, so we didn’t have anybody above us, telling us that we couldn’t do things.” Stacy smiles. He and Craig lit cars on fire, painted faces, succeeded, failed and tried again. They were OG content creators in the time of random-access viewing. From the brink of bankruptcy, Powell-Peralta revenues rose to upwards of $30 million dollars annually.  Christmas 1990 was projected to be their most profitable quarter yet. Stacy once again listened to the abstract whispers of his heart, and at the height of their success, left.

Dogdays In A Dogtown

The consummate seeker did the Hollywood hustle as a screenwriting student, spec script writer, shorts producer, commercial shooter, and television director for nine years. Amidst doubt and disappointment Peralta had to dig deep and ask himself what unique thing he had to offer.  “There is a loneliness that comes with following your heart,” Stacy notes. “But when you start feeling lonely, more insecure and uncertain, and you’re not sure what that next step is, it gives you the strength to keep moving forward.” When a good friend saw a rough cut of his passion project, she insisted he submit it to a career-making (or breaking) film festival. He resisted. She persisted. He surrendered.

Dogtown and the Z-Boys premiered at Sundance in January, 2001. The biographical love letter to his hometown, the guys he grew up with, and the culture they created won the Audience Award. And for his feature film directorial debut, Stacy Peralta won the best documentary director award. 

The movie played in select theaters across the country before being released on DVD. Yet a fourth generation was transfixed and transformed by the pioneers who preceded popular events like the X-Games and street skating in the Olympics. Throughout the process Peralta accepted, “You don’t have to understand what that thing is, you don’t even have to like it. Your job is to do it. And that’s something we don’t realize. We come at things wanting to know the outcome, you can’t know it.”

Over the following two decades Stacy made a career as a commercial, television, and documentary director. His films Riding Giants, Bones Brigade: An Autobiography and The Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez became instant classics, positioning him as one of the preeminent surf and skateboarding filmmakers of our time.

Radical Transitions 

From fan letters of the 70s to the ask-me-anything Reddits of today, infinite aspiring-everythings and top of their game, what-nowers  have reached out to Stacy for insight and advice. He found a proper venue for this mentoring with Modern Elder Academy (MEA). A wisdom school dedicated to helping people reimagine and repurpose themselves during  one of the most overlooked  transitions….midlife. At a recent MEA event, Stacy shared, “Sometimes we have to carve out our own path and this requires doing things on a daily basis that helps put us in touch with ourselves and our purpose.  To do this is going against the current, it requires taking a proactive stance in our life but the payoff is remarkable because you become more alive and you are more in touch with yourself and what you have to offer.” 

Stacy Peralta’s 5 Things I Do Every Day 

1. I meditate every single day.

I try to do at least an hour and when I’m really good, I do 2 hours and it makes a gigantic difference in my life. The effects of meditation; it centers me, it calms my brain and gives me a better a chance at hearing those quiet voices that are the true voices I’m looking for. Whenever  you are in the middle of a true athletic moment and you the person dissolves and you’re just going with the action, the thing you experience at that moment is intense stillness. How is it possible that I could experience stillness when I’m riding a board going incredibly fast…?  I believe based on everything I’ve studied, that that is our essence. Another reason why I meditate to give me a fighting chance to get back to that place.”

2. I exercise every day.

I don’t want to do it. People think because I’m a former pro-athlete, that somehow it’s easy for me, it’s not [he laughs]. I never wake up wanting to do it, but to live the life I want to live I have to do it. When I’m done I feel amazing all throughout the day. It takes about 40 minutes. I could burn about 40 minutes, doing social media in a heartbeat and get nothing from it. When I do this, I’m getting something from it.”

3. I do something creative every day.  

Thanks to a friend traveling though town, Stacy recently began artistic an pursuit, he had wanted to try for over 40 years.  Peralta explains, “He unlocked me. And when he left, I went out and bought a paint set and it was as if a dam broke. One of the things that I am continuing to relearn as an adult is putting myself in situations where I don’t know if I can do it.”

Peralta Paints at Home. Copyright / courtesy of Dana Shaw and Colin Norman.

4. I learn something new everyday.

That can also be a combination of the creative or the physical thing I do. For instance, I’ve taken up a new form of surfing, called hydrofoil. It is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. Took me two and half years to get me where I am right now. So every time I go out, I’m learning something new about it. And if I don’t get to surf, then I’ll paint something that requires me to do something that I’m a little scared to do.”

5. I read non-fiction everyday.

I’m a heavy non-fiction book reader, because I want to understand myself, and the  world, and how people become who they are. No one ever asks me what I’m reading; I wish they would!  [he laughs]. I just finished a book, it was so amazingly beautiful that I’m in my third pass through it, it’s called “John and Paul; a Love Story in Songs” by Ian Leslie. It’s about the relationship between the two Beatles, and how they communicate with one another through the creative process. The author pulls it off so brilliantly, I can’t stop reading this book.”

Other recommended reading includes;

Quantum – Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer, Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake, Material World  by Ed Conway,  A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko, Picasso’s war by Hugh Eakin, and Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

Against The Current 

Stacy clarifies, “I’m not a freak about things though, I don’t wake up and drink raw eggs and orange juice. I’m very disciplined, but I’m loose with my discipline, because I have to live with myself, and make my life enjoyable. There’s a very famous saying and it says this, ‘We don’t decide our futures, what we get to decide are our habits. And our habits are what decide our future.’ It’s about asking, ”What life do I want to live, and then saying ‘This is what it’s going to take to do this.”

He pauses thoughtfully and continues, “One of my goals is to live with the heart of a teenager and the wisdom of an adult.” 

Join Stacy Peralta and Teddi Dean at  MEA’s Radical Transitions Retreat; The Courage to Reinvent Yourself in Baja. 

More info on the retreat can be found here. 

Follow Stacy + all he is up to on his IG here. 

The only beach break where being a kook is encouraged. Stacy teaches surfing at MEA.

Author’s Note-
Thank you to Kari Cardinale and Teddi Dean at Modern Elder Academy – learn more here. 
And to Dana Shaw and  Colin Norman. Check out their work here, here and here…!

Amy V Dewhurst

To Check Out Amy’s Work Go To; Sense + Color, You Can Reach Her At IG:  Amy_V_Dewhurst  + AmyVDewhurst@SenseAndColor.co #PutYourGoodWhereItWillDoTheMost

www.senseandcolor.co

The post Stacy Peralta; The Heart of a Teenager, The Wisdom of an Adult appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

On October 7, Israel witnessed one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in its history, leaving the world in shock. Innocent lives were tragically lost as Hamas terrorists invaded homes in Israel’s southern regions – including a nature party nearby. What was meant to be a celebration of love turned into a heart-wrenching tragedy, leaving thousands of individuals shattered, lost, and struggling to recover. 

The Secret Forest, a sanctuary for renewal nestled in the mountains of Cyprus, was deeply moved by these events. In response, they have decided to take action. To support the survivors of this tragic event, they have dedicated a portion of their village villas for the purpose of healing.

Working alongside numerous qualified Israeli therapists and counselors specializing in trauma and anxiety, they have developed a unique program set amidst the forest. This program offers a five-day journey immersed in nature, with a primary focus on nurturing the wounded soul.

“We’re not talking here about work that is post-trauma,” says Zohar Wilson, a psychotherapist and volunteer workshop facilitator at the Secret Forest. “This is work that’s actually in the trauma. The trauma is happening now. It is critical to provide support as close to the trauma itself.”

First Arrival at the Secret Forest

Within a remarkably short span after the attacks, the first group of 60 survivors arrived at this healing haven. 

“We decided to open our gates and welcome [survivors] at no cost,” shares Yoni Kahana, the owner and CEO of the Secret Forest. “I was sure that 50, 60, 70, maybe 100 people would respond. About 1,400 people registered within a day or two.” 

Each day was thoughtfully structured, featuring a wellness program that includes healing and touch therapies, guided breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, circle of listening, support groups, hydrotherapy, sound healing, meditative walks in nature, and more. Participants had the freedom to choose when and where they wished to engage, while therapists were always on hand to identify and offer support to those in need.

Psychotherapist and workshop facilitator, Zohar Wilson, leads a group session. Photo: Nir Davidzon

After a week in this healing environment, signs of progress and healing were evident among many participants. People came together, shared their stories, laughter filled the air, and hugs offered solace. As they bid farewell to the dedicated team, gratitude and tears flowed freely.

The demand for this transformative program at the Secret Forest is immense, with such a long waiting list of survivors eager to embark on their own healing journeys. For the initial three weeks, the Secret Forest covered all expenses and the therapists volunteered their time. However, to sustain this invaluable work, the center requires outside support.

“When trauma like this happens [to people], they wake up every single day on October 7,” Wilson states. “If it’s October 23 now, they’ll wake up on October 7 again the next day. We want to ‘now’ them, so that if they wake up on November 7, then yesterday was November 6.”

Wilson also shares the importance of having experienced clinical staff, such as an Israeli MD, on board. He emphasizes that the program is intended to gently support survivors by providing safe and comfortable accommodations, nourishing and enriching food, and a sense of structure through classes, workshops, group sessions, and more.

Supporting the Initiative

When one first enters the peaceful serenity of the Secret Forest, the space automatically forms a cocoon of comfort, distanced from the harshness of the rest of the world. Birds sing out, trees form a canopy above the property, and a sparkling river runs alongside. 

Still, for survivors, deeper spiritual and emotional work is needed to overcome their still-fresh trauma.

“All the trees around you give you a feeling of serenity,” shares Zohar Sharabi-Ayal, a survivor of the attack at the Nova Trance Music Festival. “The external serenity lets you relax inside, which is very hard to do in Israel.” 

For Sharabi-Ayal, one of the most valuable parts of the program was the group discussions that were held each day. For her, these intimate and heartfelt discussions allowed her to feel less alone in her grief and guilt, to see that many others were in the same place as her.

Zohar Sharabi-Ayal connects with a fellow survivor. Photo: Nir Davidzon

The subsidized cost for each participant in the five-day healing program is 1,000 euros. Fortunately, the IsraAID humanitarian organization has stepped in with financial support. This has allowed the Secret Forest to launch an additional ongoing retreat for the healing of parents who lost their children during the October 7 attack. The Secret Forest now hosts survivors of the Nova festival every Sunday through Thursday and bereaved parents every Thursday through Sunday. 

Now, the program for bereaved parents needs funding. My sacred jewelry line, The Winged Ones, is donating a portion of the proceeds from every sale towards the Secret Forest’s mission.

As an Israeli-American, the recent tragedies in my homeland have laid heavily on my heart. Those who know my story know that I spent many years married to an Arab man, with whom I continue to foster a meaningful friendship based on mutual respect and compassion. That is why I devote my message to one of harmony rather than alienation.

It was a privilege to be able to sit down with Wilson and Sharabi-Ayal for an interview to help shed light on this incredible initiative.

“For the first time, once we were there and were able to relax, I felt I could finally breathe, that I was above the turmoil,” says Sharabi-Ayal. 

The Path to Healing 

For most survivors, the healing process may take months or even years. However, what the Secret Forest provides is the ability to kickstart that process and work through the trauma in the present, before it cements into negative habits or practices.

Survivors participate in a group healing session in the mineral pool. Photo: Nir Davidzon

Furthermore, the goal is to provide a space where survivors feel seen and heard outside of the chaos of an active warzone. Though the goal is to help all 1,400 waiting and willing participants, the goal is to share the experience with as many people as possible, so that they may return to their homeland with an elevated sense of peace, an ability to work through the difficult memories and emotions that otherwise plagued them, and achieve newfound perspective surrounding the events of the fateful day the attack occurred.

“The main thing this place gave us, besides that moment of serenity, are the tools to return to ourselves,” Sharabi-Ayal expressed. “There are still ups and downs, there are rough days, and then days when everything is okay. The main thing I learned is that it’s okay to be okay.” 

To support this life-saving initiative, The Winged Ones is donating 5% of the proceeds from all sacred jewelry sales. Use code HEALINGWINGS for a 20% discount.

You can also donate directly here: https://charidy.com/recovering.

Parashakti

Parashakti’s shamanic healing work is born of more than two decades of experience facilitating workshops, trainings, and retreats around the world, in Los Angeles, New York, Mexico, Bali, Guatemala, Indonesia, Israel, and Greece.  As a lifelong dancer, her path as a healer followed a severe injury – a period of what is often called shamanic dismantling, after which her mission shifted towards healing. Over the last 20 years, Parashakti has developed the Seven Foundations and the Dance of Liberation™, as maps for her spiritual practice, living and breathing these foundations in daily ritual. Dance of Liberation™ has been practiced by over 10,000 dancers around the globe. It’s was born of a mission to help people experience ecstasy – without taking it.
Above all, Parashakti is dedicated to serving community and creating a sacred container where people feel safe enough to experience their deepest essences, honor their voices, and shine their brightest light. Join her on the Dance floor: www.parashakti.org

parashakti.org/

The post Secret Forest Trauma Therapy Center Helps Nova Trance Festival Survivors Heal appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Crystals hold a significant role in shamanic and spiritual healing practices, acting as conduits for energy and aiding in the alignment of mind, body, and Spirit. These vibrant gemstones are believed to possess unique vibrational frequencies that resonate with different aspects of the human experience, making them valuable tools for enhancing meditation, energy balancing, and emotional well-being.

Shamans and spiritual practitioners harness the innate properties of crystals to cleanse, amplify, and direct energy, facilitating the release of negative emotions and promoting a sense of harmony. Whether used individually or in combination, crystals are revered for their ability to amplify intention, heighten intuition, and promote healing on both physical and energetic levels, making them essential components of various holistic and metaphysical healing approaches.

That is why, upon the launch of my sacred jewelry brand, The Winged Ones™, I reached out to Jenny Deaveau to serve as our resident Stone Educator. In addition to her spiritual and scientific brilliance surrounding the world of gemstones, she is also one-half of the sound healing duo known as Dynasty Electrik with Seth Misterka. 

Using her combined knowledge of crystal healing and musical sound therapy, she is a master at carrying the human Soul to new planes of consciousness and Spiritual awareness. I had the pleasure of sitting down with her to discuss her work, background, and how her prowess for sound and crystals weaves together. 

PARASHAKTI:  How would you describe your work? 

JENNY: At its core, my work revolves around the belief that we are vibrational beings in a vibrational world. Everything vibrates. And it is the natural tendency of all beings to entrain to the most balanced and harmonious vibration. The pure vibration is always going to be the most dominant, because well-being is the natural condition of all beings on this Earth. The human body, mind, and spirit are intricately interconnected. By addressing imbalances on quantum energy levels, true healing and transformation can occur. 

PARASHAKTI: What does the intersection between sound healing and crystal healing look like for you? 

JENNY: I work predominantly with sound and crystals, as well as color, light, reiki, plants; anything powerful in the natural environment. I use quartz crystal singing bowls in my healing sessions. The vibrations they emit are a pure holographic template of radiant light, resonating strongly with the human body and its energetic fields. Crystals have one of the purest molecular structures in nature. When we are using crystals, we have a natural tendency to entrain or attune to their balanced harmonious vibration. This stable geometric pattern helps to harmonize our own vibrational frequency, which can become easily unbalanced when we experience stress. By placing or using crystals on or around the body, we can enhance our energy flow, promote relaxation, and encourage emotional healing. The combination of sound and crystal energies can lead to profound stress reduction, and a heightened sense of self-awareness. Ultimately, my work is about facilitating a holistic journey where individuals can tap into their own innate healing capacities. 

PARASHAKTI: Tell me a little bit more about how you got into this line of work. When did you first start to develop an interest in sound healing and crystals? 

JENNY: In 2012, I was initiated into the practice of “Svaha Yoga,” a Shamanic energy technique, under the guidance of Master Energy Medicine Practitioner Lisa Ishwari Murphy. When I first arrived at Lisa’s wooden yurt in Fairhaven, MA with my partner Seth Misterka, we discovered a circular room filled with massive planetary gongs, crystal and Tibetan singing bowls of all shapes and sizes, a variety of crystals, Native American flutes, drums and rain sticks, sage, incense, palo santo and an adornment of statues from a multitude of spiritual backgrounds. Our first task was to record a cacophony of instruments, in seemingly no particular order or structure, for a piece called Rhythmic Entrainment. We were given various instruments at different moments and asked to play them, guided by our intuition. The power of vibration was palpable as the sound ceremony commenced and the wind blew through the seaside wooden yurt. Soon after, we discovered this was the music that would be used in Lisa’s private energy sessions. Her clients consisted of people diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer, multiple sclerosis, rare diseases, severe emotional trauma, among other imbalances. All of these clients had one thing in common: they were symptom-free, or mostly symptom-free after working with Lisa for a period of time. It was clear that sound healing and energy medicine were very powerful healing modalities.

PARASHAKTI: What is Dynasty Electrik’s mission for the greater good?

JENNY: We believe that music is a tool for planetary healing. Our vision centers around nurturing a sense of togetherness, emotional wellness, and an elevated awareness of our interconnectedness. By engaging communities, leveraging accessible technology, and forging a profound bond with the natural world, a sound healing practice has the potential to enrich the global community, fostering resilience and harmony.  This is a time for the collective… for working and playing together… for collaboration… for cosmic unity. 

PARASHAKTI: What is your vision for Dynasty Electrik’s role in helping the collective? 

JENNY: Music is a universal language that can reach across cultural divides and bring people together for collective healing, harmonization, and celebration. Our mission is to bring this healing power of music to the world through live performances and the digital realm.

PARASHAKTI: You’ve played an integral role in stone and crystal education for my sacred jewelry brand, The Winged Ones™, and I’d love for our readers to hear from you personally about our collaboration. 

JENNY: I remember first hearing about Parashakti about 15 years ago when I was living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I wondered “Who is this ecstatic dance shaman goddess?” To my delight, she arrived at the Mystic Journey Crystal Gallery in 2019, where I had been hosting crystal sound baths and healing sessions. We immediately clicked and started collaborating to offer some sound healing journeys in the space with enormous crystals. As things moved online, I became the crystal educator for her Dream Council Tribe trainings and wrote an extensive crystal guide for her extraordinary Winged Ones jewelry collection. From the moment I saw these exquisite amulets, I was drawn to their magic and knew they would be a part of my soul’s journey. I received my pieces fully charged and blessed by Parashakti and her spirit community. We rise together in spirit medicine! Every time I have the opportunity and privilege to connect with Parashakti, I feel an amazing vibration of pure love, excitement, and adventure about where the moment will take us.

Jenny Deveau dons her Winged Ones™ Visionary and SunDancer pendants.

PARASHAKTI: You are too kind! It is a blessing and honor to have been able to work with you over the recent years. The gift of in-depth knowledge that you have about these ancient stones is always so impressive. What is your research process for crystal education? 

JENNY: My love of crystals began as a young child, when I would travel with my father to geological sites to search for volcanic rocks. We kept a huge metal barrel in our backyard, filled with stones and crystals we had found during our adventures. I always work with crystals I am naturally drawn to. Sometimes they just call to you. Usually, we are attracted to certain stones because they may be energetically helpful to us. If you are unclear about which stones to work with, you can always start with clear quartz. It is a universal crystal, with a harmonious, balanced pure energy and can be used for almost anything and programmed with intentions. I also love research and information, so I read as many crystal books as possible and watch documentaries on the subject. Over the past several years, I’ve attended the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show. This has allowed me to have direct conversations with dealers, miners and crystal enthusiasts.

PARASHAKTI: You make a point to delve deep into the science behind each gemstone. How has your wisdom surrounding this subject evolved over the years? 

JENNY: It has surprised me to discover that even those who do not ascribe any metaphysical qualities to the stones, have a deep love, appreciation and understanding of these mineral beings. I prefer crystals that are completely natural and are not subjected to any man-made processes. I also love finding stones in deserts, forests and beaches. 

PARASHAKTI: What is your process like for developing new soundscapes/music? How do you find inspiration? 

JENNY: Dynasty Electrik is my music and sound healing project with my partner Seth Misterka. Initially formed as an electronic group in Brooklyn, we were initiated into a practice of shamanic sound healing, and subsequently combined this ancient wisdom with our knowledge of music to create a unique style of sound therapy—the Dynasty Electrik Crystal Sound Bath. This experience combines original electronic soundscapes intertwined with the celestial tones of crystal singing bowls, soothing nature sounds, and ethereal vocals, guiding the listener on an inner journey of profound exploration. 

SETH: Every time we start a new composition, I like to think of it as if it’s the first time, and to look for new approaches.  I also like to ask myself, “What sounds/music would I find to be most healing/relaxing/pleasing if I were the listener?” Then, once we begin creating, inspiration comes from many sources – nature, dreams, visions, meditation, and life itself. In our new album, Journey to Tranquility, we explore the worlds of cosmic frequencies, binaural beats, and channeled vocals. Soft synths, singing bowls, and atmospheric sounds create an ideal soundtrack for everything from chill time, light yoga, and study, to meditation, dream work and deep journeying. The creation of the album mirrored our personal and artistic journey, from Los Angeles to a remote beach town in Nova Scotia, to establish a sound healing retreat center on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. During this transition, we shared our compositions online through our YouTube channel, with many of the tracks on the album originally appearing in our weekly sound bath ceremony.

Jenny Deveau and Seth Misterka lead a Dynasty Electrik sound bath.

PARASHAKTI: Is there a message you’d like to leave our readers with today? Some wisdom they can take away from this interview?

JENNY: We’re always on a journey of self-discovery. And we never quite know where it will take us. No matter what we envision, there are always challenges to overcome. If we can rise to the occasion, our view expands and we become more of who we were meant to be. Infinite and free. I am thrilled to be returning to Los Angeles this fall and winter to host some crystal sound bath journeys with Dynasty Electrik. Check our site for the dates and venues. There are some exciting things in the works. Or you can join us any Friday evening on YouTube for our weekly premieres.

To learn more about Jenny and upcoming Dynasty Electrik events, visit https://www.dynastyelectrik.com/  for details.

Parashakti

Parashakti’s shamanic healing work is born of more than two decades of experience facilitating workshops, trainings, and retreats around the world, in Los Angeles, New York, Mexico, Bali, Guatemala, Indonesia, Israel, and Greece.  As a lifelong dancer, her path as a healer followed a severe injury – a period of what is often called shamanic dismantling, after which her mission shifted towards healing. Over the last 20 years, Parashakti has developed the Seven Foundations and the Dance of Liberation™, as maps for her spiritual practice, living and breathing these foundations in daily ritual. Dance of Liberation™ has been practiced by over 10,000 dancers around the globe. It’s was born of a mission to help people experience ecstasy – without taking it.
Above all, Parashakti is dedicated to serving community and creating a sacred container where people feel safe enough to experience their deepest essences, honor their voices, and shine their brightest light. Join her on the Dance floor: www.parashakti.org

parashakti.org/

The post Q&A with Jenny Deveau: Stone Educator & Sound Healer Extraordinaire appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Today Rick Rubin’s Book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being releases through Penguin Random House.

The exquisite 432 page hardbound may finally answer some of the questions hungry musicians, aspiring record execs, and spiritual seekers have been asking the enigma for years. Questions like, “How can I make it in the industry…?” “What exactly do you do…?” And most recently, “How do you listen to a feeling…?”

And then again, it may not.

The Daoist presenting prose ensures readers that the answers are both inside of them, and from the cosmos…and that it’s possible to create the causes and conditions for the two to meet. It is an infinitely wide view refined over 40 years of mythologized creative and commercial success.

Gotta Serve Somebody; Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La Recording Studio, Malibu. Courtesy of Showtime

A Way of Being

Rick Rubin famously launched Def Jam recordings from his Weinstein Hall dorm room at NYU. He learned messaging from wrestling villains like the Four Horsemen and used the technique to design The Beastie Boys’ epic explosion onto MTV.

In the decades since then, the legendary producer has become known for creating a sacred space, connecting to the collective unconscious, and inspiring an artists’ most distilled work. Lucky Angelenos have reported receiving pith instructions from the American Recordings founder while milling around the local farmers market, standing in line for a smoothie at SunLife Organics, and by posting up in the old Bodhi Tree Bookstore on Melrose.

Of course, for yogis Rick provided a portal into another world by producing the Krishna Das classic, Door of Faith.

In The Creative Act, Rick Rubin invites the artistic adventurer on a journey within.

From The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick Rubin;

On Receptivity-

 “Creativity is not a rare ability. It not difficult to access.
Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human.
It’s our birthright. And it’s for all of us.”
-Rick Rubin

On Accepting The Assignment

I Need A Beat; Rick Rubin at the Def Jam Office (1133 Broadway, NYC) – Dharma Mittra’s 908 Yoga Posture poster behind 1986 c. Rick McGinnis

“If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life,
it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker.
This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea,
but because the idea’s time has come.”
-Rick Rubin

On Gestation 

It’s The New Style; The Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Slayer +  Rick Rubin 80s. Source; Unknown

“At this point in time, it’s helpful to think of the work as bigger than us.
To cultivate a sense of awe and wonder at what’s possible,
and recognize that this productivity is not generated by our hand alone. “
-Rick Rubin

On Manifestation

It’s Yours;  Rick Meditative. Courtesy of Showtime

“Talent is the ability to let ideas
manifest themselves through you.”
-Rick Rubin

On Timing

The Great Surrender; Public Enemy signs with Rick + Def Jam Records 80s. Source; unknown

“Patience is required for crafting a work that
resonates and contains all that we have to offer.”
-Rick Rubin

On Doing

Whoooo’s Hoooouuussseee….?; Rick as himself in the feature film  Krush Groove 1985. Courtesy of Warner Brothers

“Do what you can with what you have. Nothing more is needed.”
-Rick Rubin

On Synchronicity

Legend Has It; Rick + Run The Jewels source; Broken Record Podcast

“When you’re working on a project, you may notice apparent
coincidences appearing more often than randomness allows—
almost as if there is another hand guiding yours in a certain directions.
As if there is an inner knowing gently informing your movements.
Faith allows you to trust the direction without needing to understand it.”
-Rick Rubin

On Support

Walk This Way; Rick Rubin and his partner Mourielle Herrera arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party c. Getty

“When the clues present themselves,
it can sometimes feel like the delicate mechanism of a clock at work.
As if the universe is nudging you with little reminders that its’
on your side and wants to provide everything you need to complete your mission.”
-Rick Rubin

On Habits 

By The Way;  Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers + Rick talk of their 30+ year friendship in the Showtime Series Shangri-La.  Courtesy of Showtime

“If you make the choice of reading classic literature
everyday for a year,
rather than reading the news,
by the end of that time period
you’ll have more honed sensitivity
for recognizing greatness from books than from the media.

This applies to every choice we make.
Not just with art, but with the friends we chose,
the conversations we have, even the thoughts we reflect on.
All of these aspects affect our ability
to distinguish good from very good, very good from great.
They help us determine what’s worthy of our time and attention.”
-Rick Rubin

On Intuition

Takin’ The Long Way Around;  The Dixie Chicks, David Lynch + Rick  c. Getty

“It’s not always easy to follow
the subtle energetic information the universe broadcasts,
especially when your friends, family, coworkers,
or those with a business interest
in your creativity are offering seemingly
rational advice that challenges your intuitive knowing.
To the best of my ability,
I’ve followed my intuition to make career turns,
and been recommended against doing so every time.
It helps to realize that it’s better to
follow the universe than those around you.”
-Rick Rubin

On Deep Listening

Everyone I Know Goes Away In The End; Rick with Johnny Cash c. Getty

“Our work embodies a higher purpose.
Whether we know it or not, we’re a conduit for the universe.
Material is allowed through us.
If we are a clear channel,
our intention reflects the intention in the cosmos.

Most creators think of themselves as the conductor of the orchestra.
If we zoom out of our small view of reality,
we function more as an instrumentalist
in a much larger symphony the universe is orchestrating.”
-Rick Rubin

On Intention

The Last Waltz; Rick reflects             courtesy Showtime

“With the objective of simply doing great work,
a ripple effect occurs. A bar is set for everything you do,
which may not only lift your work to new heights,
but raise the vibrations of your entire life.
It may even inspire others to do their best work.
Greatness begets greatness. It’s infectious.”
-Rick Rubin

On Trust

Rolling In the Deep; Adele wins 7 Grammys for her “21” album produced By Rick at Shangri-La c. Getty

“In an abundant world,
we have a greater capacity to complete
and release our work. When there are so many ideas
available and so much great art to make,
we are compelled to engage, let go, and move forward.”
-Rick Rubin

On Eternity

It’s Time To Move On; Tom Petty + Rick in the studio on “Wildflowers” c. Robert Sebree

“As human beings, we come and go quickly,
and we get to make works that stand
as monuments to our time here.”
-Rick Rubin

Amy V Dewhurst

To Check Out Amy’s Work Go To; Sense + Color, You Can Reach Her At IG:  Amy_V_Dewhurst  + AmyVDewhurst@SenseAndColor.co #PutYourGoodWhereItWillDoTheMost

www.senseandcolor.co

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Support Relief Efforts for India through Global Community

Yoga Gives Back (YGB) is pleased to announce A GLOBAL GATHERING FOR INDIA, https://yogagivesback.org/benefit-for-india/ a virtual charity event streaming live June 25 – 27, 2021. This global fundraising event will feature 80+ artists and teachers from 20+ countries coming together to raise over $100,000 to support women and children in India during this COVID-19 crisis and its aftermath.

The prestigious chant and world musician line-up for A GLOBAL GATHERING FOR INDIA includes Grammy-nominated artists: Belinda Carlisle, Krishna Das, Donna De Lory, Deva Premal and Miten, Jai Uttal, Manose, Dave Stringer plus C.C.White Soul Kirtan, Nina Rao, Girish, Jahnavi Harrison, Sacred Earth, The Maharaj Trio, Wah!, DJ Drez and Marti Nikko, Sheela Bringi, Wavy Gravy, David Newman, Joseph Pepe Danza, SHIVARASA, Radhika Vekaria, Edo Kahn, Punnu Wasu, Joss Jaffe, Sheila Nicholls, Nikki Slade, Govindas and Radha, Suzanne Sterling, Joey Lugassy, Daphne Tse, Yoshi Aono, Petros, Sean Johnson, Shervin Boolarian, Meenakshi and Ron (Swaha), Adam Bauer, Kevin James, Jack Harrison, Clayton Horton, among others.

The event will also include chant, meditation, spiritual, astrological, and Yoga sessions led by esteemed teachers across multiple disciplines, among them  David Lynch, Jack Kornfield, Trudy Goodman, Shiva Rea, Seane Corn, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Ana Forrest and Jose Calarco, Debra Silverman, Nadine McNeil, Akira Watamoto, Danny Paradise, Paul Dallaghan, Dena Kingsberg, Ronan Tang, Teresa Herrera, Cristi Christensen, Nubia Texeira, David Kim, Katy Appleton, Tryphena Chia, Maneesh Kalra, Bobsy Gaia, Eoin Finn, Insiya Rasiwala, Gwyn Williams and Riley Skye.

Join us June 25 through 27 at this historic event! Donate and Support:  https://yogagivesback.org/benefit-for-india/

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

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Photo by Steffen Hoffman. Parashakti wears the Visionary & Dreamweaver designs by Kabartsy.

In the heart of the bustling jewelry district in Downtown Los Angeles, a passionate craftsman sits bent over his sander, polishing away at the wings of a silver Eagle pendant. This passionate self-taught jeweler is Varouj Khatchikian, CEO and Founder of Kabartsy Jewelry, as well as the creator and designer of my Winged Ones sacred jewelry collection.

Our paths crossed by pure happenstance, but there’s no doubt destiny had this partnership in mind from the very start. In alignment with my trademark practice of Eagle Medicine, Khatchikian’s first name, Varouj, directly translates to “Eagle flying above the clouds.”

And Khatchikian lives up to this name. Much like the Eagle, there is an essence of grace, humility, and serenity in his mannerisms. Soft-spoken and with a glimmering kindness in his eyes, he offers a refreshing reprieve from the occasional harshness of the urban Downtown district. 

Flanked by his two Visionary associates and self-proclaimed “it girls”, Nanar Joulhayan and Rita Najarian, he makes Kabartsy Jewelry a force to be reckoned with. 

“I feel like we all manifested each other at the same time,” says 19-year old Joulhayan, who is the younger cousin of Najarian. “When I was still in high school, I had this dream of joining Rita in the work she was doing with Varouj. He encourages expression, freedom, and creates such an amazing energy in the workspace.”

Bringing Consciousness to Creation 

Khatchikian’s arrival at creating spiritually-inclined jewelry seems to have been written in the stars for him since the very beginning. One doesn’t have to dig far into Kabartsy Jewelry’s website to discover the company’s history. Descended from a long line of jewelers, dating back as far as the 1800s in the Middle East and Europe, Khatchikian began this work in Beirut at the mere age of 14. 

“It took me about 7 years to learn the craft,” Khatchikian reflects. “About 17 years later, I finally felt like a jeweler. About 28 years later, I finally felt like a designer. And about 38 years later, I feel like I’ve finally realized myself and am ready to put all these ideas out into the world.”

It has been a winding journey for Khatchikian, indeed. In fact, what brought him to his current vision as a jeweler are his experiences at Burning Man and in the mindfulness community. 

“Before 2010, I was just a jeweler, I wasn’t even calling myself a designer,” Khatchikian says. “ I did wholesaling, retailing, manufacturing, and had contracts with many major companies. But then, once we got involved with this community, it was different. I remember going to Burning Man and my first memory is seeing this giant statue made out of screws and loose parts. It made me realize I had to think bigger.”

He was so inspired by the experience, he designed 67 jewelry pieces in two months. From there, the current state of Kabartsy Jewelry came to be. 

In fact, it was through these festivals, gatherings, and Conscious workshops that our paths crossed. Knowing Varouj was a talented jeweler, it was natural that he became my first point-of-contact for the launch of my sacred jewelry line based on the likeness of the Eagle. 

From left to right: Rita Najarian, Parashakti, and Varouj Khatchikian.

“For us, this connection with Parashakti is so special, because she brings a whirlwind of energy into the workshop with her,” says Najarian, the senior associate in the office and Khatchikian’s longest-standing employee. “She shows us what’s important and never shows up empty-handed, we love doing cacao ceremonies together.”

Najarian reminisces about our first meeting, which was undoubtedly a date created by fate. My initial visit to the Kabartsy Jewelry offices sent me into reflection about the numerology behind this chance encounter. Seeking deeper guidance, I decided to add up the numbers of their office address. Serendipitously, when calculated together, it broke down to the number “1” — which is also the token digit of the Eagle. 

I knew from this moment that I had found the perfect team to bring my visions to life. 

Infusing Designs with Divinity 

One look at The Winged Ones and Kabartsy’s own signature collection, and you can see the great care that goes into giving these pieces divine meaning for the wearer. This dedication to mindfulness is not only represented in the finished product, but in the process itself. 

Khatchikian describes the jewelry-making process as highly meditative, his opportunity to dial into introspection and lose himself in a world of his own. 

“When I design, I go to a different place,” Khatchikian says. “It’s like a movie plays in my head. Before I carve, design, and shape it, my hands already know the movements. It’s a similar state to when people chant, participate in ceremonies, and meditate. It’s like a ceremony in itself because you tune into what’s within, especially amid the craziness of Downtown.”

The workshop itself exudes a vibe of sacredness and devotion to integrity. Occasionally cleansed with sage and adorned with healing crystals, the team undoubtedly practices what they preach. 

This familiarity also ensures Kabartsy makes only the best decisions for their clients, especially when it comes to gemstone selection. When it came to choosing stones for my own jewelry line, Rita personally sat down with me while I analyzed various stones and the vibrations they put out.

The stone selection and sacred jewelry creation process is so individualized. Each piece is created around the stone that accompanies it and not the other way around. This can require reshaping, resetting, and resanding.  These are all testaments to the individual problem-solving process with each piece. Much like its wearer, each one goes through its own journey, struggle, and story.

“What’s beautiful about these gemstones is that they’re imperfect, and their beauty is the imperfection,” says Najarian. 

The handmade, customized process is why people come to Kabartsy, and why Kabartsy thrives among the spiritual community. 

Khatchikian likens the process to the custom computer his son recently built. It’s a smattering of parts coming together, and if even one component is off, the end result won’t function properly. 

“Those precious gemstones represent us and are going to represent the customer’s story,” says  Joulhayan. “They’re the essence of this company and how it started. Varouj’s ambition grew us into our Spirit potential.”

The type of sacred jewelry Kabartsy creates has evolved from diamonds, and the commitment to naturally acquired (as opposed to lab-grown) stones make it that much more personalized. 

“The end result is so satisfying, heartwarming, and fulfilling,” says Najarian. “You go through all this hardship and this imperfection that takes so long to fix and put together. When all that is done, you have something to appreciate for its beauty.”

From Colleagues to Family 

The energy the trio exude is unmatched. It’s familial, warm, and loving — and there’s no doubt the positive connection between these three is at the core of Kabartsy’s success. Khatchikian sets the tone with his welcoming and open-hearted demeanor. 

“What I wanted to create was a family,” he reflects. “That’s why I don’t hire individuals, I hire their hearts.”

When Khatchikian started the company, he was committed to independence and individual success. However, he realized eventually that success wasn’t possible without the support of others — advice he learned from many of the Conscious entrepreneurs he followed. 

In his search for someone to assist with day-to-day operations, he came across many people who weren’t the right fit, or with whom he couldn’t connect. One day, he was looking out the window of his Downtown office and extended a request to a Higher power, asking for someone who could handle his weak points. 

With the intention out in the universe, it was only a matter of time. Just a few weeks later, Najarian walked through the door.

From left to right: Varouj Khatchikian, Nanar Joulhayan, and Rita Najarian.

“I was looking for someone who would really trust me with their operations,” she recalls. “I knew I could handle that work and that was a manifestation on its own. So, I walked into this office and this feeling overtook me.” 

To date, Najarian approaches her job with the same sense of novelty and awe. 

“The benefit of being part of this team is that we can be ourselves to the fullest capacity. We hug our customers, we form friendships with them, we are authentic. We don’t dress a certain way, we don’t change the way we act. Varouj doesn’t tell you what to do, he just tells you the end goal and lets you achieve it in your own way. You’ll connect with that goal and a collaboration will form.”

Joulhayan is now the newest member of the team, but she emanates the energy of a veteran in the field. 

Between the three of them, there is a remarkably intuitive workflow. According to the team: the clients bring the magic, Khatchikian elevates it to conception, Najarian perfects it, and Joulhayan publicizes it.

Khatchikian lends the entire process an air of wisdom and significance, which is wholly absorbed by his team.

“The difference between the jeweler and the designer is the designer has to create his own tools,” he says. “Whatever you need, you make it as you go. And ask yourself: ‘Why do you want to make this piece? What’s the importance? What do you envision?’ It’s important to know the application of the jewelry before it goes out into the world, to meditate on its intention.”

An Advocate of Craftsmanship through Sacred Jewelry

Khatchikian’s entrepreneurial nature and self-taught abilities have inspired him to speak to the talents many are afraid to embrace. He’s a strong believer in the “Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve” mentality.

Not only is he consistently working on evolving his collection to feature more pieces that speak to him personally, but he is spreading wisdom to fellow skilled creators who are afraid to manifest their talents into livelihood.

He has created a podcast, audiobook, and various YouTube channels to help people realize their potential in the sphere. At the heart of his success and our partnership lies one important facet: the commitment to uniqueness and conscious craftsmanship.

“We’re in Downtown LA, so you have thousands of manufacturers,” Najarian says. “What makes our jewelry stand out is the presence of intention. There’s no 9-to-5, no constant routine, no monotony. The only type of jewelry we make is special stones, special cuts, special sizing. Everything is one-of-a-kind, like the people who wear them. The vibrations of the workspace — our love, our heart, our positivity — come through in the final product.”

To learn more about Kabartsy Jewelry, visit their website: https://kabartsy.com/.

You can also shop The Winged Ones collection, designed by Kabartsy.

Varouj runs a number of YouTube channels, including Develop Your Mindset, Bella Divina LA, Kabartsy Jewelry, and VJools, which focus on goal fulfillment and skill mastery. His book, “The 10 Stages to Skill Mastery” is available now.

Parashakti

Parashakti’s shamanic healing work is born of more than two decades of experience facilitating workshops, trainings, and retreats around the world, in Los Angeles, New York, Mexico, Bali, Guatemala, Indonesia, Israel, and Greece.  As a lifelong dancer, her path as a healer followed a severe injury – a period of what is often called shamanic dismantling, after which her mission shifted towards healing. Over the last 20 years, Parashakti has developed the Seven Foundations and the Dance of Liberation™, as maps for her spiritual practice, living and breathing these foundations in daily ritual. Dance of Liberation™ has been practiced by over 10,000 dancers around the globe. It’s was born of a mission to help people experience ecstasy – without taking it.
Above all, Parashakti is dedicated to serving community and creating a sacred container where people feel safe enough to experience their deepest essences, honor their voices, and shine their brightest light. Join her on the Dance floor: www.parashakti.org

parashakti.org/

The post Wear Your Intentions with Sacred Jewelry from Kabartsy appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Los Angeles-based tattoo artist, painter, and entrepreneur Dillon Forte has a thing for nature and his wanderlust that takes him around the globe. We’re not speaking of cruise ships and lounge chairs, this is the type of travel that involves being fully immersed in nature, connecting with the earth, and discovering parts of the planet that lack wi-fi and coffee bars. It’s the kind of effort that really helps one tap into the universe, and having his feet planted on the ground in places like Morocco, Nepal or Egypt is just the beginning of the journey. “These are the places I travel to and truly connect with my creativity and the roots of our entire existence,” says Forte.

Forte gained notoriety internationally and in the Los Angeles area from his sacred geometry style of tattooing and ultimately the deeper meaning that his clients seek from his work. Not only is there beauty and an obvious level of talent in his art, but to those who lean into spiritual practices and beliefs, his art helps further express their appreciation for the universe and principles that connect every element around us. This is where knowledge from books and research is often not enough for people like Forte and many in the Yoga and spiritual communities. “It’s about the real-world experience, being there in the moment, and expressing your gratitude and connection in your own way. Each time I tattoo a client I often hear a story about why they want this piece of art and it usually goes way beyond the design being pleasing to the eye.”

Although Forte doesn’t like to sell himself on anyone specific he’s worked with, with a few keyboard clicks we found he has inked some household names including Usher, Chris Hemsworth, Kehlani, Kat Von D, and others. Whether these clients are subscribers of the metaphysical or even practitioners of Yoga and meditation, we can safely assume there is something deeper these people are seeking when choosing to express themselves with Forte’s work. This is proof that just like one’s yoga or spiritual practice, a tattoo is such a personal experience and the reasons are as unique as their journey. This is what is so exciting about a tattoo, not only is it a great ice breaker when meeting new people, but they often have a story to tell that can be a window into their soul.

Sacred Geometry Design and Roots

So what is the big deal with sacred geometry anyhow? We see the designs everywhere in nature, architecture, and even on your favorite yoga mat. Yes, break out your yoga gear and you’ll see what we’re talking about. We asked Dillon about this to get his perspective on the topic.

“Sacred Geometry is a term coined to comprehend the mathematical laws that govern the structure of reality. It commands cells to divide, determines the radial patterns in a flower, and births symmetry. It’s been proven that the human brain registers symmetry as satisfying or beautiful. In scientific studies, symmetrical faces were even concluded to be perceived as more attractive. Perhaps in our seemingly chaotic world, our subconscious finds comfort in structure. This sense of comfort is possibly why so many religions utilize sacred geometry in their houses of worship and art. It is what makes Sacred Geometry “Sacred”. The idea that there is a plan. A blueprint.

I have been tattooing sacred imagery for the past 13 years, each day further affirming the interconnectedness of all things and people. Have you ever noticed the veins in your body resemble the roots of a tree? Or that a spiral galaxy mirrors the nautilus shell? These anomalies are actually not anomalies at all. They are rules of geometry that reflect the golden ratio. My fascination with geometry has been my greatest muse, with the human body as my primary canvas. I find that in tattooing, our natural symmetry in combination with sacred geometric imagery makes for a powerful and cohesive aesthetic.”

The latest with Dillon Forte

Dillon Forte currently lives on the West Side and is in the process of putting final touches on an incredible new art gallery and workspace in Venice. The street-facing location is hard to miss, and simply has “FORTE” as a header sign and through the windows, one can see beautiful sculptures and a calming entryway that leads to his space. Forte has upcoming plans to showcase his canvas art and sculpture collaborations in a series of events later this year and those interested can learn more via his website and Instagram pages.

Last year, he also unveiled Forte Tattoo Tech, which is his line of eco-friendly tattoo supplies that other artists and tattoo studios globally can take advantage of. He saw an opportunity in the industry, where most tattooists were likely throwing away difficult to recycle tattoo supplies, including wrap, ink cups, and razors that typically end up in landfills. These new plant-based products biodegrade quickly and tie in with Forte’s dedication to the planet, and likely helps him sleep better at night. For anyone who loves mother nature like most of us do, this is an added contribution to the world alongside his beautiful art and design work.

Learn more about Dillon Forte at www.DillonForte.com or visit Forte Tattoo Tech at www.fortetattootechnology.com.

Staff Writer

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Our Current Challenge: Reflecting on Applying the Lessons of Yoga to the Events of 2020

To say the least, 2020 has been a roller coaster. The global pandemic was unexpected. It brought our country, and our world to a screeching pause. In the blink of an eye, our neighbors became both people to physically avoid, as well as our emotional lifelines. Tragically, many have lost family and friends to COVID-19 and the terms “hero” and “front line workers” took on new meanings. We quickly learned to live with masks of protection as well as a six feet of space between us.

In the midst of the global health crisis, another tragedy has come to light and the senseless killing of George Floyd became the straw that broke the camel’s back in a long line of atrocities committed by those who hate others based on the color of their skin. The evils of slavery still have a resounding echo and with each generation, we have to look at our role in how we have contributed to either the healing or the hurting of the racial divide.

Maya Angelou wrote, “The plague of racism is insidious, entering into our minds as smoothly and quietly and invisibly as floating airborne microbes enter into our bodies to find lifelong purchase in our bloodstreams.” These words are both haunting and accurate as we bear the burden of two separate plagues, one that is primarily physical, and another that is spiritual. COVID-19 named for the corona virus of 2019 has an all too familiar graphic of a red cell with several spikey crowns. Racism is the name for the ugliness that has plagued our country for centuries, and still has not been cured.

The two plagues have familiar images that we have seen daily. We have been bombarded with images of the red cell that bears many crowns, and even our children are familiar with the image. The spikey crown gets lodged in the hair-like structures of the lungs and makes it hard to breathe. The ugliness of racism is something that we feel in the same physical area of the body, the level of the emotional heart center, and it also led to the heartbreaking words of George Floyd saying, “I can’t breathe.”

Breath as Prayer, Breath as Life

As Yoga practitioners, our breath is our prayer, it is with us throughout our lives and we dance with the inhalation and exhalation in many different ways. In the lessons of yoga, we have been taught different types of breathing techniques, and have learned that the breath is not only our life line, but helps to regulate all of our systems. When there is no breath, there is no life. On May 25, 2020, the world witnessed as George Floyd’s breath left his body and it replayed through all of our familiar cultural platforms, from YouTube to TikTok. It is human nature to want to share, and video is a powerful medium, which can also go “viral.”

In Yogic philosophy, we are taught that we cannot control our circumstances, only our reaction to our circumstances. 2020 has been a year of many opportunities to learn this lesson again and again. We have no control over a global pandemic, nor did we have control over the four police officers that participated in George Floyd’s murder. In these instances, it can feel like controlling our reaction is not possible. Our grief, anxiety, and anger is so profound, that we have taken to the streets to say “no more.” Our reactions are evolving into conscious acts of activism as we step up and serve the whole.

This year, 2020 has been called “the great awakening.” We are waking up to the fact that we have to start thinking about others in a profound way. As Yogis we have a responsibility to serve one another on the path of karma yoga (the discipline of selfless action). Our actions create a ripple effect and when we move from “me” to “we” in a mature and tangible way, we have an opportunity to empower others through the lessons of yoga.

Our hearts hurt for the people that have lost their breath to COVID-19 and to the ugliness of racism. By helping to take care of each other’s hearts, we help take a step forward into a new chapter in human history. Each of us has a different skill set, each of us has different soul gifts to share. Whether you are teaching pranayama to help soothe a student’s frazzled nervous system, or protesting injustice in this world, your voice is needed. The importance of the breath is not just physical or technique driven, it is a gift to remember the simultaneous strength and fragility of life.

The two plagues have brought us back to the teachings of yoga.

• Nothing is permanent.
• We cannot control external circumstances.
• Service to one another is the path.
• Breath is life.
• We are all connected.

As we move forward into this new reality, each one of us has a role. When we lift one another we are in fact lifting ourselves. May we all care for one another and learn the lessons of the two plagues with grace and strength, even when grief and anger make it hard to breathe. COVID-19 has taught us that our breath is a gift and that we are all one. George Floyd’s death taught us that our breath is a gift and that we are all one. Now is the time for us to learn the lessons of yoga and bring them forward into a new chapter.

Desi Bartlett

Desi Bartlett MS, CPT, has been teaching health and wellness for more than 20 years. Originally from Chicago, she has a degree in kinesiology and her master’s degree in corporate fitness. Desi holds advanced certifications in Yoga, personal training, group fitness, and is a certified pre- and post-natal fitness specialist.

desibartlett.com

The post Lessons of Yoga & the Two Plagues of 2020 appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Parashakti on retreat in Bass Lake with Westwind Recovery staff. From left to right: Michael Shahin, Parashakti, Kai Zimmerman, and Zachary Ament.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and for me, this proverb is never more present than when I’m working alongside people in recovery. Recovery requires a rebirth of the body, mind, and soul – and the key to this rebirth is connection to others, and to community. 

Seven years ago, I was fortunate to be the Spiritual Director of Breathe Life Healing Center in West Hollywood, a community-based treatment program for addiction recovery. I later collaborated with Recover Integrity in West LA to create Sanctuary in the City, a boutique recovery program based on the Seven Foundations. 

The Seven Foundations creates embodied ritual to help people transform the mundane into the sacred. Among those struggling to free themselves from addiction, the Foundations seemed to grow new roots and reach new depths. 

Parashakti leading a blindfolded Dance of Liberation experience out in nature.

Through these experiences, one of the things I have come to appreciate is just how fundamental it is to feel witnessed and supported by others in the process of self-exploration. My work is most often about helping people go on their own personal vision quests, and yet, the more I explore addiction recovery, the more I find that the experience of both feeling seen and heard – and to see and hear others – takes the vision quest to an entirely new level. In the ceremonies I facilitate, we call this finding your Spirit Buddy. 

I recently teamed up with Westwind Recovery, which offers substance use and mental health treatment for all levels of care in Los Angeles, on retreat in Bass Lake, California. Their mission is to combine traditional therapy with alternative therapies like yoga, breathwork, music therapy, and adventure therapy in order to create holistic and comprehensive treatment. 

Sober Living Through Spirit Buddies

As part of daily rituals and journeying on retreat, I invited participants to team up with a Spirit Buddy – someone who they might not have known or spoken to deeply before. At every moment we had group, I’d have them work with their Spirit Buddy, to emphasize coming back, processing in the discomfort, and holding each other.  

Being able to sit with someone, to deeply heart share, and to be witnessed and held creates both availability and accountability. There’s a point where I ask Spirit Buddies to stand back-to-back, and just to feel what it means to really trust and believe that this person has their back. 

Members of the Westwind team at Bass Lake: Briana Marhencke, David Naro, and Ivy Fase (bottom).

So often, people suffering with addiction have endured profound trauma in their lives – and often that trauma happened at the hands of a loved one. Connections become riddled with mistrust, as addiction isolates the person further.

Spirit Buddies watched each other in pain and growth – and by day five, the participants had opened up in places that had been very closed and resistant. People tracked discomfort and fear with each other – and tears and laughter and resistance and joy emerged. It took a tribe to be able to go to this next level of healing and really walk their truth.

I teamed up with some of my Spirit Buddies who help run Westwind’s program to ask them to share their stories with me.

Exterior of the Westwind Treatment Center in Los Angeles, CA.

The Westwind Team & Their Stories

Although I joined the Westwind team on their Bass Lake retreat, where I facilitated Conscious Dance workshops and Spirit Buddy activities, it wasn’t until later that I got to sit down with them and listen to their individual stories — their treatment experiences, personal connections with Westwind, and hopes for those in recovery at the moment. 

Zachary Ament, co-founder of Westwind, told me about how experiences of isolation fed addiction: 

I was always looking for a community, having recognized that I was a young, gay boy at 13. I always felt separate and apart from not only my family — who were super liberal — but from others. I still had that ‘other’ feeling. Once I found a crowd that was drinking and also doing some drugs, I kind of immediately felt a part of [it]. A lot of my story in using and recovery is based in community — either in lack of connection or feeling super connected. If I accidentally find myself not connected to my community, that’s when I do start to have the thoughts of ‘Oh, maybe I can drink again!’ Basically just alcoholic thoughts. 

I think for a lot of people, when they’re in their addiction, their lives become so small that they don’t see the world or even their backyard. They don’t experience what it’s like to be in relationships with others, let alone with themselves….I believe that a lot of our growth in recovery is taking a bunch of different principles from actual therapy — whether it’s a spiritual basis or 12-Step programs — and applying it to our lives. Because there is no one size fits all structure. My one solid foundation has always been the 12 Steps, but I fluctuate….We wanted to show people that life in recovery is not only fun, but we get to learn about ourselves through experience.

Michael Shahin, Westwind’s Housing and Alumni Officer, told me about a story that reminded me how one connection can make an enormous difference: 

The clients really build a strong community and fellowship, and they always come back stronger, come back leaders, and are able to get back on their feet…. The Spirit Buddy system got so much positive feedback because of that connection you create with somebody, face your fears, and find yourself.

Growing up, I was always very uncomfortable with myself. And I was always looking for something to comfort that discomfort, and so I learned to grasp onto certain addictions. It started with food and sugar, and my disease with addiction is definitely a progressive one. As I got older and more mature, it went from food and sugar to alcohol. That progressed even more from alcohol to party drugs, ecstasy, THC. Eventually, at the end of my addiction, I was using daily crystal meth, alcohol — you name it. Anything that’d get me out of my comfort zone and out of my head. 

It allowed me to push away anything that was important, anyone that cared for me — I pushed all of that away. Eventually, after so many bottoms and heartbreaks and tragedies, I had a moment of clarity. I realized this is not who I am. I was spiritually bankrupt, and for the first time ever I was absolutely miserable and nothing could make me happy, even the drugs and alcohol that fueled my addiction for so long. 

I reached out to somebody that I knew that had gotten sober, and asked for help. The first thing that person did was offer me to meet them at Shakey’s and accompany them to an AA meeting afterwards. I was terrified and frightened, but I knew something needed to change. From that very moment, I started to make conscious decisions to change my life. I started going to meetings, I realized how happy people were in the rooms, and I thought it was insane because I hadn’t seen people that happy in a long time….I started volunteering, I had commitments at several meetings, I did charity work, joined convention boards. 

Slowly but surely, the wreckage of my past started to clear up. I realized what was important in life, like physical fitness, mental clarity, financial stability, healthy relationships, creating a community. I started to do that one day at a time. Before you knew it, things just started to radically change. I left the entertainment industry and decided that I wanted to get into a line of work that was helping people, so I started working in treatment.

Rachel Corbett, Westwind’s Brand Officer, also shared a story where a “spirit buddy” of sorts emerged from an unlikely place and changed her life: 

Very similar to Mikey and Zach, I experienced always being uncomfortable, always feeling something was off. I started drinking when I was 15, doing drugs when I was 18. I got my first DUI when I was 17 and from there I continued to be arrested over and over and over again. I never got away with anything, but it never slowed me down no matter what kind of trouble I got into. 

I had to keep bashing my head against the wall and it wasn’t until I was arrested in 2003, the last time, that I realized I wasn’t going to get out of this one. I was facing 8-10 years in prison, and I kind of started to accept that I wasn’t going to see my son grow up, I wasn’t going to repair relationships with my family, and things got very dark for me. My father used to be a police officer, so when I would be arrested, I would go into solitary and it’s called K-10. That’s when you’re in your cell 23 hours a day and you only get out to shower. It affected me on a cellular level, it meant I couldn’t talk to people, know how to function. All my contact was with deputies bringing me food. 

The last time I was in K-10, I was there for a year. And there was an amazing District Attorney who finally noticed that I had never been offered treatment, and started to wonder why that is. I always thought ‘detox’ just meant you go to jail and detox, I didn’t know it was a place. Everyone agreed and I was sent to a behavior modification treatment center, all female. I was there for a year, I had to drug test multiple times every week, and if I failed at all, I had to serve that 8-10 year sentence. 

They would bring AA meetings in and that was the first time I could really HEAR what people were saying and how these women’s lives changed. I knew I wanted a better life, I just didn’t know how to get it. When we started being allowed to go OUT to meetings, I got a sponsor, and I clinged to that person. I told them, ‘Whatever you tell me to do, I’ll do it, because I don’t have the answers.’ I wasn’t even willing, I was just desperate.

This year marks 16 years of sobriety for Rachel.

Former House Manager, Briana Marhecke, expands upon the meaning of the trip to Bass Lake for her, as well as her appreciation for the Spirit Buddy system: 

I came into treatment at WestWind two years ago completely broken, both spiritually and emotionally. After trying for years to get sober, I realized the importance of strengthening my spiritual condition and putting it above everything else in my life. I went through treatment and started meditating regularly, as well as doing yoga almost every day and changing my lifestyle to take better care of my body, mind, and soul. 

 I went on the trip to Bass Lake as a sort of send-off because I was moving out of managing sober living, and the treatment center I was connected to hosted the trip. I had an indescribably wonderful experience with the ceremonies led by Parashakti, and it shifted my perspective on myself and those around me. I went into the first night very skeptical and self-conscious, but I became comfortable almost immediately, mainly due to Parashakti’s energy and the way she was so unapologetically who she is. 

The blindfolded dancing with our Spirit Buddies was by far my favorite part of the entire trip. Something about being in the dark but knowing I wasn’t alone helped me tap into the beautiful world we are all a part of and connected to. Watching the clients shed their skepticism and fears was also a beautiful thing to witness. I know my Spirit Buddy had a lot of doubts about the dances and the ceremonies, but by the end of it, I saw him completely come into his own space and dance without hesitation. The experiences I had on this camping trip were genuinely profound and I will cherish them forever. 

The Director of Housing at Westwind recounts similar sentiments about the Spirit Buddy process we engaged in at Bass Lake:

I came to LA 4 years ago in search of a new experience with recovery. I was trapped in the addiction cycle, in and out of homelessness, and empty inside. I looked for relief and solutions in many ways, most to no avail,  but I realized that if I was ever going to get and stay sober, I was going to have to start growing my spiritual life. 

I went to treatment, where I was first introduced to Westwind Recovery. Little did I know that the people I met there would become my second family. I began praying, meditating, and started a regular yoga practice. I have over three years sober now and my life has grown into something better than I could have ever imagined possible. I am truly happy and able to appreciate all the amazing opportunities and people placed in my path. 

When I heard that Parashakti would be joining us on our annual camping trip, I was eager to learn her approach to spirituality and try some new things. Most of the exercises I’d never done before, and I certainly had to work through some self-doubt and awkwardness to fully apply myself — especially when it came to the dancing. But, when I did step out of fear and dived into the dance, I was able to recapture these feelings of lightness and joy that made me feel like a little kid again. Luckily, from the beginning, everybody was paired with Spirit Buddies and I was able to feel supported through the trip knowing that someone else was walking through all the exercises with me. 

There was reluctance and nervousness from the clients at the opening ceremony… but by the end of the trip, I think every single client was participating and even excited to do the exercises. We see the clients in a more serious lens a lot of the time, and to see them all let loose and tap into this side of themselves was a beautiful experience, as well as a great reminder of how we are all just parts of a whole.

Final Thoughts

The retreat was a cherished experience for me – to watch the clients transform over the course of the week was like an energetic walk, like a journey up a mountain. Ultimately, being able to witness such awakening is a gift that helps me become more available and in tune with my own practice, and to recognize that self-exploration becomes safer – and often deeper – when it is witnessed with compassion. 

To learn more about the Westwind Recovery Treatment Center, their inspiring approach to sober living, and upcoming retreats they’re working on, visit their website: https://www.westwindrecovery.com/. 

Parashakti’s 7-week program, Birthing the Shaman Within, begins Oct. 5. This group-oriented experience will take place virtually, and is aimed at long-term healing solutions for those in recovery. SIGN UP HERE to save your spot. 

Parashakti

Parashakti’s shamanic healing work is born of more than two decades of experience facilitating workshops, trainings, and retreats around the world, in Los Angeles, New York, Mexico, Bali, Guatemala, Indonesia, Israel, and Greece.  As a lifelong dancer, her path as a healer followed a severe injury – a period of what is often called shamanic dismantling, after which her mission shifted towards healing. Over the last 20 years, Parashakti has developed the Seven Foundations and the Dance of Liberation™, as maps for her spiritual practice, living and breathing these foundations in daily ritual. Dance of Liberation™ has been practiced by over 10,000 dancers around the globe. It’s was born of a mission to help people experience ecstasy – without taking it.
Above all, Parashakti is dedicated to serving community and creating a sacred container where people feel safe enough to experience their deepest essences, honor their voices, and shine their brightest light. Join her on the Dance floor: www.parashakti.org

parashakti.org/

The post Sober Living & Spirit Buddies: Westwind’s Modern Approach to Addiction Treatment appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Kara Love Project Raises Funds for Wellness

Love, music, community and a whole lot of dancing marked the heartfelt and harmonious tenor of The Kara Love Project’s third annual Backyard Music Fundraiser. The event was held at the home of Lily and David Dulan. Lily Dulan, founder of The Kara Love Project (KLP), Maggie Lin, event coordinator, and volunteers orchestrated a beautiful evening of artists, musicians, and community to celebrate life and improve the lives of others. In October, 2019, more than 200 people from New York to Los Angeles gathered to support KLP as it raised awareness and support of its new Wellness Initiative — health and wellness programming that nurtures community and connection for children, adults, seniors and marginalized individuals locally and globally. As guests came together to show support for KLP, they also grooved to the legendary Ace of Cups, 1960’s all-female rock band along with other notable musicians, setting the stage for an evening of love, hope and positivity.

Background of the Backyard Music Fundraisers

In 2007, Lily and David lost their two-month-old daughter Kara Meyer Dulan to SIDS. Lily founded The Kara Love Project (KLP) in Kara’s memory, honoring her life with a foundation that promotes conscious giving and positive action for underserved and marginalized individuals and communities locally and around the globe. Over the past few years, the KLP Backyard Music Fundraiser has supported organizations such as The Unatti Foundation for Girls, The Dillon Henry Foundation’s Congo Peace School, Venice Arts, and Camp Brave Tails.

Supporting Music, Movement, and Meditation for Seniors

KLP teamed up with Spring Gross to help her give her Music, Movement, and Meditation program (Y.U.M.M.Y. Time) to communities that need it the most. Through KLP’s support, Spring and a team of qualified and charismatic facilitators deliver a weekly dose of musical medicine, meditation, yoga, and community to senior and adult residents of underserved nursing home facilities in Los Angeles. Over the past six months, this engaging, full-sensory program has enriched the lives of more than 150 seniors and adults in LA county.

According to gerontology expert Dr. Connie Corley, “the KLP Wellness Initiative is a landmark program that is changing the paradigm of senior care.” Lily said, “Seniors can be a forgotten audience and yet have so much to contribute to the fabric of our society. KLP wanted to find a way to have a healthy, lasting impact on seniors who are marginalized for whatever reason.”

The evening ushered in KLP’s Wellness Initiative with a video showcasing Spring Gross’ Music, Movement and Meditation program, followed by stellar musical performances by Joey Lugassy, Spring Gross, and the legendary Ace of Cups all-women rock group from the late 60s Haight-Ashbury. Denise Kaufman from Ace of Cups has been a personal mentor to Lily and a source of inspiration to many by the way she leads her life and work as a community leader and yoga teacher.

With a further nod to the past and focus on the present, the crowd was honored with a special guest appearance by Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash who, along with his wife Kristen and son Chris Stills, presented a service award to Ace of Cups for their generations of community good works. friendship and action.

Joey Lugassy, Lily Dulan, and Spring Groove

In fact, their backyard is where artist and musician Joey Lugassy and Micheline Berry wed and where Lily and Denise Kaufman’s (Ace of Cups) friendship took root nearly a decade ago. Lily is so grateful for Denise’s ongoing support and KLP was thrilled to partner with her and the Ace of Cups on their fundraiser.

Kara Love Project and the Wellness Initiatives

The brightly colored posters at the event featured those of all ages and cultures — images of smiling children and older adults tell the story of happiness, healing and hope. “We’re honored The Kara Love Project is touching a wide range of people young and old,” says Lily. “The aim of our Wellness Initiative is to make accessible the universal healing tools that help so many of us on the conscious path move through life with more, soul grace and dignity.”

Lily Dulan and the Name Work

Lily, an MFT Psychotherapist and Heart of Yoga Teacher, is looking forward to integrating additional Wellness Initiatives into the KLP fold over the next year.  The Name Work is a method Lily developed to uncover the powerful qualities in a name to help people move through grief, loss, pain and suffering of all kinds. Lily has delivered her Name Work program to KLP’s community partners Venice Arts and Camp Brave Trails and has presented her work at professional conferences and on a variety of podcasts and radio shows in the field of healing. Also on the horizon, KLP has partnered with Maggie Lin, founder of the national non-profit Foster Nation. Plans are forthcoming to bring wellness and healing tools to foster youth who are matriculating out of the system. Lily is also working on a book about her Name Work method which is contracted to launch in early 2021.

Because of the generosity of their supporters, KLP will be expanding their Music, Movement, and Mediation program to three additional low-income senior facilities in 2020 and will acquire more instruments so that all of the participants can join if desired.

Learn More about Kara Love Project and Spring Groove

Learn more at: thekaraloveproject.org.

Learn more about Spring Groove and Y.U.M.M.Y Time: Your Ultimate Music Meditation Yoga Time, a Music, Movement, and Meditation Program at: springgroove.com/y-u-m-m-y-time.

Julie Lear contributed to the writing of this article with Shelley Karpaty

Photos by The Kara Love Project & Spring Groove

Shelley Karpaty

Shelley Karpaty is a yogi living in the Bay Area where she brings her spirit into writing, recruiting and career coaching. Medium: medium.com/@skarpaty and Instagram @shelleykarpaty

www.medium.com/@skarpaty 

The post Kara Love Project Supports Music-Based Wellness Programs for Seniors appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Nicholas Petricca at Kundalini Yoga By The Sea. Photo by Samir Janjua.

WALK THE MOON’s frontman Nicholas Petricca talks death, breath, and his new studio Kundalini Yoga By The Sea

You might recognize the lyrics and the catchy dance tunes of massive hits including “Shut Up and Dance” (“She said, ‘Oh oh oh, shut up and dance with me”) and “Anna Sun” (“This house is falling apart”). These songs by the band WALK THE MOON became quintessential Songs of the Summer in recent years. In addition to inspiring us to dance, Nicholas Petricca, lead singer and lyricist of the band WALK THE MOON, is a straightforward, authentic fan of Kundalini Yoga.

Photo of WALK THE MOON by Brian Ziff.

Since 2011, Nicholas has experienced fame and the chaotic rock-and-roll touring with WALK THE MOON, averaging 300 performances a year.

And since 2016, Kundalini Yoga has been his go-to practice, helping him transition from overnight sensation to long-term hitmaker, with a new album and a new outlook. His impassioned transformation has led Nicholas, just 31 years old, to become co-founder of Kundalini Yoga by the Sea (KYBTS), a neighborhood studio in Santa Monica.

When did you start practicing Kundalini Yoga?

At different points in my life, I had heard about yoga, trying Bikram and Hatha yoga. I always appreciated it, but it never personally resonated. Then in November, 2016, a dear friend was training to become a Kundalini instructor, and I was fascinated. I went to (now closed) Golden Bridge and experienced such joy. I was just grinning, feeling connected in this joyous way: I liked the fast, repeated motion connected with breath, the chanting, the singing. In yoga, began to learn more about my chakras and connected with them for the first time. In one class, Kundalini Yoga awakened a new energy in me.

Kundalini Yoga By The Sea

Instantly, I became a member of the studio, going every week. My band moved to LA temporarily to write and record. I found out three months into my Kundalini practice that Golden Bridge was closing its doors, and my favorite teacher Dharam Dev Khalsa mentioned she was looking for a new studio. I knew I could do something, and I expressed interest in making the new studio a reality. She was intrigued, introducing me to Kia Dharam Atma and Lisa Arshawsky, and the ball got rolling. I strongly felt the call to keep this community going and to create a space for the community. Kundalini Yoga by the Sea (KYBTS) opened in June, 2017.

Dharam Dev Khalsa, Nicholas Petricca, and Kia Ancilotto. Photo by Samir Janjua.

Becoming involved in KYBTS was serendipitous, synchronistic. At the time, I was in middle of a transformation. My band had reached global success with “Shut Up and Dance.” We had toured continuously for five years. One tour covered 25 countries on five continents in just two months. We were on the verge of burnout, my father was sick, and I was searching for a path to inner peace.

I don’t come from a yogi community or family, and I still feel like a newcomer. I’ve been shown something that not everyone has seen, the Kundalini community and experience. Kundalini Yoga is a bit of a hidden gem. In Kundalini, I love the emphasis on the inner teacher.

Nicholas Petricca and Students at Kundalini Yoga By The Sea. Photo by Samir Janjua.

Tell us about your transformational year…

In the summer of 2016, my father’s Alzheimer’s Disease was getting worse. The band reluctantly cancelled our tour, and I went home to be with family. It affected me emotionally and artistically. My dad’s disease brought me in touch with darkness, depression, and tragedy. It shifted the depth with which I approached my music. My family found that, in the darkest moments of Dad’s condition, music was one of the few ways we could still connect and smile together. I know that whatever came next for me creatively would be transformative.

We began writing and recording in LA in November, 2016, with me going back and forth to Ohio. I was actually in the studio at end of January when I got the call that my father was in bad shape and I headed straight home. He passed in early February, 2017.

I came back to LA after his funeral. I returned to my yoga class and felt his presence with me and I didn’t want to let him go. At the end of that first class, Dharam Dev Khalsa played a song with the lyrics, “My love embraces you long after we have said our goodbyes. And I will be with you. I will be with you. And I will be with you.” (From “With You” by Jai Jagdeesh.) Pretty amazing.

Nicholas Petricca at Kundalini Yoga By The Sea. Photo by Samir Janjua.

How has your yoga practice changed your life?

Kundalini lessons shift how I approach daily life, moment to moment. I have a sense of stillness and trust in my inner teacher, recognizing myself reflected in the world around me. I am finding that oneness and sameness of the spark of life within me and around me, trusting the flow.

My yoga practice has also improved my relationship with my bandmates. Only through loving communication could the band approach our demons and then make the best album we’ve ever written (What If Nothing, released in November, 2017).

Photo of WALK THE MOON by Dustin Kessler.

What does yoga do for your lyrics?

The message in my music, I’ve found, runs parallel to the themes of empowerment and transformation in yoga. Our latest record (What if Nothing) is by far the most emotionally raw and vulnerable, more than any before. The lyrics are pretty autobiographical. On our first single “One Foot,” the refrain repeats “One foot in front of the other,” and that’s the only way we’ve made it through this process. I would say the song “Sound of Awakening” is the autobiography of my personal transformation. It was written as my dad was dying, and in a way it’s a love song for my mom.

The distance
And the difference
Between us
Is just illusion

How does the breath used in Kundalini practice affect your singing?

Breath is consciousness. Historically, even Biblically, breath is associated with spirit. With that understanding, breath shifts how I look at what I’m doing. When I focus a laser beam of breath into a microphone in front of thousands of people, I’m sending out this soul message, a spirit shockwave. The vibration of my voice carries the words connected to my experience and the melody that has come through me. This vibration carries all this, let’s say, spirit juice. Breath is the vessel through which people are receiving my art. Nowadays, I view myself as a rock and roll shaman, ha.

How do you practice on the road?

My KYBTS partners have lovingly set up me up with links and videos to Kriyas I can practice on tour. Unfortunately, it’s definitely a challenge to find any private space at all on the road. The tour bus sleeps 12 people, all living in a shared space. We temporarily get a dressing room at each venue, but then suitcases and gear are always coming in and out. As a group, the band works together creatively, and we live together as roommates, business partners, best friends, and performers. We never get to check out of the office. So I tend to practice yoga when I get a hotel room to myself on days off, once or twice a week.

What is special about Kundalini Yoga by the Sea?

Number one, I love the community. I am really connected with the vibration of the community being so kind and committed to everyone’s personal growth.

Kundalini Yoga By The Sea. Photo by Samir Janjua.

Visit Kundalini Yoga By The Sea

We want to extend our invitation to check it out. There are weekly classes, special workshops, and events, as well as opportunities to hang out, like the Chant and Chai Evenings. We have regular events that include Dance Soulsa, New Moon and Full Moon Sound Baths, Healing Circles, Reiki Trainings, and KRI Certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training Levels 1 & 2 Intensive Weekends.

First Class Free: Nicholas Sent Me!

Let it be known! If readers of LA YOGA Magazine come into the studio and tell them, “Nicholas sent me,” they can have a free first class. Sat Nam!

Kundalini Yoga By The Sea in LA YOGA

Read more about Kundalini Yoga By The Sea

More Information about WALK THE MOON

For more information about WALK THE MOON, including the band’s current touring schedule, visit: WALKTHEMOONBAND.COM. You can catch the band this summer at The Forum in Inglewood on July 19.

Kundalini Yoga By The Sea

For more about the Yoga studio Kundalini Yoga by the Sea, visit: kundaliniyogabythesea.com

 

Karen Henry

Karen Henry is an Associate Editor at LA YOGA who volunteers in a variety of capacities for nonprofit organizations and artists around Los Angeles. She practices yoga as a counterbalance to her daily impact sports and is a mother of four grown children who also practice yoga . Now, she’s working on teaching yoga and joy of life to the grandkids!

The post Nicholas Petricca: Rockstar Yogi appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Los Angeles Events: Classes and Workshops

Accessible Yoga

 
Learn how to make classes welcoming to everyone and to approach students in a trauma-informed way with Accessible Yoga Founder Jivana Heyman.
Details
7-10 Sep 9am-5pm $550
Spiral Path Yoga, 3115 Foothill Blvd, Suite F, La Crescenta
 

Transformation with Kyle Cease

NY Times Bestselling Author and Comedy Central headliner, Kyle Cease, uses his 25 years of performing, creating, and letting go of what other people think to help people move past anxieties, limitations, and self-doubts into a new vision of what is possible.
Details
9-10 Sep $199/adv
Alex Theater, 216 N Broad Blvd, Glendale
 

The Wisdom of Ayurveda

Carry Kim shares the intuitive wisdom of Ayurveda to teach us how to understand nature through our five senses to learn to heal and nourish ourselves.
Details
9 Sep 12-2:30pm $45/adv; $50/door
Lotus 7 Yoga & Pilates, 22521 Avenida Empresa, Ste 116 & 117, Rancho Santa Margarita
 

Shamanic Trance Dance

Transformational Trance Dance experience led by Siberian Shaman Ladamira and Medicine Women Sarah Eaglewoman.
Details
10 Sep TIME $50LOCATION Malibu
 

Yoga and 12-Step Recovery

 
Nikki Myers shares how to combine cognitive and somatic approaches to recovery from addiction using yoga and the 12 steps.
Details
15-17 Sep $550
Fri 8am-4pm, Sat 1:30-8:30pm, Sun 12-8pm
YogaWorks, 740 S Allied Way, El Segundo
 

Core, Floor and More

 
Sarah Court addresses the relationships of the abdominal diaphragm and the pelvic floor and everything in between, using the soft Coregeous ball.
Details
16 Sep 2-4pm $50
Yoga House, 11 West State St, Pasadena
 

Find Your Voice

Belgian sound therapist Annika Vandevelde teaches people how to develop awareness of their own and others’ voices.
Details
17 Sep 2-5pm $50
Goorus Yoga Studio, 15327 W Sunset Blvd, Pacific Palisades
 

One Day Detox Retreat

A comprehensive day-long rejuvenative detox includes superfood juice smoothies by ??????Juice Served Here, detox elixirs and juices, signature detox soup by Soupure, led hike in the Santa Mountains, detox yoga classes, Restorative Yoga and I AM Meditation. Third Sunday. Full or half days available.
Details
17 Sep $115 (half day) $195 (full day)
Aziam Yoga, 13050 San Vicente Blvd, Suite 202, Brentwood
 

Ecstatic Dance LA at Aziam Yoga

World-class DJs and free-form movement.
Details
22 Sep 7:30-10:15pm $15/early; $20/door
Aziam Yoga, 13050 San Vicente Blvd, Suite 202, Brentwood
 

One Day: Access to the Best of Your Life

ONE DAY is for women 35+ to discover new ways of being, create practices for a vibrant, integrated self that has you lit up in a new way of life. By Soul Bella Retreats.
Details
23 Sep 10am-6pm $175Calamigos Ranch Resort, 327 Latigo Canyon Rd, Malibu
 

FREE mini yogis yoga for kids class!

A fun and engaging introduction to yoga for children ages 4-8. This class is totally free and totally cool, incorporating meditation, breath, and asana in a uniquely kid-friendly way.
Details
24 Sep 9:30-10:30am FreeISKF Santa Monica, 1218 5th St, Santa Monica
 

Accessible Yoga Conference

Noteworthy workshop leaders address topics related to allowing yoga to be accessible to a diversity of populations.
Details
6-8 Oct $395City College of SF Mission Center, San Francisco
 

Los Angeles Events: Spiritual Teachers and Teachings

Sri Prem Baba

Sri Prem Baba makes his first teaching trip to LA. Talks include relationships “Love and Be Free” (Sat Sep 2), purpose “Finding Your Place” (Sun Sep 3) and “A New Way of Living Life” (Fri Sep 1). Sign up for the entire weekend or for individual workshops.
Details
1 Sep 6:30-9:30pm $20, 2 Sep 10am-6pm $125, 3 Sep 10am-6pm $125Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club, 1210 4th St, Santa Monica
 

Sattwadharman Benefit & Art Auction

Enchanting evening of art and culture, featuring a healing Ayurvedic dinner and silent auction of sacred Indic art. Keynote address by Himalayan monk Swami Vidyadhishananda. Support heritage-revival projects of the nonprofit Self Enquiry Life Fellowship.
Details
9 Sep 4-9pm $125/ticket, sponsorships availTemple Emanuel, 300 N. Clark Dr, Beverly Hills
 

Kriya Yoga Program

Phil Goldberg, Craig Marshall, and Marydale, owner of Param Yoga Healing Arts Center, host a rare visit by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, spiritual leader of Kriya Yoga International, in honor of Paramahamsa Yogananda and his 125th birth year. This is an evening of spiritual discourse, wisdom, insight, and music.
Details
11 Sep 7pm FreePoverello of Assisi Auditorium, 1519 Woodworth St, San Fernando
 

Navaratri

Celebrate the nine nights honoring the various forms of the energy of the goddess–the Divine Mother with pujas (ceremonies), meditation, chanting, and community.
Details
21-30 Sep Times Vary Sivananda Center LA, 13325 Beach Ave, LA
 

Los Angeles Events: Yoga on the Pier

Yoga on the Redondo Pier

Bring your mat for an outdoor yoga class on the Octagon.
Details
9 Sep 10-11am Free Redondo Beach Pier, 500 Fisherman’s Wharf, Redondo Beach
 

YogaWorks 30th Anniversary

Desi Bartlett and Sean Grey teach Silent Disco yoga classes (via headphones). Cohosted by The Xanadu Life and Bender. Post-class socials with snacks and giveaways. Bring your mat.
Details
10 Sep 2pm Check in for level 1 w/Desi Bartlett $454pm Check in for Level 2-3 w/Sean Grey $45Santa Monica Pier
 

ROGA on the Santa Monica Pier

Arrive early for the 8am run (drop off your mat and it will be delivered to the yoga class site) or come for the 9am all-levels yoga.
Details
Fall series Sep 9-Oct 21. 16, 23, 30 Sep; 7, 14, 21 Oct 8am run, 9am yoga, Free Santa Monica Pier
 

Los Angeles Events: Food

California Vegetarian Food Festival

 
Food samples, meals for purchase, educational displays and program, live entertainment, and family-friendly activities focused on a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
Details
16-17 Sep 10am-5pm $20/dayRaleigh Studios Hollywood, 5300 Melrose Ave, LA
 

Los Angeles Events: Special Events

Bhakti Fest

Kirtan, yoga, workshops, ceremony, community, vegetarian and vegan food in this transformational family-friendly event.
Details
7-11 Sep $325 full festival (discounts for military, seniors, and kids)Joshua Tree Retreat Center, 59700 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree
 

Bhagavad Gita Convention

Learn how the Bhagavad Gita is a historic document and universal guidebook on achieving balance in the art and science of living beyond religion or philosophy.
Details
9-10 Sep; Sat 8am-6pm; Sun 8am-2pmCrystal Cove Auditorium, Student Center, 311 W. Peltason Dr, UC-Irvine
 

LMU Yoga Day

This free celebration of the traditions, experience and expressions of yoga is suitable for all levels with asana classes, meditations, workshops, and music. Concert at 7pm is Phoenix Rising: A Mantric Journey of the Heart by Yuan Miao.
Details
16 Sep 9am-9pm Free LMU Campus 1 LMU Dr, Los Angeles
 

Los Angeles Events: Music and the Arts

Simrit Kaur

 
Sacred music artist and Kundalini Yogini Simrit Kaur and her band will share mantras infused with energy, musicality, and devotion.
Details
30 Sep 7pm $25-40Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre, New Roads School, 3131 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica
 

Tzu Chi

Thousands of Helping Hands Healing Arts Performance features the Disabled People’s Performing Arts Troupe. Funds support the international spiritual nonprofit Tzu Chi’s charitable programs.
Details
1 Oct 7pm (doors at 6) $58-198Microsoft Theater, 777 Chick Hearn Ct, LA
 

Los Angeles Events: Books and Authors

Gretchen Rubin and Daniel Siegel

Best-selling author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin discusses her upcoming book, The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles that Reveal How to Make your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better Too).
Details
19 Sep 8pm $20-40Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre, New Roads School, 3131 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica
 
Daniel Goleman on Benefits of Meditation
Bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence, unveils new research that shows what meditation can really do for the brain in his new book, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body.
Details
27 Sep 8pm $20-95Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre, New Roads School, 3131 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica
 

Los Angeles Events: Fashion

ActiveWear & Lifestyle Trade Show

Discover the latest in fashion-forward and functional activewear and lifestyle clothing. Meet designers and participate in special events.
Details
9-11 Oct Free for qualified buyers California Market Center, 110 East Ninth Street, LA
 

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

The post Los Angeles Events: The Best of September 2017 appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

The Tzu Chi Thousands of Helping Hands Charity Art Performance raises funds for this faith-based organization’s global acts of compassion.

The worldwide nonprofit spiritual organization Tzu Chi spreads a mission and a message.

In Southern California and beyond, the worldwide nonprofit organization Tzu Chi spreads the message that giving awakens kindness and love in our hearts. Master Cheng Yen is the founder and leader of the Tzu Chi Buddhist charity organization.
 
Over the past five decades, Tzu Chi has dedicated itself to the missions of disaster relief, charity, medicine, education, and humanistic culture. The focus of these is to offer material aid and psychological support to those in need, spiritual and moral guidance through education, in addition to protecting the environment and providing international disaster relief.
 
Wherever Tzu Chi goes, good health, peace and love follow closely. As part of their worldwide mission, they are hosting a series of inspiring evenings through the Charity Art Performance Tour. The tour will be coming to LA on October 1.
 
In Chinese, tzu means compassion, and chi relief. Tzu Chi’s mission includes eight categories called One step, eight footprints. Its mobile food pantry travels to impoverished communities in California weekly, benefiting 20,000 families annually.
 
Around 900 inmates have received spiritual support through books, magazines, and over 1,200 letters that were answered, offering guidance towards a meaningful life of helping others. A Tzu Chi principle is that illness, while creating pain, can become the root of poverty as well, which is why the organization makes it part of its mission to offer quality and free medical care.
 

The Compassionate History of Tzu Chi

The organization was founded when the devoted Buddhist nun, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, was moved by the pain and misery she saw around her. She made a powerful commitment to help the poor and relieve suffering.
 
She collaborated with five other female disciples and thirty housewives. In order to fund their work, the disciples made and sold baby shoes while the housewives set aside some of the money that they had for food. Their mandate: to help the poor and ill with love, joy, compassion.
 
The footprint of Tzu Chi’s work at the forefront of disaster relief and poverty reduction has spread throughout the world, reaching 94 countries. They have over 10 million volunteers and supporters worldwide, the volunteers serving with steadfast dedication, grateful for the opportunity to provide relief that people can always count on.
 

 

Sharing Charity through Art

In advance of the Thousands of Helping Hands Charity Art Performance Tour, we sat down with the Tzu Chi’s CEO, Dr. Han Huang, to learn more about this inspiring organization, its vision, and initiatives.
 
LA YOGA: We understand that businessman Stephen Huang was inspired to bring the work of Tzu Chi to the United States in part by Taiwan-based Master Cheng Yen‘s emphasis on work and self-sufficiency as part of a spiritual organization. This is demonstrated in how the organization was founded and operates, the fact that she built six hospitals in Taiwan, and spreads the message of service.
 
Tzu Chi: Yes, yes. I think most people are pretty amazed by that.
 
LA YOGA: Was Master Cheng Yen’s commitment to medical care inspired in part by what drew her to the dharma, her mother’s surgery, personal challenges, and her father’s death?
 
TC: We have to go back 50 plus years ago, when she, well there are a few things, a few reasons that she really wanted to set up the foundation. One of them is that she went to a local hospital, it was a hospital, but the scale was in no way comparable to what we have here.
 
She saw some sort of blood on the floor and then she asked around, “What happened? Why is there blood on the floor?” And then, this lady told her “There is a lady, she had a difficult time to deliver the baby.” There are some residents in the mountains in Taiwan, and it’s difficult for them to travel so they are carried down the mountain.
 
But then this lady had a hard time delivering her baby and she didn’t have the money to pay the required deposit, so the hospital refused to take care of her. Then they had to hand carry her back, which means that she would just die with the baby.
 
Master Cheng Yen heard this story and she was so shocked, and she asked, “How could this happen?” But it was a policy of the hospital at the time, and pretty much in all of Taiwan. She was afflicted with grief and sensed the importance of financial support in times of critical need. This incident turned into the catalyst that prompted her to set up a charity.
 
Master Cheng Yen established the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. Her dedication and determination to change medical care and her commitment to medical care is what drew her to the dharma.
 
Some other experiences that strengthened her commitment include when she witnessed the suffering of sickness and pain while caring for her debilitated brother in the hospital for months. When her mother needed a risky operation, she prayed and offered to give up years of her own life in exchange for her mother’s health. Her mother recovered without surgery.
 
Master Cheng Yen’s spiritual calling intensified when her father died and she was left bereaved and full of questions about the meaning of life. The shock and trauma of her father’s death marked a turning point in her life. She began to search for the truths behind life and death, and often visited a Buddhist temple in her hometown to study the Buddhist sutras and to seek answers to her questions.
 
After her father’s death, she ran away from home to become a Buddhist nun, needing to expand the love for her family to all of humanity. The conditions there were harsh, but her commitment to the Dharma only grew stronger.  Her auspicious first contact with Buddha Dharma at this crucial moment offered the wisdom and guidance she was seeking.
 

Tzu Chi Spreads the Dharma through Compassionate Action

LA YOGA: It sounds like these experiences strengthened her resolve to focus on healthcare as a means of reducing suffering and making a difference. It looks like healthcare is one of the missions of Tzu Chi in the US. What are some of the ways in which this commitment is implemented?
 
Tzu Chi: In 1993 we had the first clinic, a free clinic in Alhambra, not far from where we are speaking now in El Monte. If patients can prove that their monthly income is below the federal poverty line, they are qualified to receive free medical and dental care. We decided to do a health fair in San Bernardino.
 
From that we expanded and we developed a portable unit for dental care. We developed a dental bus with two dental chairs, X-rays, everything that a dentist would need. You could even do some light surgery in the van. This progressed from supporting a Dental Van to offering a Vision Van with same-day glasses.
 
We have a program called See 2 Succeed which is a collaboration of community partners such as, Kaiser Permanente, CalViva Health, Health Net, Eye-Q Center, and many more. Tzu Chi’s Vision Mobile Clinic is serving 10 school districts in Fresno County with the support of community grants and in-kind support.
 
LA YOGA: What are some of the reasons why people volunteer for Tzu Chi and do you have any stories about the impact of this work on the volunteers themselves?
 
Tzu Chi: I think they volunteer for the Foundation because we are a faith-based foundation. There is a philosophy behind volunteering. Our volunteers came here to Tzu Chi not just to help; they also want to learn and improve their lives. Some of our volunteers, volunteer with their kids from when they are in primary school until they are teenagers.
 
The work they do has an impact on their own lives. For example, a group traveled across the border to Tijuana to volunteer for our health fair, and when they came back their attitude completely changed. Now they appreciate everything they have.
 
LA YOGA: Oh they’re in gratitude.
 
Tzu Chi: Yes, and the parents are very happy about it because somehow through this opportunity of volunteering the kids learn that the most important thing is to really appreciate everything that you have. The kids especially learn this through volunteer work.
 
LA YOGA: We understand that Tzu Chi USA began by mobilizing volunteers, then hosting tea parties where they could share their thoughts, experiences, and joy of volunteering. The events quickly inspired the creation of additional chapters gaining supporters.
 
Today, Tzu Chi USA has more than 60 service centers, with over 100,000 volunteers working to make a difference in their communities. It sounds like the movement has gained traction with the Chinese and Taiwanese communities in the US. How is Tzu Chi reaching beyond their roots to connect with a wide variety of people?
 
Tzu Chi: Yes, that’s a very good question. That’s the thing that I am trying to work on now. I think every foundation has its history, its story to being with. But I think it’s time that we should think about how we invite more people to participate.
 
We want to reach out to people who are looking for a philosophy, message, and work that involves the mind, body, and spirit. We are spreading our vision and message through publications such as LA Yoga  and other media and talk radio, sharing the spirit of Tzu Chi, which inspires the heart, encourages putting compassion into action, and advocates giving as a way of life.
 

 
LA YOGA: In addition to the initiatives such as the Back To School Kick- Off, what are some other Southern California-based programs run by Tzu Chi?
 
Tzu Chi: Some of the other Southern California-based programs run by Tzu Chi include individual aid cases, disaster relief, Happy Campus Program, mobile food pantries, free medical services,  job referrals, charity distributions, character education, and scholarships. There is a lot of variety in the work that we do.
 
LA YOGA: You mentioned being a faith-based organization and one focused on body, mind, and spirit. What are some of the teachings that are integral to the organization and the mission?
 
Tzu Chi: Gratitude, Respect and Love. Especially Love.
 
We are a foundation based on love, and encourage people to take care of others, and to give without asking for anything in return.
 
LA YOGA: Does Master Cheng Yen share dharma teachings with her students and members of the organization?
 
Tzu Chi: Yes. Every day in the morning, she offers a sutra teaching. You can listen online here.
 
You can watch Tzu Chi Teachings related to the spirit of gratitude here.
 
LA YOGA: Is there any emphasis placed on a daily or personal practice? How is the charity work influenced by the dharma teachings?
 
Tzu Chi: It is a daily practice. Here is a typical example how our charity work is influenced by dharma, say when we do disaster relief. We will give those impacted some blankets typically because the weather is cold, and then we give them some kind of emergency financial aid, ($300 or $500 depending on the size of the family), and perhaps a hot meal, or some kind of easy to eat nutritious food.
 
But the manner in which we offer this aid is integral to our practice. The typical way our volunteers deliver items to people is to hand things to them with a 90 degree bow. Through this gesture, we want demonstrate our respect.
 
We want to show that people care, we care. We want to send the message to people not to give up because a lot of people care, we don’t even know who you are but we’re here! We want to give the message, “Don’t give up, just keep going, we know that you are suffering and we do what we can do to help. The point is you, don’t give up, because we don’t give up, so you don’t give up, just keep going, you’ll be fine.” Hopefully by doing that we encourage and inspire people.
 

 

Tzu Chi’s Thousands of Helping Hands Charity Art Performance

LA YOGA: Los Angeles hosts the Charity Arts Performance on October 1. What is the connection of the upcoming  Charity Art Performance series with the mission of the organization?
 
Tzu Chi: The Thousands of Helping Hands Charity Art Performance features the astonishing artistry of the world-renowned China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe ( CDPPAT )
 

 
Tzu Chi: They may be visually, hearing, or physically impaired, but they’re able to move, dance, keep a rhythm, and do so much more because of how they inspire others. The message here is that “Everybody can contribute.” Hopefully this can serve as an inspiration to everyone.
 
The world can use more helping hands to join together and do good deeds on behalf of those in need in their communities and beyond.
 
Right now, Tzu Chi has truly taken the suffering resulting from Hurricane Harvey to heart. We mobilized an extensive disaster relief mission for this catastrophe, which has begun, and will continue for some time.
 

 
But then Hurricane Irma appeared on the horizon. Our mission will simply embrace this disaster as well.
 
When it comes to love, there are no boundaries, no limits, and no obstacles that can’t be overcome. That’s what every Tzu Chi volunteer believes and practices daily. In a way, we’re planting seeds of compassion in each aid recipient too – because we have seen how those who receive unconditional love, are then motivated to give and to pass it on to others. It’s a beautiful thing, it really is.
 

 
Let’s come together and do more for society! May these two hands that we each possess, and our activities, help others. It feels great, and what greater meaning is there to life, than that – being of benefit to others.
 
LA YOGA: We are inspired by the mission and work of Tzu Chi. Please support this work by attending the Charity Art Performance to celebrate and support.
 
To learn more about the Tzu Chi Foundation click here.
 

 

Staff Writer Lakshmi

The post Tzu Chi embodies Charity through Compassion and Good Works appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Finding Compassion in a SoCal Gym

At the SoCal gym’s steam room that day, Jesse’s bright eyes, easy smile, and gregarious demeanor made me feel immediately at ease. You may know what I’m talking about when I speak of how some people strike you with their internal brightness.
 
“Best part of any workout, isn’t it?” he said, reaching out to shake my hand, “My name’s Jesse.”
 
“No doubt about it, Jesse. I’m Benjy.”
 
“There’s always something about coming in here that feels like it reconnects me,” Jesse said. “I can let the rest of my world fall away for a while.” The openness of his tone made me feel even more grateful that he had come in at that moment.
 
“Absolutely! Especially now. . . I just got back from the desert, near Joshua Tree, and the moisture is a godsend!”
 
“Oh yeah – I know what you mean . . . I spent a lot of time out that way,” Jesse replied. “Twentynine Palms, actually.”
 
“What were you doing there?”
 
“I was in the Marines,” Jesse went on, “and I guess you could say it helped me get ready . . .” He paused for a moment, “I served two tours of duty in Iraq. Came back when I was wounded.” His eyes briefly reflected a level of pain that was outside the realm of anything I had ever experienced.
 
“I’m so sorry to hear that, Jesse.” Somehow I wished that I could find a deeper way to reach out to him.
 
He looked away for a moment then looking me straight in the eye, he said, “In many ways it was a gift to me -– put me on the path I’m meant to be on.” I nodded, even though it was nearly impossible for me to see how being wounded in battle could ever be experienced as a gift.
 
“I’m grateful, because it inspired me to reach out in ways I’ve always wanted to. You see, I’m a Catholic, a Christian who was raised to believe that we are all here to serve this world in the best way we can.” Threads of my own life – my Quaker upbringing, my love of Hanuman and the selfless service that he represents, and deep desire to serve the world through kirtan and music – wove themselves into a sense of kinship and connection with this man I had just met.
 
“When I got back, I became aware that many wounded soldiers were suffering far more from PTSD than their physical wounds,” he said. “Most of the time, therapists working with them were getting nowhere. These soldiers knew that the psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers had no idea what they had actually been through, and in many cases, their efforts seemed to do more harm than good. Many of these guys who had been like my brothers on the battlefield, were acting out like crazy . . . drinking, shooting up, winding up in jail for battery . . .”
 
He paused, “I knew these guys would listen to me, because I had been there.”
 
Jesse went on to tell me how he was now spending 20 hours each week communing with his “Battleground Brothers” on top of his full-time job. He made it clear that it didn’t feel like an option for him to do otherwise. The paradoxical blessing of his suffering revealed itself in his unique gift for connecting with veterans whose mental health prognoses appeared hopeless.
 
Humbled, I said, “I can’t thank you enough for making that choice, Jesse. Wow . . . you inspire me . . .” I trailed off, not finding adequate words.
 
He shrugged, “Looking out for each other doesn’t stop when the shooting stops. It’s just another part of my duty, nothing more. I know they’d do the same for me.”
 
We stared into the steam; it was the kind of easy silence usually reserved for time shared with close friends. “Well, Benjy, it’s been great talking with you,” he said. “I’ve got a friend in the hospital waiting for me.” Taking my hand in a brotherly handshake, he flashed the same easy smile that started our unexpected communion.
 
“Take good care of yourself. Thanks again, brother.”
 

The Heart of Hanuman

I realized that the compassion I had just seen was the heart of Hanuman — this commitment to selfless service — in a Catholic Marine. Here was a man whose life circumstances could hardly have been more different from mine, who reminded me that extreme hardship becomes a blessing when we use our experience of such pain to help others find their way through it.
 
The door closed behind him, leaving me alone with an epiphany. Had we met otherwise, I might never have heard his story. My own preconceived ideas about what Marines are like would have kept me from receiving an utterly timeless lesson in what it really means to live as a karma yogi and be committed to skillful action in everyday life.
 
As we navigate these times – when so many of us have become deeply polarized along political or cosmological lines – may we be given the ability to cultivate compassion, and may we have the courage, wisdom, and gentle strength to open our hearts, open our minds, and open ourselves to the infinite possibilities of what we can give one another in service.
 

Benjy Wertheimer

An award-winning musician, composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist equally accomplished on tabla, percussion, esraj, guitar, and keyboards, Benjy Wertheimer has performed and recorded with such artists as Krishna Das, Deva Premal and Miten, Jai Uttal, Walter Becker of Steely Dan, virtuoso guitarist Michael Mandrell, tabla master Zakir Hussain, and renowned bamboo flute master G. S. Sachdev.

He has also opened for such well-known artists as Carlos Santana, Paul Winter, and Narada Michael Walden. Benjy is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed world fusion ensemble Ancient Future.

He began his musical studies at age five, starting with piano and later violin, flamenco guitar, and Afro-Cuban percussion. Benjy has been a student of Indian classical music for over 35 years, sitting with some of the greatest masters of that tradition, including Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain, Ali Akbar Khan and Z. M. Dagar. Along with the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, he was a contributing composer and member of the Zakir Hussain Rhythm Experience.

Trained in audio engineering at San Francisco State University, Benjy is also very much in demand as a producer, engineer and studio session musician. For over five years, Benjy scored music for the internationally syndicated NBC series Santa Barbara, and his CD Circle of Fire went to #1 on the international New Age radio charts.

Making his home in Portland, Oregon, he now tours internationally in the kirtan group Shantala (with his wife Heather) and as part of the kirtan “supergroup” The Hanumen.

www.benjymusic.com

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Jon offering sound healing at The Beloved Festival

“The gong is the first and last instrument for the human mind. It is the basic creative sound. To the mind, the sound of the gong is like a mother and father that gave it birth. The mind has no power to resist a gong that is well played.”  ~ Yogi Bhajan

The breadth of the Bridgetown sprawl has rendered the topography of Southwest Portland, Oregon unrecognizable since my last visit in 2007. That said, Jon Reinschreiber hasn’t really changed much since then. He looks pretty much the same: with long white Merlinesque hair and beard and sporting a tribal print T-shirt. Reinschreiber is a shamanic sound healer and fixture in the larger Portland healing community who sold his house on Craigslist and followed the medicine path around the world before returning back home to Portland.

Twelve countries and five continents later, with a wealth of collected instruments and esoteric knowledge of vibrational healing, Reinschreiber has meticulously fashioned a fusion of traditional healing styles from techniques imparted by indigenous healers to create his modality. In short, he showed up, got the downloads, and put them to practice.

Over the last decade he has toured extensively leading meditations and facilitating performances from Burning Man to The Beloved Festival as well as for a long list of yoga studios, churches, and even prisons.

“Everything just blended together to create the harmonics that I was looking forward to creating,” he says while sitting in his Shamanic Vibrations Temple in South East Portland. The Temple is spacious loft with red walls and trippy ambient lighting effects. Here he sets up large chrome gong racks in preparation for this evening’s meditation.

Among his extensive collection of sacred musical instruments are Himalayan and crystal singing bowls, Chinese wind and Chau gongs, Javanese temple gongs, bells, whistles, flutes, drums, rattles, shakers, and a few rare healing instruments including bird quill pan pipes, Peruvian Chimu water whistles, and Peruvian flutes.

“People need to be practicing radical self-care,” Reinschreiber says. He’s operating on this simple premise, “If sound and vibration can create, they can heal,” he says. “Each human body has it’s own natural harmonic resonance.” He cites disruptions in that resonance as the cause of disease and imbalance. “Gongs, singing bowls and other instruments can create a harmonic field that restore the body’s natural vibratory resonance to vibrant health,” he says.

Watch the video of Jon Reinschreiber and his Gong Medicine.

Gongs have the capacity to create deep complex harmonics that suspend linear time, allowing chaos and order to co-exist beyond the mind’s reactions. This induces a creative meditation where internal blockages, conflicts, and traumas can be resolved, dissolved, and healed.

Yogi Bhajan said about this process, “The mind has no power to resist a gong that is well played.” That is exactly what happens in Reinschreiber’s meditations.

“The gongs are great for shutting down the monkey mind,” he says. A few minutes after he strikes the first gong, everyone in attendance has gone deep. An hour later it takes a little time before they begin to integrate the work.

Later Reinschrieber reflects as he packs up his tools, “I get what the people are willing to receive.” With gratitude he says, “I get to work in the energy of people doing deep healing work.”

You can sit in Jon Reinschreiber’s gong meditation series in Portland where he also offers everything from private healings to a variety of workshops ranging from introduction to master circles. You can also connect with him on tour and download recordings on CD Baby or on his site Shamanic Vibrations.

And Silver Fox said to Coyote, ‘Let us sing the World’ and they danced and they sang until the earth was created.”
~ Miwok Creation Legend

Sam Slovick

Award-winning journalist, documentary director and long-term LA Yoga contributor Sam Slovick is the director, writer and producer of the Radicalized documentary, currently working on the Kirtan Road Dogs documentary.

samslovick.com

The post Gong Medicine appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Nahko Bear photo by Daniel Jung.

A story of family origins, music, and activism.

From the West, from the North, from the East, from the South, the medicine tribe is gathering. They are rising up in unity, in resilience, and with the intention of creating new paradigms on the planet. They’re a group of young people being awakened into action by the music of a messenger. The messenger’s name is Nahko Bear and if you haven’t heard of him yet, you will.

Nahko Bear sang in support of candidate Bernie Sanders for a rally during his 2016 presidential run in San Diego. He marched for Climate Change with the 400,000 who could not be silenced outside of the United Nations. Nahko was part of the digital revolution that saved the sanctity of the Hawaiian Volcano Mauna Kea. He cleared passage ways for salmon to swim up the California Coast. And Nahko stood in solidarity with the thousands camped at Standing Rock to block the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Sacred missions may be in his bloodline.

Portrait of Nahko Bear by Daniel Jung

Nahko’s paternal grandfather was a Filipino lawyer who successfully protected a local village from Shell Gasoline pillaging it. Two days after the agreement was reached, he was shot and killed. Nahko’s grandmother fled to safety. Her sons were already serving in the Philippine Navy. One of them met an indigenous woman in a bar in San Diego, California. That woman arranged for her fourteen-year-old daughter to be in relations with the sailor for two weeks. Nine months later, baby Nahko was born. His name has been changed as many times as his family structure, but even when adopted by Caucasian Republican Baptists he kept the middle name Nahkohe-ese. It means “Little Bear” in native Cheyenne language. Its abbreviation, “Nahko” is now chanted by the medicine tribe at protests and concerts from coast to coast.

“It took me years to tap into tribal community. I searched for many summers just looking for native people to connect with,” recalls Nahko. After 17 years spent outside of Portland, Oregon, being raised “in the irony of what I didn’t like about America,” Nahko took to the road. He traveled from Alaska to Hawai’i, California, Washington, Idaho, the Dakotas, and Minnesota. He soaked in hot springs in national parks, and slept under the stars with his guitar.

“As I drove around, I was learning the history of the country by exploring it, and as I did that, I was writing a ton of songs, and gaining my own ideals of the United States…. The first elder that really saw me was Winona LaDuke. I was a fan of her work for a while, and she was the first person to take me under her wing, who saw me for who I was, and accepted me into her community.”

LaDuke, the revered environmental activist and executive director of Honor the Earth, is a native Anishinaabe of the White Earth Reservation. She successfully stopped the Sandpiper [Enbridge Oil] pipeline and is now firmly footed at Red Warrior Camp outside Standing Rock. Nahko is enamored by how she harnesses her heroism saying, “One of the most beautiful things I feel right now, is that you see these amazing, empowered women who are stepping up and really reminding us young men, and men in general, that our role is to let the women lead, and yet, we’re their protectors and we stand side-by-side, but the women are supposed to lead with their hearts.”

Shifting out of the patriarchy and into a maternal “equal and free” society is something Nahko hopes to be a part of in his lifetime. On concert stages in front of thousands and in private conversations alike, he refers to God with the pronoun “She,” makes a point to do a daily ceremony to Mother Nature, and relies on a management and tour staff of badass women. In addition, Nahko’s personal council of elders includes the aforementioned Winona LaDuke, Chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe Caleen Sisk, and “Auntie” Pua Case, founder of  Hawai’i Warrior Rising.

Chief Caleen Sisk’s Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s territory is along the McCloud River watershed in Northern California. They are committed to protecting the cleanliness and availability of water, clearing passageways for their “relatives” the salmon, and maintaining indigenous spiritual life.

Pua Case guided the #WeAreMaunaKea movement that protected the Hawaiian volcano, Mauna Kea Mountain from being desecrated from a proposed 1.4 billion dollar telescope to be built in the name of tourism and technology. The would-be demolition and construction site was planned on ceremonial land where native Hawaiians worship Wakea; Sky Father and where they dance, chant and commune with their ancestors who are buried there.

Winona, Caleen, Pua, and Nahko first stood side-by-side in New York City, of all places, at a fundraiser in the home of Peter Yarrow. Peter and his 60s supergroup, Peter, Paul & Mary were known for their flower child fight song, “We Shall Overcome.” That evening in Manhattan, Nahko became known for singing solo on a piano. From his track, “The Wolves Have Returned” his velvety, symphonic sound filled the philanthropists’ living room:, “Spruce tips and cedars now free up them rivers / the salmon will run / no dam can hold / Uniting the nations/ it’s gonna take some patience /so unzip your sheep skins the wolves have returned.”

Portrait of Nahko Bear by Daniel Jung

It was a prophetic performance that would inform Nahko’s ongoing path to protect the planet. He describes the scene saying, “Everyone was crying. It was the most beautiful moment, and I realized I wanted to go work with Caleen somehow.” He was soon called to California’s Mount Shasta to be in ceremony with the chief. Within the wise woman’s smokehouse, they hatched a plan to unblock local waterways in service of her beloved upstream swimming salmon.

September, 2016, after a hectic festival season tour schedule and significant time spent at Standing Rock, Nahko, Caleen, Pua, Pua’s daughter Hawane, and a group of indigenous water-keepers began a 300-mile trek titled RUN4SALMON. This two-week active prayer forged a clear current for salmon to swim from the Sacramento—San Joaquin Delta to the Winnemem’s McCloud River. In addition, it raised awareness about Big Ag’s irrigation plans to further thirst the California Coast by building another dam in the area, depleting natural resources and those that depend on them.

Nahko reflects soberly, “I’ve dropped into a deeper way. It takes a lot to change. To be accepted into ceremonial life, especially because I didn’t grow up in a tribal community. They’ll look right through you to see if you are ready or not. Being able to come into that walk, and let go of a lot of other things that are going on, so I could actually show up in a way that was humbled, stripped of my ego, and be able to just be of service.”

A big part of this sheepskin-shedding came when Nahko felt compelled to confront the circumstances of his conception and to clear his familial line. After re-establishing a relationship with his birth mother and his indigenous grandmother who trafficked her, Nahko sought out his biological father. Like his Filipino lawyer father before him, Nahko’s dad died by the gun. He was murdered in California, on Christmas Eve 1994. A few years ago, the man who hazily pulled the trigger was up for parole. Nahko was asked to testify at the hearing; to remind the judge of all he had lost without a father figure to lean on and learn from.

“My uncle called me, he’s like, ‘Hey the guy who killed your dad is going up for parole for the first time in 19 years. Do you want to go with us? What happens is usually we write letters, and then we testify, and then it puts him back into jail’.”

Nahko contemplated the impact that could have, and realized, “I’m not necessarily even mad at this guy, because I believe so strongly that everything happens for a reason.” He began researching the possibility of an in-prison visit. “I knew my family would not be down for that, but maybe that’s what I need to do for me, because I was a different part of the story.”

It was Thursday of Fourth of July weekend, and Sunday he would be leaving on a rock n’ roll tour with Xavier Rudd.  Nahko thought, “You know what, I’m just going to go.” By Saturday, he was standing in the visitation line at San Quentin State Penitentiary. The governmental staff who hadn’t responded to his visitation application online were far more accommodating in person. A kind-hearted guard noticed “Hawaii” on his ID, assumed he had traveled a long way, and knew he had only this one day. She worked the system, and granted him a pass. Moments later Nahko came face-to-face with the man who had murdered his father. A man of similar facial features, whose first words were, “Whoa, are you my long-lost brother?”

Nahko said, “Yea kinda, but not really,” and thought, “Fuck it, here we go.” He says, “I started from the beginning of how I was born. That when my uncle met me, he told me that somebody had shot and killed my dad. Homie was so calm and zen, and then his whole thing changed, he was like ‘Oooh….you’re his son,’ and then he started crying, and I started crying, and he just kept saying, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry for taking your dad away from you,’ and I was like, ‘That’s why I’m here, I’m here to tell you that you are forgiven’.”

It wasn’t a premeditated move, but an outcome that lifted the heaviness of that lineage. The inmate went on to express the hardships of prison life, the daily death-toll, and his shock that he had lasted in there, unharmed for so long. He vocalized that if his destiny was to die in San Quentin, then so be it.  However, if he were to be released, he would return home to the Philippines to ask for forgiveness from his own dying father, whose body was filled with cancer and whose heart was filled with his son’s shame.

Some of the final words the prisoner said to his very first visitor were, “If I ever get out of here, I want to take you fishing because you never got to do anything with your dad. That’s what I would do with my dad.” Nahko responded in kind, “Well, I don’t know what’s going to happen when you go face my family next month, but I encourage you to speak from your heart.”

A few weeks later, Nahko’s aunt called. Though some in his family were furious, the story had resonated with his biological brothers and sisters, who, at the parole hearing, pardoned the prisoner. Exactly 20 years after the shooting, on Christmas Eve 2014, the man was released and deported back home. When asked about this before a show in San Luis Obispo, Nahko cheerfully chirped, “I’m hoping he’s alive and well because I want to go find him and go fishing.”

While freedom can be found in forgiveness of the living, it can be more challenging to make amends with those no longer walking the Earth. Nahko felt his backstory included a few more people to make peace with. The healing came in the form of a phone call from a stranger who is able communicate with those who have crossed over. She said, “I talked to your dad, and he’s really sorry for what he did. I talked to your [indigenous] grandma and she’s gathering the nations for you. It is written don’t push your destiny. Just let it happen.”

Nahko Bear and Medicine for the People. Photo by Daniel Jung.

And it is happening. In each state where Nahko Bear and his band Medicine for the People travel for concerts, they are greeted by the state’s own “medicine tribe.” These tribes have come together by a love for Nahko and his music, yet there’s more to it. As Nahko explains, “Every state has a Medicine Tribe page on Facebook, and they’re basically taking the community aspect of the music outside of the band’s interest. They’re really creating alliances among themselves. They’re saying, ‘Let’s have a community meeting and share.’ That’s super special and I had nothing to do with that. They had their own festival last year in Indiana and 900 people came. We’re just planting the seed and everybody is just doing what they’re doing with it. I don’t have to question [our message] being sustainable because I can see the fruits of the labor being grafted.”

With each new tour and album, their message is becoming clearer. The latest LP is entitled Hoka, the Lakota word that Crazy Horse would cry out before going into battle. Essentially, it means “a call to action.” True to its title, the album contains tracks with names like “We Shall Overcome,” “All Can Be Done,” “We Are On Time,” “Build A Bridge,” and recent fan favorite “Make A Change.”

Nahko Bear and his band of musicians Medicine for the People. Photo by Daniel Jung.

Nahko is backed by one of the hardest-traveling bands in the conscious music movement: Justin Chittams, Patricio Zuniga, Tim Snider, Chase Makai, and Max Ribner round out the reggae-inspired, ancient, tribal, rhythmic, revolutionary, rap, and rock n’ roll sound. This group of guys are more than simply bandmates; they are true brothers, supporting a massive mission. Across the globe they step on the stage and sing, “I can make a change.” The audience responds by chanting the same. Soon groups of thousands are saying, and shouting, and thinking and believing in themselves, reaffirming, I CAN MAKE A CHANGE. The energy is always palpable, leaving each individual inspired to do their own work in the world.

Nahko clarifies, “Even though right now you could look around and go, ‘Shit is so bad’ with the distractions corporate media creates to alter our focus, the election, our water crisis; whether it’s a drought or our polluted drinking water, or bottled water companies owning rivers, or military policing and protecting corporate interests, I still look at it in a way where it’s actually a really exciting time, because not only do smart conscious people thrive in this environment, but it’s getting so bad that we are actually collecting more people to wake up to the reality of the situation. We’re getting more people from a neutral place, or a passive space, into an active space, and that’s cool because they’ll arrest Hollywood actresses, or [film director] Josh Fox, or they’ll try to silence reporters, like [Democracy Now’s] Amy Goodman, and they think it’s going to deter people from sourcing information, or showing up and standing there. However, it’s only going to create more opportunity to make the world aware. Because sooner than later, ‘we the people’ will take back Turtle Island and reclaim it as a free and equal society, bound by our watersheds and bioregions.  We will reclaim democracy as the Iroquois meant it to be.  I believe in those good things coming.”

Nahko Bear and his band Medicine for the People. Photo by Daniel Jung.

Nahko’s beliefs have radiated into the bodies, minds, hearts, and voices of the thousands globally who have been woken up by the “Little Bear” who came to the planet in this time, in this way, with this diverse backstory to serve this mission. “Something that I had to come to terms with at Standing Rock was believing in myself, and believing that I am here for a greater purpose,” reflects Nahko.

It is written.

For more information about Nahko

For more information on Nahko Bear, his music, and his activism, visit: nahko.com

Read Alisha Shakti’s review of Nahko Bear’s album My Name is Bear.

Amy V Dewhurst

To Check Out Amy’s Work Go To; Sense + Color, You Can Reach Her At IG:  Amy_V_Dewhurst  + AmyVDewhurst@SenseAndColor.co #PutYourGoodWhereItWillDoTheMost

www.senseandcolor.co

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Barnet was completely himself, honest and open, willing to share any bit of insight he has about filmmaking, storytelling, and the creative process. I was humbled to sit with one of my favorite filmmakers; Barnet’s resume is filled with films that explore the human condition, our quest for peace and understanding (What Dreams May Come, The Celestine Prophecy). On this occasion, he was sharing about the process of bringing a film to live and a bit about his next project, titled Milton’s Secret, which begins production this month and will star Donald Sutherland.

I was frustrated with the trajectory one of my films was taking, and he smiled, nodded, took a deep breath and said, “It will happen, you just have to walk the path, you just have to trust your own ability. This is the moment to not give in; in this space you’re in lies an answer.” He was right. The creative process is rife with opportunity for one to get to know themselves, what they are capable of, and what’s stopping them from going all the way.

This is the theme of his new book The Book of Doing and Being – Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love and Work. The human capacity for creation is immense. We create each and every aspect of our lives from our hearts. Being creative isn’t just about being an artist or a writer, creativity is our essence and once we get out of our own way, let go of our past and clear the path we can create anything.

As Barnet says, “In the world of entertainment, where I have spent my professional life as a writer, director, and producer, creativity is expected. But in reality, every job and vocation is a creative endeavor. In fact, every act is a creative act. A relationship, a business, a screenplay, a dance, an art form, a reality—everything we know and love is a constellation of creative acts. For people today, work and business are the primary channels of creative expression. Work is one of our greatest art forms. And, what we are discovering is that creativity and stress don’t mix. A little creative chaos and tension, yes. But cortisol-inducing stress diminishes the pleasure and productivity that make our workdays feel worthwhile.”

Just how do you actually accomplish this? Fortunately, there are some tangible techniques that allow each on of us to rediscover our creativity. Barnet offers the following suggestions with these two exercises which will clear the path for inspiration, intuition, relaxation, and flow—all integral parts of your creativity toolkit.

The Book of Doing and Being is not a fluffy woo-woo filled with rainbows and unicorns kind of book, it’s about doing the work inside and out. Hence the title doing and being. In his words, has a knack for lifting you up while lovingly giving you a bit of a kick in the rump. He offers practical advice and processes to stretch your mind and move you to places you probably haven’t visited since you were five, places we should all hang out in more often to allow our creativity to flow with ease. Oh, and we should all spend more time in hot tubs where the creative people hang out.

Betsy Chasse is a mom, author, and filmmaker. Her most notable film is What The Bleep Do We Know and her book is Tipping Sacred Cows, visit her website to learn about her other films and books. betsychasse.com

Barnet Bain’s film credits include the Oscar-winner What Dreams May Come; he is currently directing the family drama Milton’s Secret, based on the novel by Eckhart Tolle.  He is the author of The Book of Doing and Being: Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love and Work. barnetbain.com


Betsy Chasse

Betsy Chasse is an award winning filmmaker (What The Bleep Do We Know?!, Song of the New Earth, Pregnant In America) and best selling author (Tipping Sacred Cows, It Came Out of My Vagina, Now What?! – A book on Conscious Parenting) You can learn more about her at www.betsychasse.net

betsychasse.net

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Nathan Sykes Solo Artist

Nathan Sykes is following in the footsteps of Justin Timberlake and Nick Jonas. Artists who made the not-so-easy transition from massively successful boy bands (NYSNC and the Jonas Brothers, respectively) to heartthrob solo artists.

Many have tried and failed, but Nathan will not fall into that category. Born with an incredible musical talent, he started singing when he was six years old. By the age of 10, he was winning local competitions including the Cheltenham Competitive Festival of Dramatic Art. He joined the British boy band The Wanted when he was 16. I had the pleasure of working with the band for a few years during which we shared a lot of fun memories (including adventures in London, NYC, LA, San Diego and Las Vegas). They achieved notable success.

The Wanted and The Wanted Life

The Wanted’s first single, “Glad You Came” went all the way to #1 in the US. They had a reality show on E TV, The Wanted Life. I watched as they went from being unknown in the US to heartthrobs.. I remember walking through The Grove with the guys while being chased by girls and the paparazzi. When The Wanted performed on the Tonight Show, the girls rushed the stage. It was chaos and an all-time first for Jay Leno and crew.

Nathan Skyes and Unfinished Business

Nathan launched his first solo project with the powerhouse team of Global Entertainment behind him. I’m excited to work with Nathan on his US radio campaign. We had so much fun while he was part of The Wanted and I look forward to achieving another #1 hit together. His first single is a fun uptempo song called “Kiss Me Quick.” His album, Unfinished Business, is available.

Nathan Sykes and Health and Fitness

Being an international star requires a busy travel schedule. I was able to grab a few minutes with Nathan to talk about his healthy secrets. The first thing he told me is, “I’m a bit weird,” and of course, we laughed. He continued to tell me the most important change he made after vocal cord surgery to remove a polyp: He stopped drinking soda. Instead, he drinks plenty of water and loves juicing. His favorite juice is the classic lemon and cayenne blend.

When it come to exercise he said, “I love walking.” I find a lot of artists either run or walk because at the same time they exercise, they can sightsee and enjoy the views of nature or the city they’re visiting. While walking, Nathan loves to listen to artists including Amy Winehouse, Miguel, and Frank Ocean. He wants to try yoga and his sister swears by it (I told him I swear by it as well). He tries to eat as healthy as he can when traveling and is a pescatarian (when he cut out all meat except fish, he noticed a drastic improvement in his skin).

Be sure to purchase his incredible hit single “Kiss Me Quick.” Nathan Syke’s long-awaited debut album Unfinished Business. Download it here: nathansyk.es/UnfinishedBusinessDeluxe

You can find more information at: nathansykesofficial.com.

Lori Rischer

Lori Rischer is a music business promotion and marketing executive. In addition, she is the health & fitness spokesperson for KIIS-FM, a yoga teacher and certified yoga therapist. Rockstar Health & Fitness shares the healthy secrets of celebrities. Check out her blog at KIISFM.com keyword Rockstar or LoriRischer.com and listen to her workout playlist on icHeartRadio iheart.com/original/Rockstar-Health-Fitness.

loririscher.com

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Harry Hamlin discusses finding the grounding influence of meditation through his role in feature film, The Fourth Noble Truth.

Meditation is increasingly a topic of news stories and a part of popular culture. Meditation is even part of the subject of an entertaining feature film, The Fourth Noble Truth. The film’s star Harry Hamlin inspires on screen. A recent conversation with the talented actor gave me a powerful hit on inspiration when we discussed the power of practicing meditation.

Harry Hamlin and the film The Fourth Noble Truth

In The Fourth Noble Truth, Harry plays Aaron. Aaron is a narcissistic movie star who gets in trouble (the kind of trouble that involves handcuffs) because he can’t maintain his cool. In order to impress the judge, Aaron’s lawyer sends the misbehaving actor to a series of classes with the judge’s meditation teacher, who is played with sincerity by Kristen Kerr.

Once I heard the name of the movie I was immediately intrigued. The first lesson that the Buddha taught beneath the Bodhi Tree was the lesson of the four noble truths. Life is suffering, the cause of suffering is desire, there are methods for reducing suffering, and the method for reducing suffering is to live by the principles of the eightfold path. The Bodhi Tree was also the place where the Buddha sat and attained enlightenment. I visited that very location in India and sat under the Bodhi Tree. It was a highlight of my travels.

As Harry and I spoke about the film and what drew him to the role of Aaron in The Fourth Noble Truth, my interest in the film, in Harry’s story, and in meditation grew. Harry decided to take on the role of the reluctant meditator Aaron because he was looking for a grounding influence in his own life in the midst of chaos. He found a welcome and fun challenge in the idea of playing a self-obsessed movie star who is handed a somewhat unconventional punishment for road rage.

Harry Hamlin and his Personal Practice of Meditation and Fitness

Harry began his personal practice of meditation in 1976 during his classical acting training at one of the top drama schools in the country—the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. He studied Transcendental Meditation (it was part of the school’s curriculum) and was given a mantra. When he is regularly practicing meditation, he says that he find his life runs like a well-oiled machine. Everything works and flows more efficiently. “The way you react is different, you sleep better and have an overall sense of calm,” Harry said. He continued, “When you step back and look at the big picture life is better, more enjoyable.” His meditation practice helps him step back.

In addition to meditation, Harry has a number of other healthy habits. These include hiking (his favorite outdoor activity is climbing mountains), weight training, and stretching. Healing from a recent foot injury required him to wear a cast and change up his routine. So he added daily 30 to 120-minute rides on a stationary bike in place of his customary hikes. And while Harry used to enjoy a regular yoga practice, an injury sustained during his stint on Dancing with the Stars led to placing his practice on hold to avoid forward folds per doctor’s orders. After the herniated disc he experienced has healed and Harry is looking forward to resuming his yoga practice.

Harry Hamlin and Food and Health

When it comes to food and health, Harry favors healthy and organic. He became vegan for a year after reading The China Study. During that year, his spine healed faster and more completely than the doctors thought possible. While he is not currently a vegan, he remains conscious about his choices.

The two of us had fun sharing meditation stories. If you have not yet tried mediation….go for it, it’s worth it. I promise you your life will improve. Just ask Harry.

The Fourth Noble Truth

The Fourth Noble Truth stars Harry Hamlin and Kristen Kerr. It opened in Los Angeles on June 5, 2015, at the Laemmle Royal (laemmle.com).
For more information about the film, visit: thefourthnobletruth.com

Lori Rischer

Lori Rischer is a music business promotion and marketing executive. In addition, she is the health & fitness spokesperson for KIIS-FM, a yoga teacher and certified yoga therapist. Rockstar Health & Fitness shares the healthy secrets of celebrities. Check out her blog at KIISFM.com keyword Rockstar or LoriRischer.com and listen to her workout playlist on icHeartRadio iheart.com/original/Rockstar-Health-Fitness.

loririscher.com

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I’m a spiral girl
living in a linear
world. Sometimes passing.

Haikus by Beth Lapides, from Did I Wake You? Haikus for Modern Living (published by Soft Skull Press). Bethlapides.com

Beth Lapides

Beth Lapides is the creatrix and host of UnCabaret. You may know her from her LA Yoga My Other Car is A Yoga Mat column, as the author of “Did I Wake You, Haiku For Modern Living”, from her appearances on Sex & The City, NPR and Comedy Central or from her writing in O Magazine, Elle Decor and Los Angeles Magazine. She teaches her workshop The Comedian’s Way privately in LA and annually at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. UnCabaret is her long running comedy show in which she asks the very best comedians working what is going on with you now. The show is known for being uniquely about the present and every Sunday a completely unique experience unfolds. In the past two years Beth has collaborated with Mitch Kaplan, both on the music for her New Agey comedy show “100% Happy 88% of the Time” and at UnCabaret where Mitch is Musical Director. Adding music to the comedy is like adding an out breath to the in, a vowel to the consonant. UnCabaret is intimate, conversation, idiosyncratic and fun intentional.

bethlapides.com

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Suzanne Sterling

Singing is one of the most intimate outer expressions of our essence. Whether it’s chanting the sacred names of the divine, singing along with the radio or joining our voices in happy birthday, we can feel that singing is more than just making a musical sound; it’s the manifestation of our inner world. Suzanne Sterling’s work as a singer, teacher and activist can best be looked at through the metaphoric lens of what it means to know and express your unique voice.

Suzanne’s entire life has been a path of pursuing freedom through the expression of her voice, “not just musically, but as a unique individual,” Suzanne says. On her own since she was fifteen, her process began by “removing the voices of conditioning that live inside me. All those negative mantras we tell ourselves. The ways we are supposed to be. The ways that we are supposed to fit into boxes that are conforming. Finding my voice has been about removing the voices of conditioning allowing my inner authentic voice to be heard and come out.”

Both Suzanne’s musical voice and her voice as a facilitator of social change are a unique blend of strength, truth, vulnerability and overtones of ethereal delicateness. When asked about her process of expressing her truth through her voice, Suzanne offered, “All of us are divine instruments of grace. Every single person has some piece of themselves that needs to be shared. We are made to express our reaction to what impacts us. When we don’t, our life-force (prana) gets stuck. Through the vibration of sound we can go into those stuck parts and move that energy. When we move that energy, the body becomes more available for full expression.”

That full expression has healing power, according to Suzanne, “Singing is very healing. It heals us physically and gives us permission to express the full extent of our emotions.”

Even knowing that singing is healing, it can still be intimidating. According to Suzanne, “Most people expect when they open their mouths they should sound beautiful.” But just like any type of Yoga, it takes practice; as Suzanne says, “The voice is an instrument and for most people it takes practice and work. When learning your voice, you don’t have to concentrate on being in tune, you have to concentrate on getting out of the way of your own voice to let spirit sing through us.” Even with that work, there’s more to voice than hitting the notes. As she says, “It’s not about the technique, it’s about being authentic. When that authentic voice comes out it’s immediately recognizable and undeniable.” And in any way in our lives that we find our own expression, we have to learn to practice compassion with ourselves. “Singing is a meditation and teaches me to not have judgment on my own voice. It’s been a constant meditation to accept my voice as it as, and move into the territories I’m afraid of.”

In addition to being an accomplished musician, Suzanne has decades of experience with spiritual practice and consensus building. Her work with the nonprofit Off the Mat, Into the World® is a vehicle to help people develop their ability and utilize their unique voice and expression to create social change. “I’m dedicated to not just helping people sing, but examining those deep-seeded fears and voices of conditioning that keep us from expressing our true self. A big part of what we do with Off the Mat® is inspiring and giving people tools so that they can become effective karma yogis. This means they have to perhaps tell a truth that’s not popular or perhaps tell a truth in the face of conflict and to learn how to skilfully communicate those truths.”

Communication isn’t always hard work. After all, singing is joyful and Suzanne believes in what she calls expressive joy, the pure utter delight of expression experienced when people move their bodies and voices together. As she says, “The impetus is to help create a community that is unafraid to speak their truth and to reach places of joy together. In Off the Mat® we say, let’s magnetize change. When we tap in so deeply to our inner joy, what we want to do and what we are passionate about, we then ‘know our voice.’ Once we find that [our voice], all we have to do is take the first step.” This first step would be to both literally and metaphorically open your mouth and make your sound. It’s a step Suzanne knows well and one she does again and again, inspiring others to do the same.

Join Suzanne Sterling and the crew of Off the Mat Into the World (including Seane Corn and Hala Khouri) for a kirtronica concert, Solstice ritual, guest performances, Yoga play lounge, food, drink and prayer to launch the Off the Mat 2010 initiatives and celebrate the release of Suzanne’s new album, Blue Fire Soul. Off the Mat’s 2010 initiatives include the Seva Challenge South Africa and Seva Challenge Los Angeles (so people can think and act globally and locally) as well as the Seva Challenge Documentary Film. Saturday, December 19, 7:30 – 11:00 P.M. $15.00. Yogaglo, 1800 Berkeley St, Santa Monica, CA. For more information, visit: offthematintotheworld.org or:yogalgo.com.

Suzanne Sterling teaches Yoga and Singing workshops nationally: suzannesterling.com.

Josh Brill is a yogi musician, Nada Yoga instructor, and healing artist devoted to using music to facilitate inner peace. His new CD, Earth Heart: Music for Yoga Vol. 1 and info about Yoga of Guitar lessons are available at: joshbrill.com.

By Josh Brill

Brian Chance

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