Playlist Thursday - Second Verse, Same as the First

Hey kids!

Here's a little trick to sequencing that no one tells you in teacher training:

Yoga teachers recycle!

If I didn't have some fall-back lesson plans to work with, I'd spend my entire life sequencing. It's not to say that I don't love throwing new stuff in the repertoire. If I had my way, I'd spend 90% of life learning new yoga from teachers, videos, articles, etc. I love to live and breathe yoga. Unfortunately, meals and sleep and family intervene and I'm often left with less prep time for class than I would like.

The same goes for playlists. I have some fall-backs that I like to use. Certain songs that I mix up and throw together when I need a soundtrack for class and I don't have time to prep one.

The following is a mix of some of my favourite stand-by yoga jams. You'll notice some repeats and that's cool. I know that as a yoga student, it's as comforting to hear familiar songs as it is exciting to hear new ones.

Here we go again:

* When I'm With You: Alias (Acoustic Live Version)

* Love on Top: Beyonce (What's a yoga class without Beyonce?)

* Into the Mystic: Colin James (There are many versions of this song that I'm totally in love with, but this is by far my favourite)

* Crash Into Me: Dave Matthews Band

* Hysteria: Def Leppard

* Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters: Elton John

* Levon: Elton John

Note: I don't normally put two songs by one artist back-to-back unless I feel like the songs somehow "go together"

* On Top of the World: Imagine Dragons

* Have a Little Faith in Me: Jewel (Because what's a yoga class without a song that makes the teacher cry?)

* Danny's Song: Kenny Loggins (go ahead and hate, Kenny Loggins haters.)

* Wildflowers: Tom Petty

* Ain't That a Kick in the Head: Dean Martin

* So Much Magnificence: Deva Premal and Miten (While I was doing my yoga teacher training, I always promised myself I would play this song for my first Savasana. I kept the promise to myself and have used it for many Savasanas since)

There are some spares on this list as well. They're interchangeable with the above songs and I pick and choose depending on my mood:

* Hot Child in the City: Nick Gilder (pre-google, Lins and I were convinced this was sung by a woman)

* More Than This: Roxy Music (my favourite song of all-time because of this scene)

* Cry to Me: Otis Redding (for me, there is always Otis)

* Sun Light: MC Yogi

* Vienna: Billy Joel

* Anything Could Happen: Ellie Goulding

I wish you many happy hours spent listening to mixed tapes,

Er

Playlist Thursady - Universal DJ

Confession: I just got a new IPhone and I have no idea how to use it. I've been a Blackberry gal all this time because I love the keyboard. My IPod bit the dust the same day I got my new phone, so I've been transferring all my music from pod to phone.

I remember being a kid and having dinner with friends of ours'. While doing dishes, our friend, S would wash and then leave the dishes in the rack, "God's doing the drying."

That's how this playlist came about. It's 80% randomness because I don't know how to use my phone  and 20% I-really-love-that-song.

Sometimes you've just gotta let the Universal DJ do his thang...

(Sometimes, there's no other choice)

* Get Back to Serenity - Vargo (from the Very Best of Cafe del Mar)

* Heading for the Sunrise - Steen Thottrup & Annette Berg (also from Cafe del Mar)

* Helpless - The Band feat. Neil Young (Concert Version from The Last Waltz)
(Cried during my own class while this one played.)

* Smile - Sierra Leon's Refugee All Stars (You need to watch their story) My hubby and I saw them at Starbelly Jam this past summer. The only thing more striking than their story of triumph of the human spirit is their catchy smiles and joyful lyrics)

* Tura Lura Lura - The Band (Live at The Last Waltz)
Also made me cry.

* 100 Billion Stars - Lux (also from Cafe del Mar)

* Arms of Mary - Chilliwack (I love this song. It's about doin' it. Just sayin'.)

* #Beautiful - Mariah Carey feat. Miguel.
Go ahead and judge me. I'm 31 now and I don't care if you know that I like Mariah Carey.

* Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys
Go Girl.

* Heart of Gold - Neil Young

* I'm Goin' Down - Bruce Springsteen
I have a Bruce Springsteen problem...

* The Long Run (Live) - The Eagles

* OM Namah Shivaya - MC Yogi feat. Bhagavan Das
What's a yoga class without a little Sanskrit?

* 6th Avenue Heartache - The Wallflowers
WTF ever happened to The Wallflowers? Anybody?

* Beach Waves - Nature Sounds

* Desire (Ambient Mix) - Blank & Jones

This has been a crazy week, filled with crazy times for this crazy chick. As an aside, I was greatly aided by this book:

 It's not just for artists. It's for anyone (everyone) who's looking to overcome Resistance and get closer to the life we're all hoping to live. It's as practical and pragmatic a guide as you're ever going to get.

 

 



Stop. Camel Time. Haha. Get it?

 

 

 

Looking forward (giddily) to practicing with those of you who can make it to class today. It's a really special day to me because it's a karma class to benefit Bridges to Community. Bridges is a group that's really close to my heart. A few years back I travelled with a girlfriend of mine to Nicaragua. We fund raised for six months and participated in the building of two houses. It improved the lives of people who became very dear to us and it sure as heck changed us in the process. If you'd like to learn more, visit them right here

 

 

One last thing. S and I made this video upon our return:  here

 

 

 Love you more than you know,

 

Er



Playlist Thursdays!

I'm super psyched for a new feature here on the Be a Tree blog!

 

Playlist Thursdays!

"Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do's and don'ts. First of all you're using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing" - High Fidelity

I don't mean to brag, but I'm kind of a master at playlists. When I teach my yoga classes, I'm often asked to share my songs with people and I'm totally happy to share them with you all here.

I tend to be a bit unorthodox in terms of yoga playlists - keeping in mind that by being myself I ensure that I'm not everybody's teacher and neither am I everybody's dj. I am madly in love with devotional music of every genre, but I don't necessarily believe that a yoga class requires only Sanskrit music in order to move people. I'm most moved when the music speaks to my history, makes me feel nostalgic and connects me back to my self.

With that in mind, I've decided to share my yoga music with you for your home practice or just to groove out to. Every Thursday. Pinkie Swear!

A few words on building yoga class soundtracks:

- I like to play chilled out Indian tunes, quiet kirtan (call and answer) or nature sounds for when people are gathering on their mats at the start of class
- I always start out slow. No one wants to be blasted during their warm-up
- I like to slow it right down for Savasana. Yoga Nap = quiet time

Namaste, babies!

Enjoy,

Er

Last Thursday's Jam

Africa Must Wake up - Distant Relatives (hip-hop supergroup comprised of Nas, Damian "Jr Gong" Marley and K'naan)

Rosanna - Toto

The Great Divide - The Mowgli's (this comes up a lot because I am obsessed with it's catchy brightness)

Domino - Van Morrison (loves me some Van)

Some Nights - Fun. (this is Sierra's fave song right now)

Mandolin Wind - Rod Stewart

Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis (I heard this in a bar in Dublin and rekindled my junior high love affair with Oasis)

Caravan - Van Morrison again. (I like the version from The Last Waltz best)

Ganesh is Fresh - MC Yogi (what's a yoga class without a little Deity)

Elenore - The Turtles

Bright Side of the Road - Van Morrison (this is the happiest song in the Universe)

Motherless Child - Eric Clapton

Songbird - Fleetwood Mac (makes me weepy, but the students are usually on their backs by this point)

Jane Says - Jane's Addiction (this song was a little bit out-of-place. If I used it again, I'd move it up a bit)

A Case of You - Joni Mitchell

 

**Head's up!! I'm moving this blog to a new home in the not-so-distant-future. Stay tuned!***