Yoga Chat with the Accidental Yogist

the 2020 grammy award nominees were announced this morning --

congratulations to Deva Premal and Miten for Deva's making the Best New Age album list!!

30. Best New Age Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental new age recordings.

FAIRY DREAMS
David Arkenstone

HOMAGE TO KINDNESS
David Darling

WINGS
Peter Kater

VERVE
Sebastian Plano

DEVA
Deva Premal

https://devapremalmiten.com/deva-album/

for those who subscribe to the podcast, you probably found something you haven't seen in a while: a new episode! ❤️❤️

you could say i was on a sabbatical that was precipitated by a bike vs car crash... long story short, i'm back!

on this show, i interviewed two filmmakers whose documentaries were screened at last month's Awareness Festival: Jonathan Blank from S*x, Drugs & Bicycles and Gerald Krell from DC Premiere: Guru Nanak: The Founder of Sikhism - Life & Legacy (that link is for next week's premiere in the DC area). we chatted about their films and why they were drawn to the topics of socialism, healthcare, activism, spirituality, and community.

musical interludes are courtesy of DJ Drez and Marti Nikko (who, by the way, will be in the LA area next week at Bhakti Yoga Shala and Naam), HuDost, and Snatam Kaur (who was featured in the Guru Nanak film). enjoy!

Episode 344 - Awareness and Activism November 8, 2019 This week's topic: Awareness and Activism Interviews: Jonathan Blank, filmmaker of "S*x, Drugs, and Bicycles" Gerald Krell, co-filmmaker of "Guru Nanak: The Founder of Sikhism - Life & Legacy" Featured Music: Ganapati, DJ Drez and Marti Nikko Rise Together, HuDost Mul Mantra, Sn...

at long last, a NEW yoga chat episode!!! this one was recorded back in december 2018, right before i left town for the holidays (then promptly ended up in a bike vs car crash that had me disabled for three months).

i had the pleasure of chatting with four well-known yoga teachers in LA: Anne Carpenter, Jeanne Heileman, Aaron Reed, and Felicia Marie Tomasko; felicia also happens to be the editor of THE yoga publication in southern california. we talked about how the yoga scene has evolved from the time they were first called to the practice to what yoga classes are like today. we had such a great time sharing stories that this episode ran long. that should make up for the four months that elapsed between the time this was supposed to have been published and today!

my music choices also reflect on the evolution of "yoga" music, featuring kirtan from Temple Bhajan Band (thanks for the gift, Christo Pellani!), yogic world music from DJ Drez, and jazzy sacred music from Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda.

thanks for everyone for your patience! please find a comfortable seat, click on the link, and enjoy!

Episode 343 - The Evolution of Modern Yoga (aka The Missing Episode) April 25, 2018 This week's topic: The Evolution of Modern Yoga (aka The Missing Episode) Interviews: Annie Carpenter, yoga instructor Jeanne Heileman, yoga instructor Aaron Reed, yoga instructor Felicia Tomasko, editor of LA Yoga Magazine Featured Music: Khoda Nita, Temple Bhajan Band India Road Tri...

it's been FOUR MONTHS since i posted the last episode of this show -- so much has happened since december! first it was the holidays, then i was involved in a car accident and sustained injuries that kept me homebound, then returned to work with an irregular schedule...
i'm trying to return to producing new episodes as soon as possible. in the meantime, i'm wishing you much health and happiness!

i wish i could have blamed mercury retrograde for last week's technical issues, but it was over by then!
i showed up at the studio on thursday, prepped to interview two awesome guests, just to find out that the internet was down for the online radio show. yup, big problem.
so since both guests were ready and waiting, i went ahead and recorded their interviews offline and had to figure out when i could squeeze myself into an available studio timeslot... which wasn't until saturday morning. and when i finally had the chance to examine the recording from that session on monday, i realized that the audio cable i used was defective; only one channel was recorded. fun, huh?

so here we are, almost a week later, and the podcast is FINALLY uploaded!! many thanks to David Yeah-Dave Romanelli for inspiring us to reach out to the elders in our community to glean words of wisdom from their life stories, and to Harvey Slater, Holistic Nutrition & Wellness for reminding us that eating shouldn't be a struggle between overeating and dieting, especially during the holidays.

i've featured mantra music from Snatam Kaur, the latest grammy nominee in the new age category, as well as from previous new age nominees White Sun (2017 - who also won!), Krishna Das (2013), and Jai Uttal (2003).

as always, please share this will everyone you know!

Episode 342 - Wise Words for the Holidays... and Beyond December 15, 2018 This week's topic: Wise Words for the Holidays... and Beyond Interviews: David Romanelli, wellness innovator and author of "Life Lessons from the Oldest and Wisest" Harvey Slater, holistic nutritionist Featured Music: Amul - Priceless, Snatam Kaur Dhan Dhan Ram Das Gur, White Sun S...

in this week's episode, i interviewed two stylistically different musicians: rock mantra queen Larisa Stow and indian santoor maestro Dan Blanchard. we chatted about their new album releases -- "There is a Light That Will Remain" by larisa and the shakti tribe, "The Heart of Nepal by dan and Manohar Gurung, and "The Spirit of Christmas" by dan and guest musicians. in keeping with the spirit of the holidays, i featured their music to ring in hanukkah and christmas. happy holidays!!

Episode 341 - Ringing in the Holiday Spirit December 6, 2018 This week's topic: Ringing in the Holiday Spirit Interviews: Larisa Stow, musician on "There is a Light That Will Remain" Dan Blanchard, musician on "Heart of Nepal" and "The Spirit of Christmas" Featured Music: Adonai, Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe Rajamati, Dan Blanchard and Mano...

much love went into the making of this episode -- from reaching out to the loving couple known as SUKHA to interview them about the Fire Aid - Mantrathon they conjured up on a moment's notice to raise funds for the california wildfire victims, to watching hours of livestreamed videos as musicians sang their hearts out for the cause, to going through my music collection to find matching music that i loved, to having to restart the recording an hour into the show because the recorder wasn't turned on (and who wouldn't love to have a complete show?).

one of the reasons why i produced this show was to help the cause, to assist in whatever way i could to raise funds for the victims and those affected by the devastation. so besides interviewing Sukhman Singh and Sukhmani Kaur, i've also included over an hour's worth of music from the musicians who participated in the facebook live mantrathon: Snatam Kaur, Sirgun Kaur, SUKHA, Gurunam Singh, Deva Premal and Miten, GuruShabad Singh, Hargo Khalsa, Jaya Lakshmi and Ananda, and Gurusangat Singh. my apologies for not including Caro Pierotto & Grecco Buratto, The Band of Now, and Andi Flax Music because i didn't have access to their music. maybe next time? 😍

my hope is that the next 150 minutes will inspire you to either donate, volunteer, or provide assistance in any way you can. thanks for listening and sharing! ❤️❤️❤️

Episode 340 - A Mantrathon to Aid California Wildfire Victims November 29, 2018 This week's topic: A Mantrathon to Aid California Wildfire Victims Interviews: Sukhman Singh and Sukhmani Kaur, musicians at Sukha and co-producers of the Fire Aid Mantrathon Featured Music: Adi Shakti, Sukha Ra Ma Da Sa, Sirgun Kaur Narayan, Gurushabad Singh (with Hargo) Har Har H...

argh!!! i should've kept my mouth shut. an hour into the show, i realized the recorder hadn't been turned on!!! restarting from the top :(

i don't want to jinx anything, but we're live on the air on killradio.org and everything looks to be up and running!!

is it kosher to edit down a 16 minute shabad to around 11 minutes? that somehow sounds wrong, especially since it's an entire prayer...

so i'll be playing GuruShabad Singh​'s "narayan" in its entirety, along with mantras from other musicians who generously donated their time during last weekend's Fire Aid - Mantrathon​ facebook live event. i'll also be interviewing event creators/producers/promoters SUKHA​ (aka sukhman and sukhmani) about the genesis of the project and the charities that they chose for this fundraiser for the victims and first responders of the recent wildfires in california.

here's the fb event page with the live videos. the fundraising will continue for as long as there are people willing to watch and donate. so please give with your heart. and don't forget to tune in later today at 1pm pacific on killradio.org or catch the podcast at yogachatshow.com! FIRE AID - MANTRAthon

here's the latest yoga chat episode, just in time for your thanksgiving listening pleasure... something for while you're cleaning house, cooking dinner, driving to your in-laws' home, doing laundry... you know, all that fun stuff :)

i've invited Jennifer Kreatsoulas and Stephanie Carlin to talk about their new releases -- jennifer's new book, "Body Mindful Yoga" and stephanie's new mantra album, "Reclamation: A Collection of Mantras" -- and what they're grateful for this thanksgiving holiday.

besides a track from stephanie's latest release, i've also included new music from Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe and Shyama Chapin Kirtan.

Here's wishing you a peaceful and loving thanksgiving wherever and whatever the holiday is for you!

Episode 339 - Finding Gratitude November 21, 2018 This week's topic: Finding Gratitude Interviews: Jennifer Kreatsoulas, co-author of "Body Mindful Yoga" Stephanie Carlin, musician on "Reclamation: A Collection of Mantras" Featured Music: Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo, Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu, Steph...

happy wednesday!

i'm busy prepping for today's thanksgiving-inspired show featuring two women who will be chatting with me about gratitude for the body and the talents we have been gifted with: Jennifer Kreatsoulas, co-author of "body mindful yoga" and Stephanie Carlin, singer-songwriter and teacher with a new album, "reclamation: a collection of mantras"
tune in TODAY at 12:30pm pacific at killradio.org or catch the podcast tomorrow at yogachatshow.com!

Yoga Chat with the Accidental Yogist Yoga Chat with the Accidental Yogist ~ Music. Books. Causes. Films. Festivals. Food. Because yoga is more than just perfecting the fine art of getting your foot behind your head.