Guest L~Cat Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 At this years Yoga Journal Conference in SF, one adventurous yoga instructor, Dave Romanelli decided to host a class called Grateful Dead Yoga Hour. Perfect. Jerry + yoga, that works. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect- how many folks will actually go to this class, (it is SF, right?)?, what's his setlist going to be like?, is he going to match asanas with songs, as in a theme? So I went and I have to say, there is no better way to do a whole bunch of crunches than to st stephen, or chaturangas to eyes of the world, or savasana to bid you goodnight. The energy in the room was really beautiful too as you not have a bunch of yogis, but you have deadhead yogis. So forget the lululemon or other pretentious yoga-wear, the perfect 5'8" spandex wearing sculpted bodies performing headstands before the class starts, or the guys who show up just to look at the perfect 5'8" spandex wearing sculpted bodies while pretending to do yoga. There was a wide variety of ages- actually many younger folks than I expected. So we started out with Sugaree. Nice. Mellow, goes with the warm up. GDTRFB. Wait a second, I can't dance? I have to hold this down dog for another 5 breaths. Hmmm. This is kind of weird. Fire on the Mountain- yes, thank you for the distraction while I do all these damn standing splits. It may not have been a fire on the mountain, but it was certainly a fire in my glutes. The setlist and vinyasa goes on. Mellowed out at the end with a sweet ripple, standing on the moon then finally ended with a rather fast paced upbeat bid you goodnight. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Couple things though I was a little disappointed by- First off, not a single bobby tune was used. I didn't expect to hear much bobby as well hell in a bucket or promised land, or walkin blues really isn't quite compatible with yoga. But I couldn't think of a better song than WRS. Or even BTW. My second disappointment was that this teacher spoke a couple times about how we don't have the GD around any more and also seemed to elude to a belief that the scene is gone. No of course we don't have the GD - Jerry is gone. But shit- the scene is ALIVE and kicking. Half the people in that room tonight probably never saw Jerry- I was one of them. And i think its bigger than anyone ever probably expected. This guy probably would be dumbfounded if he stumbled upon the 418 on a sunday night. So thank you DSO, Phil, Bob, 418, etc etc for keeping this shit together...for if it was not for you that room would have been half as full and I certainly would not have been there. As a side note, I went to see Krishna Das perform after class. Wow. I was blown away- his voice vibrates through the room like one of those big gongs, and the tabla player and violinist were amazing. Not uppety, hare krishna in any kind of way. He's quite funny actually. There was even a contingent of freaky dancers in the front left. I recommend to anyone if he comes through your area... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducats Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 that's the most beautiful thing i ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP nwnj steve Posted January 14, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 thats excellent Lisa ,sounds like a fantastic experence ,I am not familer with Krisna Das but I gotta say that my new musical love lately these days is Snatam Kaur which I do believe she grew up in mill valley for alittle while ,she sings like an angel.I ve been looking into buying a harmonium which is played in that type of music,a very simple little self pumping keyboard that is very simple to learn how to play but yet sounds beautiful, the only type of clothing that people wear in kundalini yoga or that is suggested is white cotton linen which lets the body breath and it doesn t hold in the energy ,sounds like a great time ,Krisna das is performing up in westchester at the end of the month ,maybe we should check him out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Run Mary Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Snatam Kaur Me too. My yoga teacher gave me the Prem CD when I left town and I can put Gobinda Hari on repeat forever. The entire album is great for dancing. Snatam is the one playing the harmonium. That celeste that Mr. Barraco was teasing us with was invented by a harmonium builder back in the 1800s. Pair those instruments and we'll all be seeing angels :-). While she was attending high school in Mill Valley she played violin in the school orchestra and wrote a song called Saving the Earth. Our very own Bobby coached the orchestra before they performed the song in San Francisco on Earth Day in 1990, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest L~Cat Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 thats excellent Lisa ,sounds like a fantastic experence ,I am not familer with Krisna Das but I gotta say that my new musical love lately these days is Snatam Kaur which I do believe she grew up in mill valley for alittle while ,she sings like an angel.I ve been looking into buying a harmonium which is played in that type of music,a very simple little self pumping keyboard that is very simple to learn how to play but yet sounds beautiful, the only type of clothing that people wear in kundalini yoga or that is suggested is white cotton linen which lets the body breath and it doesn t hold in the energy ,sounds like a great time ,Krisna das is performing up in westchester at the end of the month ,maybe we should check him out love the harmonium.....a few of my yoga instructors here use them in class. you guys would love krishna das....you should really do it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP nwnj steve Posted January 14, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Me too. My yoga teacher gave me the Prem CD when I left town and I can put Gobinda Hari on repeat forever. The entire album is great for dancing. Snatam is the one playing the harmonium. That celeste that Mr. Barraco was teasing us with was invented by a harmonium builder back in the 1800s. Pair those instruments and we'll all be seeing angels :-). While she was attending high school in Mill Valley she played violin in the school orchestra and wrote a song called Saving the Earth. Our very own Bobby coached the orchestra before they performed the song in San Francisco on Earth Day in 1990, I actually don t listen to too much music these days execpt her and maybe miabai ceiba,i love aadays tisai aadays off of prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franknkeene Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 ".....match asanas with songs" Now here is a thread near and dear to my heart. Definietly one of my top fav topics on this forum. I would sign up in a second for one of these classes and am a bit jealous that you attended such a thing (but good for you). I am sure to forward the idea to some of my teachers. I have spent weeks with Krishna Das in reatreat and have been to the kirtans dozen+ times. KD is hysterical in his storied between the chants. Also had lunch with him at Kripalu in Lenox. One time he was very late after another lunch break - turns out he got pulled over for speeding on the Mass Pike. The in-house Buddhist teacher, Sharon Salzberg, did a great job filling in. As we waited, Sharon's cell phone rang and it was KD telling her he would be late. About 200 of us laughed. gr8 stuff! thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP acududeman Posted January 16, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 At this years Yoga Journal Conference in SF, one adventurous yoga instructor, Dave Romanelli decided to host a class called Grateful Dead Yoga Hour. Perfect. Jerry + yoga, that works. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect- how many folks will actually go to this class, (it is SF, right?)?, what's his setlist going to be like?, is he going to match asanas with songs, as in a theme? So I went and I have to say, there is no better way to do a whole bunch of crunches than to st stephen, or chaturangas to eyes of the world, or savasana to bid you goodnight. The energy in the room was really beautiful too as you not have a bunch of yogis, but you have deadhead yogis. So forget the lululemon or other pretentious yoga-wear, the perfect 5'8" spandex wearing sculpted bodies performing headstands before the class starts, or the guys who show up just to look at the perfect 5'8" spandex wearing sculpted bodies while pretending to do yoga. There was a wide variety of ages- actually many younger folks than I expected. So we started out with Sugaree. Nice. Mellow, goes with the warm up. GDTRFB. Wait a second, I can't dance? I have to hold this down dog for another 5 breaths. Hmmm. This is kind of weird. Fire on the Mountain- yes, thank you for the distraction while I do all these damn standing splits. It may not have been a fire on the mountain, but it was certainly a fire in my glutes. The setlist and vinyasa goes on. Mellowed out at the end with a sweet ripple, standing on the moon then finally ended with a rather fast paced upbeat bid you goodnight. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Couple things though I was a little disappointed by- First off, not a single bobby tune was used. I didn't expect to hear much bobby as well hell in a bucket or promised land, or walkin blues really isn't quite compatible with yoga. But I couldn't think of a better song than WRS. Or even BTW. My second disappointment was that this teacher spoke a couple times about how we don't have the GD around any more and also seemed to elude to a belief that the scene is gone. No of course we don't have the GD - Jerry is gone. But shit- the scene is ALIVE and kicking. Half the people in that room tonight probably never saw Jerry- I was one of them. And i think its bigger than anyone ever probably expected. This guy probably would be dumbfounded if he stumbled upon the 418 on a sunday night. So thank you DSO, Phil, Bob, 418, etc etc for keeping this shit together...for if it was not for you that room would have been half as full and I certainly would not have been there. As a side note, I went to see Krishna Das perform after class. Wow. I was blown away- his voice vibrates through the room like one of those big gongs, and the tabla player and violinist were amazing. Not uppety, hare krishna in any kind of way. He's quite funny actually. There was even a contingent of freaky dancers in the front left. I recommend to anyone if he comes through your area... Hi Lisa, I by chance took Dave Romanelli's class entitled Yoga & Chocolate a couple of years ago. It was a hoot. I enjoyed talking with Dave after the class. I bought his book "Livin' in the Moment". It's a hoot as well. It turns out we both went to the same college and our lives have taken similar paths in many ways. Glad you checked out his class. His weekly e-mail blasts are always good for a chuckle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest L~Cat Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hi Lisa, I by chance took Dave Romanelli's class entitled Yoga & Chocolate a couple of years ago. It was a hoot. I enjoyed talking with Dave after the class. I bought his book "Livin' in the Moment". It's a hoot as well. It turns out we both went to the same college and our lives have taken similar paths in many ways. Glad you checked out his class. His weekly e-mail blasts are always good for a chuckle. nice! according to his website, it seems like he may be taking the GD Yoga Hour on the road this year..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest L~Cat Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 so my friend sent me this link- a little video from the class (and I'm only posting because I was not on camera, thank GOODNESS!!!) http://www.yeahdave.com/grateful-dead-yoga-hour and a little article. http://blogs.yogajournal.com/guestblog/2012/02/how-is-yoga-like-the-grateful-dead.html#.T0aZD7Qmwrs.facebook looks like there will be a class in Chicago on March 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP acududeman Posted February 24, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 so my friend sent me this link- a little video from the class (and I'm only posting because I was not on camera, thank GOODNESS!!!) http://www.yeahdave....-dead-yoga-hour and a little article. http://blogs.yogajou...7Qmwrs.facebook looks like there will be a class in Chicago on March 23 Right on, Lisa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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