2021 -> 2022 long and winding road...

12/31/21 - The long and winding road… where has it led you this past year? Staying in touch with friends old (in Santa Cruz and around the world) and new (here in Lake Isabella/Kern River Valley), it seems that just as the physical symptoms of COVID for those who have had it are just as varied and different for everyone as our mental/emotional responses to the pandemic itself. And life continues to happen. I’ve watched friends move out of state, go back to school, start new jobs… and sometimes experience a crippling, but totally understandable, fear and frustration at where we’re at now. I’ve so appreciated hearing from you and seeing your posts this past year, and found myself wanting more ~ like, what’s it like where you’ve moved? How’s that new path you’re on? So, I put together this little video to share what’s it’s been like for me, especially these past 6 months since I’ve moved and started to put down roots here. As we turn the page from 2021 to 2022, I’d love to hear how it’s going for you, either in the comments below or reach out directly. ‘Cause one thing’s for sure, we don’t get through this alone. And I feel blessed to high heaven to have friends like you.

Kirtan Returns to Pleasure Point Yoga!

 

Kirtan last night at Pleasure Point Yoga… it’s been a long time comin’  One of the things I was reminded of was how, when you’ve got a heart-centered practice (be it church, yoga, Kirtan, etc) the feeling of being connected remains long after the gathering in person. And that’s one of the things that has gotten me through this past year or so. But still, it felt SO GOOD to be in the same room at the same time raising our voices together with this heart-centered music, getting re-acquainted, and even (gulp) a few hugs. Grateful to Joss Jaffe for being here far from home (Santa Cruz = 2^nd home?), Emily Perry, who seamlessly put this together and led us through a beautiful evening, and Megan and the sacrifice it’s taken to keep Pleasure Point Yoga open, up, and running through this difficult past year. And, so grateful for the tribe that come out, showed up, and sang your hearts out. Feeling blessed…   

Sitting with the Space You Create

6/13/20 - Yah, it’s one of those afternoons. Every musician (eventually) has one. The closet. The boxes. The CDs, cassette tapes, and (gulp, in my case) reel-to-reel recordings of our bands from the Mesozoic Era… ‘ Out with the old, and in with the new’ would be an oversimplification, ‘cause it’s not that simple. But one of the things that’s coming out of this time we’re living through is asking ourselves ‘how am I living?’ And the ‘cleaning house’ that comes with that. Honor the past, don’t live in it, and be brave enough and patient enough to sit with the space you create, while it fills up in its own time…

Let's Get Real (in the age of Covid 19)

Yoga For All Movement Birthday Party at Yoga Church!

9/23/19 - Where do we go, what do we do, to align with the change that we want to see in the world? This Monday the 23rd, from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Vet’s Hall downtown, that is exactly what’s happening. Celebrating the 2nd birthday of Yoga For All Movement, who take yoga classes into prisons, women’s shelters, recovery facilities, and make it available to those that need it the most, we’ll dive in to a stellar gathering/fund raiser led by Hannah Muse, with yoga, live music, talks by our mayor, Martine Watkins, Shandara Gill, et al, and celebrate together the change that we want to see in the world! Suggested donation $25, but no one turned away for lack of funds. Hope to see you there!
(📸video from last year’s fund raiser there)
https://www.facebook.com/events/564176720786709/

Monday Night Kirtan at Pleasure Point Yoga 2018~2019

4/22/19 - 'Kirtan is for all people. There are no experts, no beginners. The practice itself is the teacher, guiding us to ourselves... it is a participatory music experience of sacred mantras and devotional chants performed in a call and response style which involves the audience in the performance' 
Two years ago, renowned yoga teacher, podcaster/influencer  Emily Perry was inspired with the 'build-it-and-they-will-come' idea of hosting a monthly Kirtan gathering in Santa Cruz on a Monday night. The event has since gained traction and evolved into a popular and nourishing gathering each month at Pleasure Point Yoga in Santa Cruz, California. 
Here's a sampling of a few of those sweet gatherings over the past couple of years...


April, 2019 - With Johanna Beekman, Joss Jaffe, Michael J Downey and friends

January 2019 - With Emily Perry, Michael J Downey, Jeff Darpino, Josh Miller, Chelsea Shapouri, and Upendra Wrinkle

June 2018 - With Emily Perry, Michael J Downey, Andrew Foehner, and Aruna Peters

April 2018 - With Michael J Downey, Deerheart, Vileena Purpuri, and Omar Chaudhry

Yoga Church Rises Up

11/17/18 - Our beloved Veterans Hall needs some love! The Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Santa Cruz, built in 1932, is a registered historical landmark. It’s been the hub of not only Veterans' services and affairs, but countless classes, meetings, workshops, receptions, concerts and special events, including our blessed Monday night weekly YOGA CHURCH! Recently, numerous repairs and improvements were identified as critical for this beautiful space, and we want to do all we can to help. They’ve been so generous to us, and we just want to show some love in return. So, the YOGA CHURCH tribe, along with the Veterans Memorial Building Board of Trustees will have this GoFundMe campaign open from 11/2/18 to 11/13/18, and we’ll be having a *special* Yoga Church fundraising class on Monday 11/12/18 (5:30 – 7:00pm) with special-guest musicians and more! Your generosity is not only a contribution towards the dignity and beauty of this proud building, it helps to ensure that we, and countless other groups will have this sacred space to meet for years and years to come. Thank you!

 And then this happened… amidst the volatility in our state, in our country in the last couple of weeks, this group of generous souls heeded the call to “Rise Up.” What started as a GoFundMe campaign and fundraising Yoga Church class to benefit the proud, 85-year-old Veteran’s Memorial Building ($1,377), turned into an outpouring of love for the Wounded Veterans (almost $400), and a drop off location for tents, sleeping bags, food, etc for the CA wildfire victims. What I want to share with you now, though, is the power of love when we come together, and Hannah Muse weaves her magic, with music by Rare Faction, Paul Damon, Jazz Sarab Meher Kaur, and Michael J Downey. Enjoy the video…