Sitting in the bathtub, I began humming a tune…
“…Newspaper taxis appear at the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you’re gone…”
I had originally planned on teaching my specialty class on how to get into a particularly challenging asana for myself when, there in the bathtub, I changed my mind.
Must. Teach. Yoga. The Canter of the Beatles. A tribute to what is arguably the most influential band in the world.
I thought about how the music of the Beatles has influenced my life and how it pervades so many areas of my personal life, especially those linked with my heart chakra. Cheesy? Perhaps. Dull? Perhaps. But I wanted to see if I could pull it off.
My name is Michelle. My daughter’s first and middle names are lyrics from Beatles songs. My husband’s name came from the 60s folk singer who taught George Harrison how to strum the guitar in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Our family friends’are in-laws to a Beatle and we had frequent playdates with his son. The music of the Beatles transcended generations of our family. And of course, I just love the Beatles because they are awesome.
I chose to include pranayama and asanas choreographed to selected songs written and produced by the Beatles during their time in India, 1965 to 1968, which was considered their most prolific and influential songwriting period. An introduction to the course is given over “Dear Prudence”, written while Mia Farrow’s sister refused to come out of her room on the Ashram because she was so deeply connected to meditation. Hands in Hridaya Mudra (connecting us to our Anahata chakra) while Anuloma Viloma and later Bhastrika during “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, introducing three connecting songs during a rigorous Surya Namaskar A & B warmup, then alluding to seven sequentially ascending tunes carefully chosen to sync with the progression of the Ashtanga Vinyasa flowing of selected asanas to open the Anahata chakra.
You’ll need to come to my class to see how these unfold.
At the 50 minute mark, after we have been on the journey through our Finishing Sequence of asanas, we come back into ourselves to enjoy our closing Savasana, prone corpse pose. Arms at our sides, chest and Anahata chakra fully open to the sky, while drifting to the imaginative melody of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and later “Golden Slumbers”.
Namaste, everyone.
