For those who want more, the full speech is most certainly worth a listen.

Congrats to all the new grads, and to anyone bravely embarking on a new phase. Here’s to what’s next!

(photos by Lorraine Young)

A favorite phenomenon of mine, in the art news once again!! Via Colossal:

“Last year artist Miya Ando traveled to Puerto Rico where she released 1,000 non-toxic resin leaves coated with phosphorescence into a small pond. During the day the leaves would “recharge” and at night would give off a ghostly, ethereal glow much like the light of a firefly. Titled Obon, the installation was inspired by a Japanese Buddhist festival of the same name that honors the spirits of one’s ancestors. The leaves were also meant to simulate Puerto Rico’s bioluminescent bays, a natural phenomenon caused by dinoflagellates, photosynthetic underwater organisms that emit light when agitated”.

For any of you New Yorkers who want to view her work in person, she’s got an upcoming show at Sundaram Tagore Gallery in Chelsea. The opening reception is on  June 20 from 6-8pm, and the exhibit will be on view until July 20.

(Begrudging thank-you to Vice for stubbornly keeping our love-hate relationship alive)

(via Jaya Love)

The following info comes from a comprehensive post by longtime yogi and writer Dan Charnas via 3HO.

Sat Kriya contains just about all the benefits of Kundalini Yoga. It’s the most essential of all the kriyas. Sat Kriya is designed to do the one thing from which all well-being springs: raise the kundalini energy. It’s easy to practice once you first get the hang of it, then the challenge comes as you extend the amount of time that you practice it. Go beyond the limited mind! Here’s how:

Preparation:

1)     Sit on your heels in Rock Pose (Vajrasana).

(Alternate: Rock Pose is the preferred posture but if you are unable to sit in Rock Pose, you may sit in Easy Pose.)

2)     Stretch your arms above your head so that they are perfectly straight, no bend in the elbows, upper arms hugging your ears.

3)     Interlace your fingers and extend your index fingers, pointing upward.

4)     Close the eyes and roll them up to the Brow Point.

5)     Inhale slightly to begin.

The Exercise:

1)     Powerfully chant Sat, squeezing the navel back towards the spine.

2)     Chant Nam as you relax and release the belly (breath will come naturally).

3)     Repeat: Squeezing the navel in on Sat; releasing on Nam. Squeeze, release. Squeeze, release. Keep going at a moderate pace.

To Finish:

1)     Inhale deeply and, with the breath held in, squeeze the Root Lock. Draw the energy up your spine to the top of your head and even to the tips of your fingers. Hold about 8 to 10 seconds. Exhale.

2)     Repeat: Inhale deeply, hold, squeeze, then exhale.

3)     Inhale deeply and then exhale completely out, apply the Root Lock and also the Neck Lock. Hold a few seconds and then release everything.

4)     Lie down on your back in Corpse Pose. Deeply relax, ideally for the same amount of time that you did the exercise.

One minute is good for beginners to get the hang of things. Three minutes is a good starting point for regular practice. Gradually work up to 7, 11, 22, or 31 minutes in one sitting. By the time you reach 31 minutes, you’re in self-mastery territory!

For more info on Sat Kriya and its many benefits, please visit Dan’s original post.  Happy practicing!

“Rhythm is your personal virtue. Your life will not have all good times, but if your rhythm is perfect, you can go through it very nicely. All depends upon how rhythmic you are; how rhythms serve you and how you keep your rhythm going through all attacks, outside and inside. Life is a challenge and rhythm is the answer”.

- Yogi Bhajan, 1997

(via Thrill Jockey)

The longstanding duo of Koen Holtkamp and Brendon Anderegg have just blessed us with a new record! The album’s title “Centralia” shares its name with a long-abandoned Pennsylvania mining town that’s now home only to a subterranean fire that spread via a large coal vein and still burns to this day, 47 years later (!)  The music does envelop the listener in warmth, but the feeling is pretty much the opposite of a toxic hellfire panic, more like burrowing under a chenille blanket with your beloved. This is constellation-gazing music, an eardrum massage. There’s a little Riley, a little Chasny, a nod to the almighty Eno, but the sounds emerge as theirs alone, the triumphant culmination of a body of work that’s a half-dozen albums deep.

(from their equally hypnotic Dublab Sprout Session)

 For more insight into the album’s creation, here’s the official word via their record label:

Holtkamp and Anderegg approached the album layer by layer, throughout much of the record combining purely-acoustic recordings with purely-electronic sounds rather than using electronics to manipulate acoustic source material. Guitar, cello, organs, electric piano, and more are seamlessly combined with modular electronics, synthesizers and other sound sources. The result is a fully engrossing listen, always shifting focus between acoustic instruments, processed instruments and electronic sound. Mountains are utterly singular in their ability to combine such varied and complex sources into such delicately detailed songs of perceived simple pastoral ambience.

Let’s not get too caught up in the process, though. Pitchfork offers some sage advice:

The technical details aren’t too important; to pick apart who did what and where would cause Centralia to lose some of its magic. Instead, it’s better to just fall into it, letting it wash over you again and again.

(“Living Lens” video by the band’s own Koen Holtkamp)

Released barely 2 weeks ago, it soon ascended to the coveted space atop my digital pile. I’ve already used in in yoga class, and had more than one student ask me afterward, “What WAS that?”, clearly entranced. It is also, incidentally, excellent makeout music.

Sample the sounds on iTunes or better yet, experience their live show and pick up an album from the source.

(via my #1 detective)

(via Stuck at the Airport)

It has been almost a year since San Francisco International opened America’s first airport yoga room, and now more airports are following their lead! The yoga room in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport (above),  open since July,  is located at Terminal D at Gate D40 and is stocked with yoga mats, hand sanitizer, and a yoga DVD playing on the overhead TV. Burlington, Vermont‘s just opened this month, and in an unprecedented move, is sponsored by local studio Evolution Yoga, and was helped along with donations from area businesses, resulting in no cost to the airport. Inside the small-ish room, there are pillows, mats and instructions for newbies. The room is open to all passengers and airport employees alike. I think we can now safely call this a trend. More please! (Seriously JFK…)

(artwork by Evelyn Siegmund)

Breath of Fire (Agni Pran) is a breathing technique that often employ in Kundalini Yoga. It is a rapid, rhythmic and continuous breath in and out of the nose, generated by pumping the navel. To start, actively pull the navel point, found about one and a half inches below the belly button, and the solar plexus in and up. This motion will compress the diaphragm and cause air to be exhaled from the lungs. Then release the navel point, allowing the diaphragm to expand, and the lungs to fill. Continue to alternately inhale and exhale. If breath of fire is new to you or you are still getting used to it, go slowly at first, then gradually increase the pace.

This video provides a very clear explanation, and also demonstrates how the navel point should be moving:

(via Hari Singh)

The even inhale and exhale is a matter of balance. When we inhale, we take in prana, our life-force, our life-giving energy. When we exhale, we release apana, the eliminative energy. When prana and apana are equally present, they mix at the navel point, creating an inner stillness and neutrality that allows the Kundalini energy to awaken and flow.

If we practice the Breath of Fire consistently, we can:

- Generate heat and energy at will
- Expand our lung capacity
- Increase physical endurance
- Strengthen the nervous sysytem
- Charge the aura
- Increase oxygen delivery to the brain
- Release toxins and deposits from the lungs, mucous linings, blood vessels, and other cells

Because of these last few effects, beginners may sometimes first feel lightheaded or a little queasy, depending on the body’s history and constitution. If this happens, return to long deep breathing and hydrate. These sensations will disappear with gradual, consistent practice.

This pranayama also strengthens the 3rd chakra, the navel point, which is the center of our power and will. This will generate more mental and physical energy, and give us the ability to focus and follow through.

A note – ladies who are pregnant or menstruating should NOT practice Breath of Fire. More info on that here.

Here’s another video that you can practice along with (after another explanation, practice starts at 2:50):

This is a simple and powerful tool to add to your yogic arsenal. Put it to good use!

More here. It’s definitely worth a good long look. For an immersive experience, peruse the photos while listening to a Sun City Girls record or Sublime Frequencies release.