Album art: ©Beastie Boys; Illustration: The Magazine of Yoga
We have a saying in French: “le ridicule ne tue pas,” or literally “ridicule doesn’t kill.” Keep it in mind when you need to unwind.
BY MAGAZINE COLUMNIST EMMANUELLE LAMBERT
Imagine you are in your car, driving from coast to coast – especially for you, dear US readers.
Imagine you are coming to a tunnel, dug under a mountain. You have no other choice but take the tunnel. The other option would be to drive around the mountain but you would lose two days. Two more days on the road, way past your deadline for arrival. What do you do then?
Easy. You just drive right in that damn tunnel, switch the lights on, pop some chocolate, go full throttle. To make the ride worth the while, anxiously striving to reach the proverbial light at the end, you turn to your lifesaver in those dim times: music, your music.
I am not going to lie to you dear friends: I have been driving and steering my own wheel in a figurative tunnel for a few weeks now. Not to worry, it is a very nice tunnel, so to speak. Only one I have built with my own two hands, that is taking me to a destination I cannot see yet, and one that hasn’t let me wander around and scatter my strengths. In one word: focus.
I am a creative being, but my creativity is currently lying in the trunk of my imaginary car, pushed even further back than the back seat.
How do I keep on keeping on? By enjoying and living others’ creative lives vicariously.
My prana-rogative
You, dear readers, already know how much I love the Beastie Boys.
Well, let me reiterate: I love the Beastie Boys.
Their latest album, Hot Sauce Committee Part II, has been the soundtrack of my life recently, accompanying me on the train to London, UK, for yoga teacher training (almost done!), and back home.
They are pushing me through the last phases of YTT, through the writing of my final essay, through these times when I still have to work when all I want is to rest. Every time I listen to this album, I am in awe of the richness and multi-layered goodness the B – Boys offer, like a multi-faceted diamond. Not too polished though, the diamond, still rough at the edges, with a little bit of dirt still on, sharp as a knife and shining bright.
A confession? I am listening to them, as I am typing this, fueling and feeding my inspiration.
As surprising as it may seem, I have two other lifesavers right now, as different as can be.
One is pop culture’s ex-new-fiancée back on the rise, yes, none other than Miss Britney Spears. I know. You had guessed it already. But let me show you how it’s totally fitting that I should listen to “My Prerogative” on the train back from YTT:
People can take everything away from you, but they can never take away your truth.
See? She’s standing behind her satya, the girl is a true yogini! (Don’t judge.)
The second one is Madonna’s ex backup singer turned yoga singer extraordinaire, Donna de Lory. One track only, and I am pumped and at peace. By “one track” I mean her version of Govinda Jaya Jaya, which also happens to be one of my favorite mantras ever.
Coincidence? I think not.
Rolling prana pop kirtan
As strange as it seems, all three have been my support system for the last couple of weeks.
Music you dance to, music you sing aloud to, music you chant to, music you attune to… Sometimes, especially in times of crisis, you never know where your support will come from, and what kind of music you will be drawn to.
It might be the punch-you-in-the-face tune, or the music your guts crave, the storm or the light rain, but it’s a very intuitive process.
Music is a support system and has a healing quality, especially when accompanied with loud singing.
When life is moving too fast, choose one mantra to center and reconnect.
When life is moving too fast, and you feel you are stuck in the tunnel with thousands of cars ahead of you, choose that punch-you-in-the-face tune, sing at the top of your lungs with all windows open and break the resistance away.
When life is moving too fast, and you just want a breather from the burden you are carrying, choose a song from the Land of Unsaid Shame and get silly. Very effective when you are on a train with no neighbor to give you the evil eye.
We have a saying in French: “le ridicule ne tue pas”, or literally “ridicule doesn’t kill”. Keep it in mind when you need to unwind.
And remember these words from Swami Britney:
people (…) can never take away your truth.
Amen to that, and turn the music real loud.
Find Emmanuelle here on The Magazine every month in Music Matters. But don’t lose touch with her great style of living real – read her smart, hip and honest blog Plans on a Comet.
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© 2011, The Magazine of Yoga, LLC.
