Pause Café Today
Yoga and meditation news: The Good, The Bad and the Heavy Metal
Ironically, we paused “Pause Café Today” a few months back since all it seemed to do was encourage people to opt completely out of our newsletter. That’s not exactly the pause we had in mind 🤣
The original intent was to create a short, quick little review of things we’d read, bookmarked and learned online, and this past week’s trove of nuggets is too good not to share. So enjoy this edition to the last drop.
The Good, the Bad and the Heavy Metal 🤘
THE GOOD
Experience a guided meditation based on the therapeutic power of color (MoMA) In this guided audio meditation Dora Kamau explores the spectrum of emotions and energies associated with color, leading you through deeper layers of consciousness while a soundscape underscores the frequencies and healing potential of each hue.
A new Instagram account has taken the French yoga community by storm: Balance Ton Yoga. Like other accounts designed to break the silence around toxic work cultures—Balance Ta Startup and Je Dis Non Chef, for example—Balance Ton Yoga turns casualties of abuse into whistleblowers by permitting them to call out victimizers and create a forum for support. (Trigger warning: if you’re a Paris yogi, you may recognize some personalities and studios…)
“You are missing 50% of your life. And you’re not alone: Everyone is.” (Mindful) This opening sentence from Amishi P. Jha sums up why it’s vital to engage in activities that focus the mind, like meditation. These types of training exercises help us develop ‘mental armor’ that protects us when we’re under stress. If you like your mindfulness with a cup of science then you’ll enjoy her book, Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day.
Yoga teacher, trainer, writer and post-doctoral scholar Theo Wilcroft is surveying yoga teachers in her research to find out more about yoga teacher work habits and patterns. The survey is here if you’d like to contribute.
THE BAD
“From my very first downward dog, I was hooked. But training as a yoga teacher led me to a miserable world of false promises, exploitation and near-total burnout. Could I find my way back to the mat?” (Guardian) Sadly, Annie Rice’s journey from busy professional to starry-eyed yoga student to discouraged yoga teacher is not uncommon. In this first-person account, she recalls unscrupulous teachers and studios (if you’re a London yogi, alarms may go off… yikes!), overpriced and marginally developed trainings, poor wages, increased risk of injuries, competition… Thank god she came out the other side 🙏
THE HEAVY METAL
Metal Yoga. Yes, you read that right. That’s Metal plus Yoga, and the event is happening at the Bataclan on Sunday March 3rd, 2024 at 10h. So you can rock and roll all night, and then do yoga the next morning. Tickets available here for you flexible metalheads.
The espresso con panna above is available at Artesano, one of our favorite Paris cafés. Artesano is a one-man shop run by Arturo who only roasts beans from his native Mexico. It’s a lovely stop before or after a walk along the Seine.
I know some purists think that metal yoga (etc etc) are gimmicky and nonsense, but I think it sounds like loads of fun! Why not? There’s a place for different varieties and practices. Wish I could join. :)