Yogaland Roundup
Happymaking, inspiring, & thinky links for the week ahead
Hey there!
I’m a few days late here for my roundup. Summer appears to be whizzing by.
Sofia and I are less than 48 hours away from hopping our flight to London (squeeee!). I’m excited to bring her back to all of the spots we loved when she was last there at age 2.5 and to have new adventures, too.
We’ll be joining Jason just as he wraps up a week of teaching at Mission. Then, on Friday night, I’ll be joining him to do a live Yogaland podcast there. If you’d like to come to this free event, I’d love to see you and you can book here.
My next post or two will be travelogue style from London. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s link list.
Wham! (Just go watch it. Trust me.)
A couple of nights ago I stumbled on a new Netflix doc about Wham! and the story behind this sugary pop behind was oh-so-much more gripping than I anticipated.
Admittedly, in 7th grade, my sister’s friend Jill teased me mercilessly for the speedo-clad posters of Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael hanging on my walls; Wham! was the band I listened to nonstop on my Walkman as my family took our first European vacation in 1984. I just loooooved them with little teenybopper starry-eyed emojis 🤩 🥰 🥵.
And I love them even more now! I loved learning that the inspiration for the song Wake Me Up Before You Go Go was a sweet handwritten note with a typo that Andrew left for George; I loved how George, at the tender age of 20, had the instinct to self-produce Careless Whisper (which became their first #1 single); loved learning that Andrew was essentially the brand manager before such a role ever existed. It was Andrew who was responsible for their “lewks” and the genius behind their decision to don “athletic-wear” (think: short shorts and the speedos in my posters!!)
It was also Andrew who kept George Michael mentally afloat — from the time they met as young boys, Andrew was the lighthearted, easygoing one. The rebel club kid who just wanted to have fun and be in a band with his friend, who he always called “Yog” (a nickname from George’s given name, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou).
George was always more tortured, perhaps owing to the fact that he was more talented and wanted to live up to it or perhaps owing to the painful decision they made for George to remain closeted, which left him deeply depressed.
But their friendship was always at the center and that consistent fact amazed me. In an industry where acrimonious band break-ups or friendships fabricated by hawkish managers seem to be the norm, Wham! were authentically bonded outliers.
If the documentary is, in fact, accurate, their break-up was a beautiful lesson in loving and letting go.
The Truth About Going Mega-Viral
I’m still obsessing over this essay by @Emily McDowell about her grief and empathy cards company going viral. I had cancer at that time and followed her closely. I had no idea what she was going through behind-the-scenes, but the story resonated with me as I read it. I am of the same “work is your purpose” generation and also suffered severe burnout working for 10 years at Yoga Journal. I look back now and feel more than a little embarrassed by it.
She sets up so well, here:
Work was how I felt good about myself; it was how I crafted a post-college identity, and I was excellent at it. As the 90s gave way to the millennium, the idea that work should be synonymous with passion and purpose took an even firmer grip on American culture. Steve Jobs was no dummy when he preached the gospel of Do What You Love; he knew if his employees believed they were designing computers, they’d want to see their families (their friends, the sky). But if they believed they were changing the world, they’d willingly spend their nights, weekends, and holidays at the office.
Relaxed Openings & Performances
As I was researching our must-sees in London, I came across the concept of “relaxed openings” or “relaxed performances.” These are events that are intended to be easier for families of children with developmental challenges to attend.
For example, at the Natural History Museum, they make the dinosaur exhibit more sensory friendly by turning down the lights, limiting the number of attendees, and lowering noise levels. At a play, they might do the same and also allow the children to see the costumes or touch the props ahead of time so it doesn’t scare them when the show starts.
I was so moved when I learned about these events and, to my knowledge, we don’t have these in the states. When Sofia was much younger and unable to communicate how challenging her sensory issues were, I would drag her places holding my breath and crossing my fingers for all of us. If there were sensory-friendly plays here I would still take her to one, because I know she’d enjoy it much more.
Let me know if you’ve ever seen events like this in the States or other countries. I’d love to know.
Tooting My Family’s Horn
My nephew is a sophomore in college and has been producing his fantastic podcast, Sports on the Spectrum for a few years now. Keegan is a diehard sports fan and is on the autism spectrum and features guests who fit similar profiles.
This week he features my one-and-only, Jason Crandell. It’s such a joy for me to listen to the two of them and Keegan does a fantastic job of drawing out Jason’s earliest memories of sport, how his relationship to his body changed when he found yoga, how he uses jiu jitsu to help him self-regulate, and how learning about ADHD has affected our whole family.
Celebrating 300 Yogaland Episodes
In case you missed it, I created two episodes to celebrate 300 episodes of Yogaland. It felt so great to produce them and I hope you’ll listen!
The one where I reflect on where it all came from, how it’s going, and feature some of your “whys”
The one where I share lessons I’ve learned over the past 8 years (to inspire you to create content)
Love ya, mean it,
Andrea
PS: And for heaven’s sake, don’t be shy. Leave a comment! Let me know how you’re feeling or if you hate Wham! (actually, really don’t), or if there’s anything you want more or less of.
Thanks so much for sharing my piece, Andrea!
He wrote, sang and produced their songs by the time he was twenty ... TWENTY!?! Off to listen to more of Mr Jason on the pod, 'cause I haven't heard enough over the last couple of months during Mod I + Mod II of Adv TT ;)