First Ever International Yoga Class / Studio Review - Health Oasis @ Koh Samui, Thailand - 4 out of 5 Stars

Hi!

One reason I got into yoga after my college swimming days wrapped, is it was something I could do anywhere in the world at any time.  I have done yoga next to tour busses in parking lots and in the middle of town squares in England.

When the i/smart phone was invented (Thanks Steve!), to me the maps app was basically a yoga class finder.  No matter where I am in the world, it has been generally easy to find a yoga class.  This is one of my favorite things to do while traveling as it's an interesting way to integrate to the local culture. Last year I took classes in French, Portuguese, Spanish and assimilated into the business crowd for an express class in Brisbane; to name a few.

I figured it might be helpful to the yoga community to provide reviews of these global studios, so here is my first attempt.  Will try and keep it up!

My first review is of the daily 8:30 AM class at Health Oasis in Koh Samui, Thailand.

I was told by my Airbnb host that there was a studio within walking distance, and this turned out to be it.  Instant bonus points for the studio having the same name as my favorite band as well as a Nirvana Nevermind baby parody for it's logo.  However, it was difficult to locate the class times and price (250 THB / about $7.50 USD) on the website.  Note that this resort is a general health center for detox, fasting, cleansing and weight loss; so to be fair, it's not solely a yoga studio.

Health Oasis offers one 1-hour yoga class a day, every day at 8:30 AM.  This is awesome in theory, but I was working U.S. business hours this week and therefore only made it to two classes.

The class was great.  I thought the teacher led a nice balance of relatively advanced and vigorous vinyasa intertwined with solid options for the beginners.  Kudos to the resort's residents who were fasting and doing a yoga class!  I would probably pass out if I were in that category.

The major win for this class / studio is that it faces the ocean.  The class would really have to suck for me to give it anything less than a 4 star review for this alone.  The temperature in Koh Samui in January is pretty much perfect in general and I can't imagine a more ideal setting to practice in.

I *almost* knocked the review down to 3.5 stars as when the instructor was advising we make some punching motions that aren't really traditional asana ala Tae Bo, he repeatedly told us to not punch like a "ladyman."  This example didn't make any sense considering I am in better shape than all but one guy in the class (who looked like a Marine).  It wouldn't be cool to say we shouldn't punch the air like a "flabbyman" either, but come on.  I did approach the instructor after class to nicely let him know that the term "ladyman" is offensive and probably not a good term to use.  I thanked him for the class however, as at the end of the day; it's a great class and even after an hour, I was feeling the prana.  A solid hour class can be a difficult balance to teach and Health Oasis does the job.

Thus, I give Health Oasis' 8:30 AM daily beach yoga class (taught on a platform, not on sand) - 4 out of 5 stars.

Check it: http://www.healthoasisresort.com/koh.php

Next up!  An attempt to put into words my 8 day silent vipassana retreat at my favorite place in the world: Jungle Yoga in Khao Sok National Park.  

Till Then,

@EmWizzle xo

Adventures in Lap Swimming & Internet Dating

This has been an amazing year.  The last two months in particular have had a particularly high energy level, which is not necessarily a good thing, but we're always learning and I'm looking forward to these experiences culminating in the facilitation of various creative endeavors into the Fall.  Hopefully the cooler weather (at least in the Northeast) will cause some people to chill out and relax in general as well.

One element of my adult life that I feel is consistent enough for me to consider a regularity is that I frequent Adult Lap Swim at two of New York's public pools.  When I first mentioned this to an a high level swimming colleague, the answer was disbelief ala "You swim in public pools??"

But in reality, the New York Parks department is truly amazing.  It's $150 year to have access to a slew of pools and gyms throughout the city and outdoor pools are free in the summer, including McCarren's epic pool in Williamsburg that (thank you!!) the city invested $50M in: http://www.mccarrenpark.com/.

When I was a young teenage swimming thousands of yards a day, I remember seeing all of the out of shape swim parents watching us.  At about 13 I thought to myself "I should consider doing 1,000 yards a day when I'm an adult.  That is easy for any real swimmer and truly a good workout if done consistently by an adult."  Thus in my ideal world, every evening I don't have an event or dinner to attend; I go and swim my 1,000 yards.  Sometimes more; but always at least that.  It's such a quick workout at the end of the day for someone like me / most of us that has limited time and always feels great.

As someone who has grown up (literally) in and around pools; it is an atmosphere that I feel completely comfortable in and feel like I have an understanding of the basics in running a pool. Particularly in my music business career but hopefully in life; I'm all about things that make sense.  However, my experiences at Lap Swim as an adult, don't always make sense.  I can't guarantee I'll commit, but I will try and blog about my "Adventures in Lap Swimming" from time to time; even if it's just via Tweet and even if Mike Gustafson is my only reader (not a bad sole reader though :)).

The first thing to address is the signs that indicate "Fast," "Medium" or "Slow" at Adult Lap Swim. Speed is of course relative.  As soon as I start to get frustrated with not-so-fast people in the Fast lane, some giant experienced male swimmer comes in and completely dominates my workout, literally swimming circles around me.  However, to really swim in the "Fast" lane at lap swim, I believe the following traits should be adhered to:

1.  No sort of "mask" should be worn.  Your call if you want to go sans goggles in a chlorinated pool, but masks will not be tolerated as it doesn't make sense for any reason.

2.  I feel the same way about "trunks."  Yes, there are rare exceptions, but even the fastest swimmer is going to be creating a lot of drag for themselves if they're straight up wearing shorts.

3.  One of the Metropolitan pool lifeguards (the lifeguards there are a definitely another blog post at some point...) disagreed with me on this today, but generally I think that anyone who is unable to do a flip-turn should not be in the "Fast" lane.  Consider it the equivalent of a lap swimming time standard.

These are just a few of the requisites I think should be in place to do one's laps in the "Fast" lane at lapswim.  There are more.  And when I thought this the other day at McCarren when there were some particularly slow trunk wearing / no flip-turning / mask people (triple whammy!) in the Fast lane, it turns out 2008 Olympian and super elite 200 Flyer (aka my event) was in the lane next to me.  Instant Karma for me internally ragging on the lap swimmers in my lane as she can definitely kick my butt.

That's all for now on Adult Lap Swim, but there will be more on this hopefully.  Topics include reactions to my daily 200 fly, the aforementioned indoor pool lifeguards, the "Aquatic Specialists" at the outdoor pool (I want one of their shirts please) as well as the rule at the indoor pools in which one must dry off after the shower and before they walk across the locker room.  This requires a lot of shower gear / towel planning and any violation incurs the wrath of 2 Parks department women who literally stand near the showers instilling fear into any lap swimmer who dares to violate this policy.

In other news, I started Internet dating this weekend.  Being a ridiculous planner, all that means is that I finally set up a profile (I did once before with friends, but my energy wasn't in it).  I am ALL FOR internet dating as a concept, particularly for people that don't want to like just go to bars; which can also include older / real adults.  My hesitations included not wanting to (gasp!) be on the computer at the end of the day as we all stare at screens all day and feeling like I was filling out a Myspace profile for myself (which I believe stems from OkCupid's blue color-scheme reminding me of Tom-era Myspace in it's heyday).

However, it's great to see how the normalcy of Internet dating has evolved and the whole thing made me smile.  I can see how like just about everything else in our lives, there is a way to integrate online dating into how I usually meet guys and it's nice to mix it up.  Frankly I just like the idea of interfacing with people who I don't work with as my career is inherently social by nature, therefore I know and meet tons of people in general; but ultimately it is work related.  I saw a guy on OkCupid who gives people sailing lessons around the New York harbor.  How fun! Hopefully he doesn't also work for a music publisher as well or something.

If anything, I couldn't help reading up on the founders of OkCupid as the site is definitely cool / normal and obviously wildly successful, particularly in Brooklyn / NYC.  I thought the site getting bought for $50M (apparently the number of the day) seemed low, but it turns out one of the founders is now the CEO of Match.com; so clearly there is a larger game plan at work. I'm sure Sam Yagan is smart enough to understand the brand / marketplace difference of a site even called something like "Match.com" as opposed to the OkCupid's (dare I say it!) hipster vibe. Apparently as long Christian Rudder's creative vision continues to be incorporated, OkCupid's vibe won't die.  Fingers crossed.

Love,
Emily

P.S. - The photo above isn't of me but came up in Google Images upon searching "lap swim internet dating."

A Touch of California and France in Austin

Sydney Wayser recently moved to L.A. This is where she grew up but she has developed the vast majority of her professional career in New York and France, so the laid back vibe and warm weather of Southern California has definitely brought about change.

This change has led to new friends, new experiences, new writing partners like Luke Prichard of The Kooks, new tours like the one she is currently on with The Hush Sound and Last Royals, new team partners, and some incredible new music that we are mixing as we speak.

Because Sydney has been writing, recording and re-adjusting to life in her initial homeland, we weren't going to bring her down to the chaos of SXSW this year. But the chaos pulled her in on tour and here we are.  Perfect timing as I caught recent shows in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall as well as in Pomona, CA and Sydney has developed from my intern to a powerhouse on stage. It's so exciting and truly warms my heart to watch.

In case you missed her recent video premiere for "Come Aboard" directed by Abraham Vilchez-Moran, you can view it HERE thanks to our friends at MTV. Additionally they premiered the clip as the track was featured on the season finale of said network's Catfish. Thanks Allison, Kristin and SONGS! :).

Don't miss Sydney in Austin as she helps us close out SXSW 2013 after two epic performances yesterday.  She'll be performing at The Deli's Hangover Hideout @ J. Blacks today at 5:30 PM (710-B W.6th St.)  Yay!

B2B Preview @SXSW 2013

I have the absolute honor of both moderating and speaking on a SXSW panel this year.

I rarely seek out speaking engagements (believe it or not...) but took the initiative this year to put a panel together because of a fascinating topic I was witnessing in my every day work. Legends like Ringo Starr (a real live Beatle!) were on Twitter because of forward thinking team members such as the incredibly inspiring Elizabeth Fruend from Beautiful Day Media. Artists like Urge Overkill, who had toured with Nirvana at the height of Nevermind in the 90's were now self-releasing, maintaining ownership of their masters for the first time in their careers. Labels like ABKCO are strategizing the releases of not only active artists on their roster such as Eric Burdon, but are figuring out how to market The Rolling Stones' material to an entirely new generation. Meanwhile artists like Greta Morgan of The Hush Sound and Gold Motel have grown up with their fans online over the past decade watching them evolve from Myspace to Facebook to Twitter to Tumblr and turn into real deal adults from awkward teenagers before her very eyes.

Thus, we will be highlighting what is working for artists in their 20's to artists in their 70's in the modern music industry on Legends and Digital Natives on Music Industry 2.0

Come by and join us in Room 10C at the Austin Convention Center (500 E. Caesar Chavez) at 3:30 on Friday.  Can't wait!

Shortly after, I'll be joining friends from Rhapsody on A River of Cash or Up The Creek?  a.k.a. this panel is about streaming, which in short, I am pro because our industry has FINALLY legalized music in a way that makes sense for the public and I'm happy to remind everyone that our content is competing with free.

I am bummed I had to miss our Comedy panels, but I'm sure W. Kamau Bell and Janine Brito were genius on Why Comedians Don't Give a Fuck if You're Offended and I'm equally bummed I had to miss the always amazing Kevin Avery on Make Your Brains Twerk, Blacks in Tech. Maybe next year I'll get to Austin in time for Interactive!

See you at the Austin Convention Center this Friday.

Much Love,
Emily xo

Readymade Austin

Last year we launched a label, publishing company and film division for and around all things Brendan Benson called Readymade.

Brendan is a critically beloved and fan adored solo artist, co-frontman of The Raconteurs, world-class producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, father, husband and more.

This year marks the debut of Readymade's first ever SXSW showcase. I think even Brendan was impressed when I reminded him today of who was on the lineup: the Godfather of his son: Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons, Nashville's finest: The Howlin' Brothers, our first signee: Young Hines, all the way from Ireland: The Lost Brothers, in addition to a special appearance by the legendary Eric Burdon (courtesy of ABKCO). Did I mention Brendan Benson is also playing?  Obviously we are really looking forward to Friday night :). Our inaugural show kicks off at 8 PM on Friday at The Stage on 6th (508 E. 6th St.).

If for some reason you are in Austin and can't make our super awesome showcase for some reason, the Readymade artists are ALL OVER Austin.  The entire schedule can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/516230685095879/

Additionally, Brendan is playing special sets at the Paste Magazine party tomorrow at 2:30 PM also at The Stage on 6th (508 E. 6th St.) as well as a private party for D'addario at a mansion a bit outside of the city. Hit me via any form of communication other than Facebook message for the mansion show if you'd like to come as we have a handful of select guest spots.

Brendan will be previewing his 2013 material that we have been trickling out a song a month leading into a vinyl release for Black Friday.  Can't wait to hear these songs live and see who decides to sit-in with each other (a girl can dream) at the Readymade showcase....

Hooray!

Much Love,
Em Wizzle xo