The first ever Mystical Hug Doom Metal Yoga series wrapped up last night and I feel honored to have been a part of this magical community experience. My favorite part about the class was getting to meet new friends and learning about awesome bands.
For those of you who asked for it, and for anyone who wants to give Doom Metal Yoga a try at home, here's a Spotify link with everything I used in the class. The playlist includes around 5 hours of music - 4 full albums and 1 hour of mixed tunes. Get Mystical Hug Doom Metal Yoga Playlist. SubRosa, Pallbearer, Sumac and Sleep are the bands that I used in the full-album classes. I've seen the first three live and those shows are what originally got me into metal. Just saying...
If you're trying Doom Metal Yoga at home, I have a few recommendations for you:
1) Move slowly (it feels cool - you'll see!)
2) Accept the sounds you hear for what they are and notice how they make you feel without attaching any judgement.
3) Go at your own pace. If you feel like taking your time in a certain pose - that's rad! There's no pressure in yoga, and there's no reason not to stand in mountain pose for 10 minutes if you find yourself feeling great there. Yoga is about more than the postures!
If you are new to yoga entirely, check out YouTube for free lessons. You might have to click around a little bit to find a style of yoga and a teacher you like, but I promise you there's something for everyone. If you don't see a lesson that suits you, let me know and perhaps I'll use it as an excuse to try making one of my own.
Something you might experience could be a sense of internal strength. There's just something about combining this music with yoga that helps me reset, and helps me to return to a sense of peacefulness that the challenges of life can sometimes cobweb over. Finding powerful music that you enjoy and taking an hour out of your life to just breath and move to it is empowering.
If you try it and you hate it don't worry! It probably means your more normal than the rest of us. Metal isn't for everyone. But do give a few different bands a try if you don't love it at first go because the genre of metal is wide-ranging. Just like how Lady Gaga, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Beyoncé are all broadly under the "pop" umbrella.
Above all, have fun. Set an intention to let go of unneeded stress and to be kind to yourself.
Photo by ANNIKA BIELIG BUSSMANN